Predators’ prospect Philip Tomasino has played in just 12 games with the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League, but has produced some breathtaking numbers in that brief span. Most recently, Tomasino was named the OHL player of the month for January.
Tomasino was traded to Oshawa by his longtime team, the Niagara IceDogs, on Jan. 9 in exchange for a boatload of Oshawa’s draft selections over the next several years.
The move made sense for the Generals; they’re going to make a decent playoff push this year, and can conceivably catch Peterborough for the runner-up spot in the East Division (no one is going to come close to Ottawa). Niagara, on the other hand, is in tank mode for the rest of this season. Moving Tomasino ultimately made sense for the IceDogs, in a long-term sense, as well.
Oshawa is already heavily benefiting from Tomasino’s presence on the ice. The Mississauga, Ont. native has already amassed 26 points- 12 goals and 14 assists- in his 12 games as a General. Tomasino is averaging 2.17 points per game since the trade, compared to the 1.58 he averaged this season in Niagara. In his very first game in Oshawa, Tomasino accounted for two goals in the Generals’ 6-3 road win over Windsor. The very next day in Sarnia, Tomasino bagged another two goals in a 4-3 Oshawa win. Oshawa’s next game back home against Peterborough on Jan. 12 featured another Tomasino pair. The most important thing to point out is that the Generals are now 5-1-0 in games where Tomasino scores and 0-2-1 in games he does not.
Tomasino is right near the pinnacle of the entire OHL for total points this season; his 78 points (32 goals, 46 assists) are third only to Saginaw’s Cole Perfetti (82) and Ottawa’s Marco Rossi (81). Even this year’s popularly-projected second-overall NHL draft pick, Quinton Byfield (70), sits lower than Tomasino in points.
The Generals are 5-4-1 in their past 10 games, and are approaching another divisional showdown with Central Division leading Sudbury on Friday. With how quickly he’s putting up points, there’s no doubt the Preds will give him a longer look next training camp and preseason.
