Blackhawks Prospect Report: Gavin Hayes Gets Traded by Flint

Here’s one for the new year. Fresh off a gold medal in the World Juniors, Gavin Hayes will headed to another new team. The Soo Greyhounds swung a deal with the Flint Firebirds to acquire Hayes, which not only puts him on the top team in the West Division, but with his brother Travis.

The Firebirds have acquired Alex Kostov, Connor Clattenberg, a second round pick, a third round pick, a fourth round pick and a fifth round pick from the Soo Greyhounds in exchange for Gavin Hayes.

📰: https://t.co/eFl8ByQR3I pic.twitter.com/DIuRkdWJI1

— Flint Firebirds (@FlintFirebirds) January 7, 2024

For the Soo, it gives them a chance to acquire a top flight scorer who brings in 19 points and 36 points to a team trying to not only win the OHL, but get to a Memorial Cup. For the Firebirds, they reload with a couple players and picks.

Hayes? He’s reunited with his brother and gets to play on a team nicely positioned for a long playoff run. This also helps since it could build even more confidence in the way of scoring on the team sitting fourth in team goals.

The 19-year-old winger has a chance to be a real key piece for the Blackhawks. Getting him on a team that could go deep in the playoffs along with seeing his production increase as a result is good news. Hayes saw his playing time dwindle with the US team during the WJCs. Last season in the OHL playoffs, he only saw seven games with two assists as Flint exited quickly.

This is certainly an intriguing chance for Hayes, Soo, and the Blackhawks. But it’s not everyday brothers have a chance to play meaningful hockey together. Perhaps that’s the best part of all.

Nick Lardis Continues His Dizzying Pace

Nick Lardis keeps climbing, sitting third in goals with 29. He had three in his last two games, including a pair on Friday in a 7-4 loss to Sudbury. He’s now just five goals from being the tops in the league, and in what might be another heist for the Blackhawks in the draft, the 2023 third-round pick has done nothing but score goals this season and has 47 points in 36 games.

Yes, Gavin Hayes is on the move via trade. But Lardis is moving up the charts when it comes to not only scoring in the OHL, but also the Blackhawks prospects rankings.