The North Bay Battalion has traded left winger Mike Baird to the Windsor Spitfires, the Ontario Hockey League club announced Thursday.
In return for Baird, the Battalion received Windsor’s fourth-round pick in the 2017 OHL Priority Selection.
“I think it’s a trade that’s good for both teams,” said Stan Butler, Battalion director of hockey operations and head coach.
“Mike gets a chance to play for a team that’s going to host the Memorial Cup next year, and we get to draft a player who can play for us for three or four years.”
“On behalf of the Battalion organization, I’d like to wish Mike all the best in the future,” added Butler.
Baird, a 19-year-old resident of Cayuga, Ont., played three seasons with North Bay after being chosen in the second round of the 2013 OHL Priority Selection from the Southern Tier Admirals minor midgets.
“My agent called me. I was kind of surprised,” Baird said on Windsorspitfires.com.
“After the shock wore off, I was pumped, knowing the kind of team Windsor is going to have this year and with the city hosting the Memorial Cup.”
Spitfires General Manager Warren Rychel was pleased to add a player of Baird's style to his roster.
“We felt like we needed to get older on the wing while boosting our team speed and toughness,” Rychel said on Windsorspitfires.com.
“I’ve seen year after year in the OHL playoffs and Memorial Cup; you need big wingers to make a run. I like what Mike brings to our lineup with his physical edge.”
The six-foot-two, 171-pound Baird scored 10 goals and earned 15 assists for 25 points in 132 games while accumulating 196 penalty minutes. He scored five goals in each of the last two seasons and had 13 assists in 2015-16 for a career-high 18 points.
He played 16 playoff games over two seasons without registering a point and went home for rest at the end of the regular season this year, with the result that he didn’t appear in the postseason.
He served several suspensions during his time with the Troops, the last seeing him return to the lineup in a 4-2 loss at Windsor on March 5 after sitting out 10 games. He also was handed a 20-game suspension by the league back in April of 2014.
