London Knights acquire forward Max Crete from the Niagara IceDogs
The glow might not be off the London Knights' 2025 Memorial Cup championship, but the push toward next season and beyond is well underway.
On June 19, London acquired 17-year-old forward Max Crete from the Niagara IceDogs in exchange for Jacob Monks and a 9th-round draft pick in 2028.
Crete was selected 30th overall by the IceDogs in 2024 and played all 68 games for Niagara last year as a 16-year-old rookie.
Crete scored 11 times and added eight assists.
He is from Ottawa and played for the Upper Canada Cyclones growing up. He was the captain of the Cyclones in his U16 year and led them in scoring.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
Crete, who is five-feet-nine-inches tall and 182 pounds, is known as an excellent skater and playmaker who also has a scoring touch.
Story continues below advertisement
He joins Logan Hawery, Caleb Mitchell, Max Mews, Jaxon Cover and Eddie Hickson as prospects on the London roster from the 2024 draft.
Monks is also a skilled forward who was a fifth-round pick of the Knights in 2024 and spent last year split between the U.S. National Development Team Program and the Little Caesar's U16 AAA team.
Monks also played one game with the Fargo Force of the North American Hockey League.
The Wyandotte, Mich., native is committed to Merrimack College for the 2027-28 season and has not signed an OHL Scholarship and Development Agreement to this point.
The Knights will open the season and raise their third Memorial Cup championship banner to the rafters of Canada Life Place on Sept. 19, 2025, against the Owen Sound Attack.
On June 1, London joined the Windsor Spitfires, the Kamloops Blazers and the Cornwall Royals as the only franchises to win the Memorial Cup three times since the tournament format was adopted in 1972.
The Knights defeated the Medicine Hat Tigers 4-1 in the final game in Rimouski, Que.
London has won two consecutive Ontario Hockey League titles.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Global News
11 hours ago
- Global News
Gausman's June struggles continue in Jays' loss
TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays' pitching depth is teetering — which makes it a bad time for one of their most reliable starters to be struggling. Kevin Gausman allowed seven earned runs over 4 1/3 innings as the Blue Jays fell 9-5 against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday, denying their sixth sweep of the season. 'I feel like everybody kind of did their job this series and I just didn't,' Gausman said. 'We're playing really good right now and going for a sweep today and I go out there and do that. So I'm pretty frustrated.' The 34-year-old gave up seven hits and three walks as his record dropped to 5-6. Manager John Schneider pulled him after he hit Diamondbacks outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr., with a pitch to load the bases with one out in the fifth inning. Both Schneider and Gausman pointed to the righty's command as the root of his recent struggles. Story continues below advertisement 'When he's good, he's on the attack, he's getting ahead of you and then he's kind of dominating those 1-1 counts. And that hasn't been the case,' Schneider said. Gausman has walked 12 batters in 20 June innings compared to one in 31 innings in May. He's now allowed 17 earned runs through 20 innings over four starts this month, a rough follow-up to a sterling May in which he went 3-1 with a 2.81 ERA. He said strike percentage has been 'the story' of his season. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'June's been really ugly for me and so I need to take a deep look and figure some things out and get better. I feel like if I can get back to who I am, I think that's the next step for this team and I hope to be a big part of it and right now I feel like I'm not doing my end,' Gausman said. Story continues below advertisement Catcher Alejandro Kirk blasted two solo home runs for Toronto (40-34), which had won the first two of the three-game interleague series. Centre fielder Jonatan Clase also added a solo shot. The Blue Jays sit in the second wild-card position in the American League, one game back of the Tampa Bay Rays. The Diamondbacks (37-37) climbed to .500 with the win. Arizona's Eugenio Suarez and Pavin Smith combined for two home runs and seven RBIs in the victory, with the slugging Suarez — who ended the game a triple away from the cycle — especially proving to be a thorn in Gausman's side. 'He had a plan going in obviously and I think I kind of fed right into his plan just about every at-bat,' Gausman said. The Rogers Centre roof opened about 20 minutes before the game, and Schneider mentioned windy conditions — with gusts up to 32 kilometres per hour at first pitch — as a factor in Gausman's outing. 'I've pitched plenty of games windy and I kinda need to make that adjustment,' Gausman said. 'My split was moving a lot today, but I just couldn't make that adjustment to figure out how to throw it for a strike and then how to throw it for a ball.' Story continues below advertisement Gausman's next start is likely to come next week against the Cleveland Guardians, whose 277 runs entering Thursday were fourth fewest in the American League. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays continue to face other questions in their rotation. After the game, Toronto announced that right-hander Spencer Turnbull would start Friday's series opener against the Chicago White Sox. The spot would have belonged to Bowden Francis, who was recently placed on the 15-day injured list with a shoulder impingement. Turnbull, who signed with the Blue Jays in May, has made two relief appearances for the club, allowing seven hits and one earned run in 4.1 innings. Eric Lauer, who started and pitched five strong innings in a win Wednesday, has bounced between relief, starting and bulk roles with the team but could round out the rotation — along with Gausman, Chris Bassitt and Jose Berrios — for the time being. Elsewhere, Max Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, made his second rehab start with the triple-A Buffalo Bisons on Wednesday. His next game action could come at the major-league level. Trey Yesavage, the Blue Jays' first-round pick one year ago, recently moved up to double-A and was tied for the minor-league lead with 96 strikeouts through Wednesday's action. But Scherzer, who has pitched three MLB innings this season, and Yesavage, whose next MLB pitch will be his first, remain mysteries to an extent. Story continues below advertisement And so the urgency for Gausman to regain control of the strike zone and rediscover his May form is apparent. '(Gausman's) elite when he's ahead in counts, and I think just not getting there has been tough for him,' Schneider said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2025.
Global News
11 hours ago
- Global News
No Brady for Blue Bombers for rematch against BC
The CFL's most outstanding player won't be in the lineup for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for Saturday's rematch against the BC Lions. Running back Brady Oliveira has been officially ruled out for the week three matchup with a shoulder injury. Oliveira missed all three practices this week after he left the season-opening victory early in the first quarter. The Bombers opposition could also be without one of their biggest weapons on offence. Lions starting quarterback Nathan Rourke has been listed as questionable with what's being called a core injury. He missed a second straight day of practice on Thursday after leaving last week's game in the fourth quarter. It's looking more and more like Lions backup QB Jeremiah Masoli will get the start instead. He completed seven of his 10 passes for 84 yards with one interception in garbage time against the Bombers defence last week. Story continues below advertisement The Bombers will look to keep him guessing after defensive coordinator Jordan Younger gave a number of new looks on defence in the season opener with middle linebacker Tony Jones even dropping into coverage. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'You never know,' said Jones. 'That's the thing I feel like why we can be such a great defence. You watch the game film and it's just like okay, he's doing this or he's doing that. But then when they play us, it's like OK, he didn't do that. He's doing a different thing. And now they're switching their kinda game plan up of OK, now you're doing this and that's when we switch it again. It's a chess game. 'To give opposing quarterbacks a different look, it might throw them off and make them hold the ball longer where our defensive line can go get a sack.' Bombers receiver Kevens Clercius is also questionable to play. He practiced on Monday but missed the final two practices of the week with a hip problem. Running back Peyton Logan, long snapper Mike Benson, and defensive lineman Jamal Woods will all sit out of the rematch the injuries. Kickoff on Saturday is at 6:00 p.m. in Vancouver.
Global News
11 hours ago
- Global News
London Knights acquire forward Max Crete from the Niagara IceDogs
The glow might not be off the London Knights' 2025 Memorial Cup championship, but the push toward next season and beyond is well underway. On June 19, London acquired 17-year-old forward Max Crete from the Niagara IceDogs in exchange for Jacob Monks and a 9th-round draft pick in 2028. Crete was selected 30th overall by the IceDogs in 2024 and played all 68 games for Niagara last year as a 16-year-old rookie. Crete scored 11 times and added eight assists. He is from Ottawa and played for the Upper Canada Cyclones growing up. He was the captain of the Cyclones in his U16 year and led them in scoring. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Crete, who is five-feet-nine-inches tall and 182 pounds, is known as an excellent skater and playmaker who also has a scoring touch. Story continues below advertisement He joins Logan Hawery, Caleb Mitchell, Max Mews, Jaxon Cover and Eddie Hickson as prospects on the London roster from the 2024 draft. Monks is also a skilled forward who was a fifth-round pick of the Knights in 2024 and spent last year split between the U.S. National Development Team Program and the Little Caesar's U16 AAA team. Monks also played one game with the Fargo Force of the North American Hockey League. The Wyandotte, Mich., native is committed to Merrimack College for the 2027-28 season and has not signed an OHL Scholarship and Development Agreement to this point. The Knights will open the season and raise their third Memorial Cup championship banner to the rafters of Canada Life Place on Sept. 19, 2025, against the Owen Sound Attack. On June 1, London joined the Windsor Spitfires, the Kamloops Blazers and the Cornwall Royals as the only franchises to win the Memorial Cup three times since the tournament format was adopted in 1972. The Knights defeated the Medicine Hat Tigers 4-1 in the final game in Rimouski, Que. London has won two consecutive Ontario Hockey League titles.
