Even after making some spicy moves, are the Barrie Colts in need of Moore Mustard?
Allow me to explain.
The Colts, flush with having bolstered their lineup just before training camp and waiting to see on Colby Barlow, own the rights to two Canadians about to start their freshman NCAA seasons.
William (Will) Moore grew up in Toronto and should be taken in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft. He is a dual citizen and was a member of the American national team development program last season, forgoing a chance to play for the London Knights, who dealt his rights to Barrie at last year’s Ontario Hockey League trade deadline.
Moore is slated to soon begin his collegiate hockey career at Boston College.
John Mustard, originally from Newmarket, is currently enrolled at Providence College. He was a third-round selection (67th overall) of the Chicago Blackhawks in the most recent NHL Draft in Vegas.
Both Moore and Mustard play up front and, when Colts dream their dreams, would look good in a top-six role on Marty Williamson’s squad.
It needs to be said there is zero indication Moore and/or Mustard have any interest in leaving school, but events in the wider hockey world provide an interesting contrast to the changing landscape regarding the college/major junior hockey divide.
As even casual fans know, once a player suits up in an OHL exhibition game, he becomes ineligible to play NCAA hockey. The rigid stipulation — it forces 16-year-olds to make a snap decision to either leave or stay in their first OHL training camp before even pre-season games are played — is still in effect. At least one coveted Colts prospect left training camp earlier this month to preserve his college eligibility.
But a report by ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski that broke Friday is the latest sign there may be a thaw in that icy relationship. That report states a Western Hockey League player named Braxton Whitehead has received a verbal commitment from Arizona State to play there next year.
That development has little direct relevance on Moore and Mustard, but it does add a wrinkle to the wider change that could be coming. Moreover, speculation is rife that the Colts are the leading contender to land the services of Swedish defenceman Gabriel Eliasson, who currently is in rookie camp with the Ottawa Senators.
The Niagara IceDogs currently own Eliasson’s rights, but he is said to have little interest in reporting there. Interestingly, Eliasson is no longer due to attend the University of Michigan next season, to which he had verbally committed a year earlier. Instead, he wants to play major junior hockey, but, again, there is no indication Moore or Mustard want to. Even if they do, whether they want to come to Barrie is an open question. But that is where the Colts’ dramatic roster overhaul and improvement of hold-over leaders could factor in.
You have to think that if Moore and Mustard get off to a slow start in college hockey, the opportunity to play a central role on one of the OHL’s best teams for the next couple of seasons is awfully enticing. Moreover, NHL teams generally prefer their prospects either leave college early or play in the Canadian Hockey League to roughly the same age, if for no other reason than the risk of losing college prospects when the four-year signing window runs out.
There is an interesting historical footnote here regarding the Colts as 25 years ago, with the club under its original ownership group and maverick head coach/general manager Bill Stewart, convinced forwards Matt Dzieduszycki and Mike Henderson to leave school. Both players, who were childhood friends with Colts defenceman Ryan O’Keefe, flourished in Barrie and helped the Colts win the OHL championship. Henderson even scored a key overtime goal at the Memorial Cup that contributed to the Colts advancing to the final.
A quarter-century on, name/image/licensing (NIL) could have a bearing on Moore’s and Mustard’s situations. College athletes can now be compensated under such regulations, and it’s entirely logical, even probable, elite college hockey players are more inclined to stick around campus ahead of turning pro if they are getting paid.
Money talks.
As for Barlow, the Orillia native has made those close to him aware he wants to play in Barrie and will not return to the Owen Sound Attack when the Winnipeg Jets send him back to junior hockey.
The Oshawa Generals are also keenly interested in Barlow’s services.
A few sources around the OHL have said Owen Sound GM Dale DeGray wants a solid, established OHL player 2006-born or younger, plus as many as eight draft picks in return for Barlow’s rights. Those picks need to mostly be in the second and third rounds between 2025 and 2028. The Colts are short in that regard but have more than a few players 18 and younger taken at similar points in previous OHL drafts that could lessen DeGray’s desire to stock up on picks so far in the future.
Underlying everything regarding Barlow is his status with the Jets, who are said to be not amused with his decision to not show up for Attack training camp before heading to Winnipeg.
The Jets could hang onto Barlow — who was ill last year in Winnipeg’s training camp — longer and give him a short NHL cameo ahead of what is expected to be a leading role on Team Canada at the World Juniors slated for Ottawa over the holiday season. If that scenario plays out, it could lessen the return Owen Sound will get for Barlow. It will also stretch out the process, possibly bringing more suitors into the mix than just the Colts and the Generals.
