Jake Smith was not tall, but he left some pretty big goalie skates to fill in the Battalion net.
Today the Battalion announced they have acquired overage goaltender Brent Moran in a trade with the Flint Firebirds to fill those skates.
Flint received a fourth-round pick in the 2017 OHL Priority Selection and the OHL rights to goaltender Garrett Forrest, who played last season for the Powassan Voodoos, the Battalion’s Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League affiliate.
Moran, a resident of Orleans, Ont., who stands six-foot-four and weighs 190 pounds, has played four OHL seasons. The Niagara IceDogs selected him in the second round of the 2012 OHL Priority Selection and traded him to Flint last Dec. 5.
The 2014 Dallas Stars fourth round draft pick has played 145 OHL games, posting a goals-against average of 3.80, a save percentage of .886, a won-lost-extended record of 52-72-9 and two shutouts.
Al Jensen, from NHL Central Scouting gives this report on the big goaltender:
"He has a very big presence, especially on initial shots. He's very quick for his size and his technical ability is very good. He has strong legs which allow him to push off his post and move laterally very quickly. He plays most of his game in the paint, and with his size you don't see many holes; he gets his body in front of a lot of shots," stated Jensen.
Moran was drafted but was never signed by the Dallas Stars, so Butler believes Moran has a lot to prove in his overage year in North Bay with the Battalion.
I don’t think there is any doubt there is a lot at stake quite frankly, there’s a lot at stake for a our team but I hope that one of the reasons we traded for him is that he should be a highly motivated individual,” stated Butler.
"This is a kid who is 6’4”, looks like a goalie, most of the time plays like a goalie that’s got to show the NHL teams that he's consistently a goalie."
In two playoff campaigns, both with Niagara, he played nine games with a GAA of 3.26, a save percentage of .907, a won-lost mark of 3-5 and one shutout. He played all seven games in a 2014 Eastern Conference quarterfinal as the Battalion overcame a 3-1 series deficit to advance.
Jake Smith was North Bay’s No. 1 goaltender in each of the last three seasons but has completed his junior eligibility and is to play for Bolzano-Bozen South Tyrol, an Italian-based club in the Austrian League, in 2016-17. Backup Jake Kment, who would be an overager this season, is not returning.
Forrest, a 19-year-old resident of Ashburn, Va., was a 10th-round pick in the 2013 OHL Priority Selection.
Last season Forrest put up tremendous numbers with the Voodoos and was named to the NOJHL First All-Star Team recording a 2.37 G.A.A. and a .934 save percentage.
Moran and Matthew Woroniuk are expected to begin the 2016-17 season as the goalie tandem with the Battalion.
