Doyle: Lots of wheeling and dealing pre-import draft

OHL teams have been busy on the trade front heading into the annual CHL Import Draft.

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A total of seven deals were completed between Monday morning and Tuesday at noon. One of the most notable saw the London Knights acquire the top import pick from the Barrie Colts. Heading to Barrie are defenceman Reid McNeill along with London's import pick, Mississauga's second round pick in the 2013 OHL Priority Selection and London's 3rd round pick that year. The Knights appear to have their eyes on Russian forward Mikhail Grigorenko. There is a connection here as Grigorenko has played for the father of current Knights import Vladislav Namestnikov. But with the import draft anything can happen, and until the player is picked AND walks through the dressing room door nothing is for sure.

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In a deal that Loosepucks first broke on Twitter, the Saginaw Spirit have moved veteran Ivan Telegin to the Barrie Colts for draft choices. Telegin spent the past two seasons with the Spirit, who go into the Import Draft with goalie Tad Galansky on the roster.

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The Colts also moved last year's import pick Petr Beranek to Kingston for a 3rd round pick. Beranek scored 11 goals in 54 games for the Colts last season. Barrie wrapped up the festivities by picking up defenceman Derek Hartwick from Sault Ste. Marie for Mackenzie Braid and a swap of draft choices.

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The Sarnia Sting helped to clear up their overage situation by dealing defenceman Joe Rogalski to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds for a fifth round pick in 2012 and third rounder in 2013. Rogalski appeared to be the odd-man out after the additions of Brandon Maxwell from Kitchener and Taylor Carnevale out of Windsor. Daniel Broussard is the other overager on the roster. Rogalski was a Pittsburgh Penguins draft choice in 2010. Rogalski had previously declined a deal to Sault Ste. Marie but after some discussion with the Greyhounds, the former all-star blueliner agreed to the move. The Sting had a deal to move Rogalski to Owen Sound at January's OHL trade deadline, but Rogalski decided to remain with the Sting.

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Windsor traded their import pick to Erie for the Spitfires fifth rounder in 2012 and Erie's seventh rounder in 2013.

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Kitchener picked up the 22nd overall pick in the import draft from Kingston along with goalie Frank Palazzese and a tenth round pick in 2015 for a second round pick in 2015 and a sixth rounder in 2014. The Rangers deleted Gabriel Landeskog from their roster to make room to pick in the import draft. Teams that have two non-OA imports on their roster cannot add another one. Landeskog was chosen second overall by the Colorado Avalanche last weekend and is expected to make the club this year.

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