The London Knights started with 80 players in training camp and still have about 30 players as their roster remains in flux. The club still has multiple players away at NHL camps and even two days ahead of their season opener are unsure about whether any of them will suit up Friday. “It’s definitely still a work in progress without knowing who’s coming back and when they’re coming back from NHL camps,” said Rob Simpson, Knights associate general manager. “We have to keep working at it day to day. We’ve got to keep tabs with the NHL teams and kind of see when these guys are going to show up”. With too many talented players and not enough roster spots, the Knights traded Braidy Wassilyn, Brody Cook and Jacob Xu in the past week.They also assigned second round pick Ryker Kesler to St. Thomas of the GOHL. In exchange for Wassilyn, they acquired centre Carson Harmer from Saginaw in time for the game against Windsor Friday. “I’m excited, it’s going to be a fun night Friday because I have a lot of family and friends coming,” said Harmer who is from nearby Mitchell, Ont. The Knights wanted to add the veteran because he can help down the middle of the ice. “We felt at centre we needed to get a little bit older at that position,” said Simpson. “I think he did a good need for us down through the middle to kind of slot everybody into positions where hopefully they can be a little bit more successful Friday night”. Harmer describes himself as a “200-foot player”. “I like to contribute offensively but being good defensively too,” said Harmer who has 41 goals and 94 points over the past two years. “I played in the league for two years now, so adding more experience too will help”. When they take the ice Friday, this roster will be far from complete. Veteran Caleb Mitchell will be one familiar name to fans. “I’m really excited to play in front of the fans again,” said Mitchell, a Knights defenceman. “There’s a lot of younger guys who are experiencing the first OHL games, so it’s going to be exciting for them as well. There’s never really a rebuild year here because it’s a great coaching and a great staff. So that keeps the team good all the time and it should be a good year.”
