Romani a surprise? Nope

Anthony Romani stands on the verge of a 50-goal season but, to hear some marvel at the pending achievement, it’s a bolt from the blue. That’s not the case in the eyes of the North Bay Battalion’s brain trust.

Right winger Romani has 49 goals and 48 assists for 97 points in 60 games, one point behind David Goyette of the Sudbury Wolves in the Ontario Hockey League scoring race before Sudbury’s date Friday night with the visiting Windsor Spitfires, against whom Romani scored two goals in a 7-2 home-ice win Thursday night.

Romani, a third-round pick, 41st overall, in the 2021 OHL Priority Selection from the Toronto Jr. Canadiens U16s, has career totals of 80 goals and 74 assists for 154 points in 180 games over three seasons. He scored eight goals in 54 games as a rookie and 23 goals in 66 games in 2022-23.

The next goal by Romani, who turns 19 on July 12, will make him the third player in franchise history to record 50 in a season, after overager Justin Brazeau’s 61 in 2018-19 and 19-year-old Mike Amadio’s 50 in 2015-16. No one did it in the 15 years the club was based in Brampton.

The emergence of Romani, who’s been a leading scorer at every age level, has come as no surprise to coach Ryan Oulahen.

“I think, when you see his pedigree, No. 1, he’s done it his entire life, ever since he was eight, nine, 10 years old,” Oulahen noted this week.

General manager Adam Dennis tipped his hat to his assistant.

“I’ve got to give John Winstanley, our assistant general manager, a lot of credit. He had known the Romani family for a very long time, had seen what he’s able to do at a young age, and when we drafted him I can honestly say that I wasn’t as sure as John was that he’d be in this situation. We got him in the third round, and it was a funny year to begin with, because it was the pandemic.

“(Director of scouting) Charlie Abbott reminded us the other day that Johnny said, ‘At one point, Anthony Romani’s going to lead this league in scoring.’ Did we think it was going to be at 18? It’s early, for sure, but we knew that he was capable of this, and Mother Nature’s obviously taken its course as well, because he’s grown quite a bit since we drafted him.

“But when you’re a kid like Anthony and you just solve problems, you find ways to get things done, and he’s done that. People have questioned parts of his game. He’s worked on every facet.”

Passed over in the National Hockey League Draft in 2023, his first year of eligibility, Romani figures to be selected in Las Vegas this June.

“I think that they’re starting to lean in a little bit more and taking a little bit more seriously something that we all knew that he was capable of last year,” Dennis said of NHL clubs. “But now teams are starting to dig in and dig a little deeper and seeing what makes him like this and why we felt so confident he could do it.”

Part of the equation has been the Battalion’s depth the last two seasons, when Romani and linemates Dalyn Wakely and Owen Van Steensel were backed up behind the likes of Matvey Petrov, Mitchell Russell, Kyle Jackson and Kyle McDonald. Now the trio makes up the top line.

Centre Wakely was a second-round pick, 30th overall, in 2020 from the Quinte Red Devils minor midgets after being touted as a top-10 choice. Having fallen to the middle of the second round, apparently on claims of inconsistent effort that have proved totally unfounded, he was a player the Troops couldn’t let pass.

Wakely, who turned 20 on Tuesday, has 35 goals and 54 assists for 89 points in 59 games, tied for third in the OHL points parade before games Friday night. His career totals are 192 games, 85 goals, 87 assists and 172 points.

Left winger Van Steensel, 19, was selected in the fourth round, 63rd overall, in 2020 from the Elgin Middlesex Chiefs minor midgets, with whom he played on a line with Brady Stonehouse and Zander Veccia, who went in the second and third rounds respectively to the Ottawa 67’s and Mississauga Steelheads.

Abbott pounded the table for Van Steensel, who led the Chiefs in scoring with 23 goals and 39 assists for 62 points in 33 games while Stonehouse generated 54 points and Zeccia 46. The checking duties assigned to Van Steensel early in his OHL career led some to consider him a defensive forward, but his varied skills, including offensive flourish, have prompted Oulahen to term him the “ultimate Battalion” player.

In 191 games, he has 55 goals and 83 assists for 138 points.