COVID-19 has forced hockey associations, leagues, players, and teams to make some very difficult decisions over the last several months. The Trenton Golden Hawks are no exception.
Coach and General Manager Peter Goulet says, “It saddens me to announce that we have traded Captain Griffen Fox, alternate captains Marko Jakovljevic and Kyle Robinson, and veteran Stefan Dobrich. Meantime, Alternate Captain Wyatt George returned home (Pennsylvania) over the Christmas break and will continue his development in the United States. These young men were going to be the backbone of our team for the 2020-21 season, however with COVID numbers continuing to rise, I had no choice.”
He continued, “My job as a coach is to develop young men into better hockey players and better human beings. Since we have no certainty for hockey for the coming months, I had to make decisions I did not want to.”
Fox and Jakovljevic have been traded to the Amherst (Nova Scotia) Ramblers of the Maritime Junior Hockey League (MHL), and the Yarmouth (Nova Scotia) Mariners (MHL) have acquired Robinson and Dobrich from Trenton. Wyatt George is joining the Walpole (Massachusetts) Express of the Eastern Hockey League.
“These young men have been professionals from the start, and although they came back in September to play in Quinte West, we were only able to provide them with 10 exhibition games. With the province now in a lockdown, I must do the right thing and find these young men a place to continue their development. It was not something we wanted to do, but something we had to do. We are continuing conversations with other teams and leagues that are playing, and more moves may be announced,” Goulet added.
Fox, Robinson, Dobrich and George combined for 171 points over 198 games in Trenton, while Jakovljevic joined Trenton after several seasons in the Ontario Hockey League. After a two-week quarantine in Nova Scotia, Fox, Jakovljevic, Dobrich, and Robinson will be joining their new teams on the ice. The MHL is one of the few junior leagues in Canada playing.
The Duncan McDonald Memorial Community Gardens will not reopen until the end of the month, and no OJHL hockey has been announced to date.
SUBMITTED BY TRENTON GOLDEN HAWKS
