Top Bruins Prospect Jack Studnicka Traded In OHL

As reported last week, the Bruins top prospect, Jack Studnicka has been traded from the Oshawa Generals to the Niagara IceDogs.

The full trade details are as follows:

Generals receive:

• Defenceman Lleyton Moore
• 3 x 2^nd Round Draft Selections
• 3 x 3^rd Round Draft Selections

Generals trade:

• Jack Studnicka (C)
• Matt Brassard (D)

Source: http://oshawagenerals.com/article/generals-acquire-lleyton-moore-and-draft-selections-from-icedogs-in-exchange-for-jack-studnicka-and-matt-brassard

Don’t fear Bruins fans, the Boston Bruins still hold his rights, this move is a deadline rental move for Niagara, a team expected to compete for the OHL Championship this season. Brassard is a 2017 7th round selection of the Vancouver Canucks, who will also retain his NHL rights. Moore is draft eligible for the 2020 NHL Entry draft, helping Oshawa solidify next years team while maximizing return for players not expected to return. For Niagara, this trade bolsters an already formidable roster expected to perform well this season.

The trade was originally expected to be completed once the World Juniors completed, but according to my source, Niagara received what they felt was a better offer, believed to be a deal centered around Owen Sound’s Nick Suzuki (13th pick - 2017 NHL draft, Montreal Canadiens). However, one of the involved players is believed to have exercised his NTC, killing the trade, leading to Niagara and Oshawa completing the Studnicka trade later than expected.

Despite being eligible to play as an overager, Studnicka is not expected to return to the OHL next season, either by Oshawa or from the Bruins front office. Instead, he will likely play in Providence (AHL), with a realistic chance to make the Bruins NHL roster from camp. For context, he has already played successfully in Providence (albeit in a small sample), Captained his OHL team for 2 seasons and represented his country at World Juniors. He’s ready for the the AHL by virtually any estimate, and in my opinion, isn’t far off from being an impact player in the NHL.

Studnicka thanked Oshawa fans, management/owners and teammates in a goodbye post on Twitter:

The Generals organization followed by thanking both players in separate Twitter posts, capping a successful run for Studnicka as Captain.

Just think, Bruins fans have Peter Chiarelli to thank for arguably the best prospect in their organization. The Bruins drafted Studnicka with the compensatory draft pick they received from Edmonton for signing Chiarelli to a deal while under contract with the Bruins (2017, 2nd round - 53rd overall).

True story. So for that at least, we can be thankful for Chiarelli’s time here. Silver linings folks.