First-place London Knights get even better, thanks to NCAA rule change

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Erie Otters overage forward Pano Fimis had a message for his younger brother right after signing with the London Knights.

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“The first phone call we had, he said, ‘December 18 – be ready’,” Andoni Fimis, the Knights’ new defenceman, recalled. “He has it circled on his calendar, too. It’ll be nice for our family. They can go to the same rink (Erie Insurance Arena) to watch us play and we play four more times this season.”

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Maybe in the playoffs, too.

The 18-year-old blue-liner spent the first part of this season running the power play and logging big minutes for the Cowichan Valley Capitals of the British Columbia Hockey League. A 2006 University of Vermont commit, he figured there was little chance he would get to play in the OHL against Pano, Niagara’s second overall pick in the 2020 draft.

But this fall, the NCAA changed the rule that banned Canadian Hockey League players from competing in the U.S. college ranks. Fimis was left off the protected list of Kingston, who had selected him in the fifth round (99th overall) in the 2022 draft, and he jumped at the chance to join the Knights.

“It’s the London Knights – the most prestigious and well-respected organization in the CHL,” the 6-foot-2, 179-pounder from Richmond Hill said. “Just looking at the players they’ve been able to develop and move on to the next level, it’s something that’s almost impossible to turn down.

“When I got the call, it was a no-brainer for me – especially with the talent the team has now and any opportunity we have to win. It’s the best junior league in the world and I’m happy I joined the team.”

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Fimis gives London a third right-shot defender after Oliver Bonk and Henry Brzustewicz. Most figured the Knights needed to add another steady rearguard to the ranks before the trade deadline and they just got one at no additional cost.

“I’m a good two-way defenceman who takes care of the D zone first,” he said. “I’m good on the breakouts getting the pucks up to the skilled forwards we have here. I’m good on the transition and getting to the offensive zone as quickly as possible. Once we get there, I think I’m really creative in making different plays and just trying to score.”

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He posted three goals and 13 points in 22 games with the Caps this year. Last season at age 17, he put up 12 goals and 43 points in 55 games for the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Stouffville Spirit.

He is used to playing with top talent. In minor hockey, he had 40 points on a strong Toronto Jr. Canadiens team that included top NHL prospect Porter Martone (Brampton), Montreal draft pick Michael Hage (University of Michigan), Jacob Battaglia (Kingston), Henry Mews (Ottawa) and Anthony Cristoforo (Windsor).

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“He is smart, has a real good stick and can see where the open pass is,” London associate GM Rob Simpson said. “He has some real good tools there. Any time we watched him, he was impactful. When you come into a new league and higher level, it takes adjustments. He has the skills and hockey sense to contribute (right away), but it’s going to take some time to adjust to the pace of play here compared to the BCHL.”

The Knights expect Fimis to stick around next year after they graduate Bonk. They will also be in wait-and-see mode on what the San Jose Sharks do with NHL first-rounder Sam Dickinson next fall.

“Andoni already has the school commitment,” Simpson said, “but players are signing NHL contracts out of (major junior). His brother plays in the league and he’s closer to home. We were able to get him as a byproduct of the NCAA rule change.”

COWAN UPDATE: The Knights don’t think Easton Cowan’s upper-body injury is anything long-term that will keep him from playing for Canada in the world junior tournament starting Boxing Day.

But they did send in some video to the OHL to request their opinion on the hit by Oshawa’s Zack Sandhu that forced the Maple Leafs first-rounder to leave Friday’s game.

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“We want clarification if you’re allowed to come from that angle at an unsuspecting player and deliver that body check,” Simpson said. “In the game, they deemed it to be a legal hit and if that is the case, then our understanding had been it’s a little bit of a predatory hit.”

The Knights were the most physical team in the league last year. If they are permitted to deliver those kinds of hits, they will instruct their players to engage launch mode moving forward.

“If that’s a legal hit, then you start going back to sending our (defence) straight up and deliver big checks all day,” Simpson said. “What I got out of the (non-penalty) call on the ice is that’s a legal hit. Then, we can allow our defencemen to make that hit and we hadn’t been doing that.”

“Even this (Sandhu) hit, I thought it came from the side. If that’s legal, that’s something you put into your game from now on.”

rpyette@postmedia.com

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