Meet the London Knights: Three preseason transfers – London | The Canadian News

It’s not about where they recruit you or even whether they recruit you or not.

The London Knights have had players who have proven it for decades.

Christian Dvorak was an eighth-round pick and, after winning a Memorial Cup in London in 2016, he is now entering his fifth season in the NHL.

Josh Anderson was never chosen in the OHL Priority Selection. He now has Dvorak as a teammate in Montreal.

Two of the best goalkeepers in franchise history are Michael Houser and Tyler Parsons. They were both free agents.

The number one goalkeeper in the Knights area right now is Brett Brochu. He was a sixth-round pick in 2018.

You get the picture.

After training practices at the training ground, two looks and the start of the preseason, the OHL London team have added three players to their 2021-22 roster.

Jacob Chantler and Abakar Kazbekov were U-18 Priority Picks and Nick Yearwood was picked 299 overall in 2020 in a draft that had 300 picks in total.

The three forwards made quite an impression from the first whistle in August and will have the opportunity to play key roles when the Knights return after a year-long absence during the COVID-19 pandemic.

No. 6 Jacob Chantler

Knights’ Choice in the First Round in the 2018 U-18 Priority Selection

From a very young age, Jacob Chantler took a close look at the London Knights. His family had season tickets and he went to game after game. The further he went, the more he began to wonder if he could go from seeing players in green and gold to being a player in green and gold.

“I don’t even remember skating outside the castle (and on the ice at Budweiser Gardens). Everything was kind of frozen, ”said Chantler.

The dream came to a very brief realization on November 29, 2019. While playing for the London Nationals, Chantler got the call to play for the Knights while they had some guys at the World Junior Selection Camp. He was good against Windsor and the plan was for him to play more games. A shoulder injury changed those plans.

“I spread my shoulder and had to rehab that, but it was a dream come true to play that game.”

Now Chantler brings his skill, level of competition, IQ and leadership qualities to a young roster where he will have a great job as one of the four forwards over the age of 18.

No. 15 Abakar Kazbekov

1st overall selection in the U-18 Priority Selection of 2021

Heading into May at OHL, hungry big youth hockey fans in and around Ontario waited to see how the draft lottery would unfold. The Sudbury Wolves took the first overall pick. The Knights landed on familiar territory at number 16.

But that wasn’t the only lottery drawing the league held. The U-18 Priority Selection lottery may not have had the same enthusiasm, but it helped London acquire a player they had been following for some time. The Knights won the lottery and used the first overall pick from Abakar Kazbekov, a highly skilled forward from Russia who had only arrived in North America midway through the 2019-20 season. Kazbekov finished that year with the Vaughan Kings, but missed the deadline to be eligible for the 2020 OHL Priority Selection, making him available a year later.

“He pushed (Vaughan) to the finals before closing,” London associate general manager Rob Simpson said. “He has a great sense of hockey and a great ability to create plays.”

No. 43 Nick Yearwood

15th selection round at OHL Priority Selection 2020

In any case, when you get your shot, you should be ready to take advantage. That’s what Nick Yearwood did during three skirmishes on training ground. He caught the attention of management and made the preseason roster.

“I went to camp wanting to show what I do best,” explained Yearwood. “I work hard. I wouldn’t be out of a job … I tried to hit hard, shoot hard, do everything hard.”

Yearwood continued to seize every opportunity. He earned a spot in the lineup for London’s second preseason game at Sarnia and was part of a 6-3 win in which he went plus two and scored a goal.

“I saw (Denver) Barkey driving through the middle and tried to pass him, but the (defender) bounced off me, so I pulled the puck into the middle and saw an opening and took it.”

It was an example of some of the results young Knights players have shown.

“This group is very skilled,” Yearwood said. “All players can (play that way) and it’s fun to watch.”