Troops land Van Bommel
The North Bay Battalion has acquired overage centre Rene Van Bommel in a trade with the London Knights, the Ontario Hockey League club announced Tuesday.
North Bay sent London a fifth-round pick in the 2027 OHL Priority Selection that originally belonged to the Niagara IceDogs.
Van Bommel scored 10 goals and earned 11 assists for 21 points in 66 games last season, when he accumulated 80 penalty minutes. In 148 games over three OHL seasons, he has 17 goals and 23 assists for 40 points with 167 PiM.
The Strathroy, Ont., product, who measures five-foot-11 and 185 pounds, was an 11th-round pick by London in the 2022 OHL Priority Selection from the Elgin Middlesex Chiefs U16s. He turned 20 on May 14.
“Rene is a young man with high-end character and a winning pedigree that we feel can really benefit our group,” said Adam Dennis, the Battalion’s director of hockey operations.
“We look forward to welcoming Rene and his family to North Bay.”
Van Bommel is committed to Lake Superior State University of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., for the 2027-28 season.
He’s the second Knight to join the Battalion since last season ended, after the Troops secured left winger Max Crete in a trade announced June 18. London received an eighth-round pick in 2028 that previously belonged to Niagara.
An Ottawa resident who turned 18 on April 24, Crete stands five-foot-nine and weighs 182 pounds.
Crete, who also has played centre, was a second-round selection by Niagara in 2024 from the Upper Canada Cyclones U16s.
