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Golden Hawks sign young defenceman

The Trenton Golden Hawks have signed defenceman Nathan Oickle for the 2020/21 OJHL campaign. The 17-year-old played last season with the U18 AAA Peterborough Petes. Photo from the Trenton Golden Hawks

By James Tubb [1]

BELLEVILLE – The Trenton Golden Hawks [2] continue to bolster an already talented lineup.

Wednesday, the team announced the signing of 17-year-old defenceman Nathan Oickle [3] from the U18 AAA Peterborough Petes.

The Peterborough native was drafted by the Kingston Frontenacs [4] in 2019 but has signed with the Golden Hawks after an impressive season averaging almost a point-per-game last year.

Oickle had 10 goals and 32 points in 36 games with Peterborough and even suited up for three OJHL [15] games with the Cobourg Cougars.

Golden Hawks’ head coach and general manager Peter Goulet sees a lot of potential in the newly acquired defenceman.

“He had a great year at the midget level, he has great instincts and sees the ice very well. There is a lot of upside for him,” Goulet said.

Goulet says that even with the pedigree of an OHL selection on his resume, Oickle will have to show that he deserves a spot on the Golden Hawks this season.

“He has a pretty strong opportunity to make the team but he will have to earn his ice time through training camp and show us what he can do,” he said.

The GoldenHawks are building off of a great season last year that saw them earn a playoff spot after finishing second in the East Division with 84 points.

After beating the Whitby Fury in the first round, Trenton was gearing up for the ultimate battle of Quinte as they were going to face their fierce rival, the Wellington Dukes, in the second round.

The OJHL playoffs were suspended and ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Like the other playoff teams, we will approach this season like we got robbed last year,” said Goulet.