Sarnia, ON- Sarnia Sting General Manager Dylan Seca announced this afternoon that the Hockey Club has completed two trades involving goaltenders with the Erie Otters and Saginaw Spirit respectively.
In the first of two transactions, the Hockey Club acquired goaltender Nolan LaLonde, a 2026 3rd round selection, 2027 4th round selection and 2027 6th round selection in exchange for overage goaltender Ben Gaudreau.
In his second transaction of the afternoon, Seca then sent Nolan LaLonde to Saginaw, acquiring an additional 5th round pick in 2024.
Gaudreau was selected by the Sting with the Club’s 7th overall pick in the 2019 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection. Since his draft, the Corbiel, Ontario native made 117 regular season starts for the Sting, recording 54 wins, 3 shutouts, a save percentage of 0.890 and a goals against average of 3.60. Gaudreau also made 22 playoffs appearances for the Club between 2022 and 2023, posting three shutouts, a .910 save percentage and goals against average of 2.55.
On the trade, Seca comments:
“Ben has been a leader both with the organization and the community since he arrived back in 2019. We challenged the group coming out of the COVID pause and he was one of the players who wanted to change the culture and build a program that could challenge for the league championship. He’s a world-class goaltender and his Hockey Canada accolades speak for themselves. He’s also a world-class individual, one that endeared himself to his teammates, billets, coaches, hockey, and business staff. Ben’s infectious smile will certainly be missed around the rink.
This move helps Ben get the opportunity he needs to earn an NHL contract and helps provide our young group with the chance to grow and develop into the next wave of leaders both in our organization and in the community. This is certainly the difficult part of junior hockey; we forge relationships with players, we watch them grow, mature, and develop then we start the process all over again. We would like to thank Ben and the Gaudreau family for the years of trust and commitment. Good Luck Benny!”