London Knights acquire goalie Austin Elliott, waive two veteran players

Austin Elliott, a former Saskatoon Blades goalie, was acquired by the London Knights on Oct. 16, 2024 (Source: CTV Saskatoon)

The London Knights have solved their log jam when it comes to overage players.

The defending OHL Champions have brought in goalie Austin Elliott, a former all-star in the Western Hockey League to be the starting goalie.

With only three overage players allowed, corresponding moves had to be made so the club has released Owen Willmore and Alec Leonard.

“Anytime you have players that have been with you for multiple years, and you build relationships with these young men and you've won championship now with them, then you know, you have to make tough decisions for your hockey club,” says Rob Simpson, Knights associate GM.

“It's very difficult because you get to know them more than just hockey players and more on a personal level and get to know their families and the players and, and become close.”

To acquire Elliott, the Knights sent a 14th round pick to the Barrie Colts who had claimed him recently off waivers.

Elliott appeared in 85 career WHL games, going 58-14-5-1 with a .906 save percentage (SV%) and 2.37 goals-against average (GAA). He was named to the 2022-23 CHL All-Rookie Team, Elliott is in sole possession of eighth in Blades franchise history for wins, and has the fourth most shutouts in franchise history with six.

“He’s used to this environment and the pressure because Saskatoon had very good teams and they obviously play in front of 12-13,000 people,” adds Simpson. “He's used to that kind of pressure cooker and the light being on him.”

Overage spots are valuable, and there is difficult to acquire anything of value for a 20-year-old player. That’s why Willmore and Leonard were released.

“You see around the league there's a few players that are caught in that situation and there's only so many spots,” says Simpson. “Goaltender and defencemen are tough spots. There's only so many openings and year to year.”

The Knights are naming their captains Wednesday evening, and with the return of Landon Sim and Jacob Julien, the club is thrilled with their roster.

“We didn’t know if we'd get all of our 2005’s and 2004’s back,” says Simpson.

“Even with our 2004's Landon and Julien, these guys continue to progress. Landon and and Julian, you never know. Especially when these these guys have, you know, won at the level when they're younger and and continued to progress. From our standpoint, it gives us a much better chance to have a winning season."