Hounds land household OHL names in Hayes, Frasca
The Soo Greyhounds made some big additions to their forward ranks over the weekend, acquiring 6-foot-2 Chicago Blackhawks prospect Gavin Hayes from the Flint Firebirds as well as 6-foot-5 overage centreman Jacob Frasca from the Barrie Colts.
Sitting top spot in the West Division with a record of 25-11-2-1, the Hounds announced the deal on Sunday following their road trip that resulted in wins over Oshawa and Guelph before a 5-1 loss in Barrie on Saturday night.
Interestingly, both Hayes and Frasca are members of what you might call prominent OHL hockey families, with the former following older brother and former OHL champion Avery Hayes into the OHL, heading to Sault Ste. Marie where he’ll join younger brother Travis on the Greyhounds. The latter, Frasca, also has an older brother (Jordan) who has come through the league as a member of the Windsor Spitfires and Kingston Frontenacs, as well as a younger brother (Gabriel) who currently plays in Kingston and is eligible for the 2024 NHL Draft.
Hayes leaves quite a legacy in Flint, where he departs the Firebirds as the club’s second-highest career scorer with 166 points (79-87–166) over 158 regular season games over three seasons. He was the Firebirds’ first round (16th overall) pick in the 2020 OHL Priority Selection and helped the club reach the Western Conference Championship Series in 2022. The Chicago Blackhawks selected him in the third round (66th overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft and he signed an entry-level contract with the Hawks on Apr. 3, 2023. Hayes, who had 36 points (19-17–36) in 27 games for Flint this season, recently won a gold medal with the United States at the 2024 World Juniors in Gothenburg, Sweden.
The Greyhounds sent 17-year-old forward Alex Kostov as well as 18-year-old forward Connor Clattenburg to the Firebirds, along with four draft picks to complete the transaction.
Frasca joins the Greyhounds in the midst of his fourth OHL season, having recorded 12 points (7-5–12) across an injury-shortened 17 games in Barrie so far this season. The Caledon, Ont. resident has produced 106 points (44-62–106) over 166 regular season games since being Barrie’s third round (45th overall) pick in 2019.
The Greyhounds dealt fellow overage forward Brenden Sirizzotti to the Colts along with draft picks as Frasca joins Jack Beck and Jordan D’Intino has one of three overagers on the Soo roster.
The Soo faithful will get to see their two newest Greyhounds in action this weekend at home to Guelph and North Bay on Friday and Saturday.
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