Carlos Verde, Communications Manager
If there was any doubts the Ottawa Jr. Senators were ‘all-in’ for their run at the Fred Page Cup in April, they were erased on Thursday morning with the news that Ottawa had acquired OHL veteran David Pearce.
News | The @OttawaJrSens have acquired major-junior veteran David Pearce (@PearceBud) from Kanata. #CCHL
Details: https://t.co/oZ5nTZFGwI pic.twitter.com/d5JgC5YNRL
— CCHL (@CCHLTier1) October 5, 2017
The Jr. Sens gave up a solid prospect in defenceman Daniel Lambert along with what one can imagine was a significant PDF for Pearce.
“To get a player like David Pearce, you have to give up a good prospect along with some cash,” said Ottawa head coach/general manager Martin Dagenais. “He’s going to CarletonU full-time, and wanted to play close to his school — that’s how the (trade talks) started.”
Having already loaded up with established CCHL talent in Nick Lalonde and Owen Guy, and added a major-junior piece in Silas Mattawashish this off-season, the Jr. Sens boast the deepest offence in the league.
“It’s tough, because we haven’t had a full lineup yet,” said Dagenais, whose team has nonetheless raced to a 9-2-1 start. “Every player on our team has things to improve on, whether it’s Blacksmith, Mattawashish or anybody else — we’re not where we want to be right now.”
With Owen Guy and Nick Lalonde both on the shelf for an extended period of time, Pearce will likely slide into a top-six role with the Jr. Sens — despite what Dagenais says about his newest major-junior pickup.
“Playing major-junior doesn’t mean much — it’s a different type of game at this level,” said the OJS boss. “You have to come here and work hard, (and) David understands that he’s going to have to work hard to earn ice time.”
