The Markham Royals had a busy end to last week, completing a series of trades ahead of the OJHL and CJHL’s January 10th deadline, along with playing a pair of games against St. Michael’s and North York.
The four trades made with Wellington, Leamington, the Toronto Patriots, and Toronto Junior Canadiens were made with the future in mind, recognizing the gravity of a rebuilding season that has seen the team take a step back in the standings.
Headed out were 2004-born skaters Rodion Tatarenko, alternate captain Owen Fergusson, and captain William Godfrey, who were all in their final year of junior eligibility. Also departing was 2005-born goaltender Sebastian Monaco. In return, the Royals focused on younger talent, including 2006-born sophomore Zachary Mascard, 2006-born rookie Lucas Preiano, and 2007-born rookie Philip Govedaris. The Royals also received 2005-born Marko Saroglou and Noah Caballero, who will maintain a veteran presence in the Markham room and on the ice.
Markham also released forward Zach Vickerman from its main roster.
Many of the new Royals made their debut across two hard-fought road games this weekend. Markham kept things close with the Buzzers on Friday, coming back from an early 3-0 deficit to bring the game back to within one in the third period, but ultimately falling 5-3 following a last-minute empty-net goal.
On Sunday, Markham broke its slump against the North York Rangers, falling behind 2-0 in the first six minutes of the game but pushing back for a 5-3 victory. It was a particularly eventful Sunday for Mascard, who scored two goals and upped his total to four points in his first four games with the team. Govedaris scored his first as a Royal on Friday, wasting no time in getting himself involved.
