With the Ontario Hockey League season just around the corner, the Barrie Colts have landed a pair of Dallas Stars prospects in recent trades.
Today, the team announced it had acquired Brad Gardiner from the Ottawa 67's in exchange for a series of draft picks.
To land the 19-year-old centre, the Colts shipped a fourth-round pick (Kitchener) in 2025, a second-round pick (Saginaw) in 2026, a third-rounder (Kitchener) in 2027 and their own second-round pick in 2028.
Last season, the Aurora native scored 16 goals and added 33 assists for 49 points in 67 regular-season games. He was held pointless in eight playoff games.
Gardiner, who is listed at six-foot-one and 189 pounds, was selected in the third round (79th overall) by Dallas in the 2023 NHL Draft. The NHL team has described him as a "reliable two-way centreman."
In 188 OHL games, he has 95 points, including 38 goals and 57 assists.
Gardiner played his minor hockey with the York-Simcoe Express, where he had 22 goals and 34 assists for 56 points in 40 games at the U15 level.
In another recent trade, the Colts acquired Tristan Bertucci from the Niagara IceDogs. Going the other way were defencemen Jack Brauti and Blair Scott, as well as three draft picks, including a fourth-rounder (Kingston) in 2025, a second-rounder (Barrie) in 2026 and a third-rounder (Windsor) in 2027.
Bertucci is also a Dallas Stars prospect. He was selected in the second round (61st overall) in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.
The six-foot-two, 180-pound defenceman, who hails from North York, was taken seventh overall by the Flint Firebirds in the 2021 OHL Priority Selection. During his 186 games as a member of the Firebirds, Bertucci has registered 107 points (22 goals, 85 assists).
Last season, the left-shot defenceman had 10 goals and 34 assists in 61 games with the Firebirds.
After finishing the 2023-24 season with Flint, Bertucci played one game for the Dallas's American Hockey League affiliate, the Texas Stars.
Prior to being traded to Barrie, Bertucci had been dealt to Niagara earlier the same day.
“When you can add a talent like Tristan to your lineup, it’s always a great day," Barrie head coach and general manager Marty Williamson said on the team's website.
"Tristan is someone we identified as being one of the top defensemen in the league this season and we feel is a great addition to our group," he added. "We’re excited to bring his talent, leadership, and character into our room and are looking forward to start working with him in the coming weeks at training camp.”
The Colts will host their training camp at Sadlon Arena from Aug. 27-29. The annual Blue-versus-White game will take place Thursday beginning at 6 p.m. Admission is free.
For more information on training camp, including pre-season games, click here.
