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Brian McNair Deadline dealing kept to a minimum The best moves Brad Selwood made at last week's trade deadline were the deals hé didn't make. You can bet there was plenty of interest in Peter Tsimikalis and Trevor Waddell leading up to last Tuesday's OHL trade deadline, but fortunately, realizing the need for some sort of balance between veterans and youth, Selwood didn't bite. - Tsimikalis, in particular, is crucial to not only putting a reasonable product on the ice for the remainder of the season, but also to help set an example for the growing stable of young players on the Oshawa Generals. By all accounts, Tsimikalis has been a model citizen since coming over last season season from Ottawa, where he had demanded a trade. Billeted this season along with rookies rookies John Tavares and Dale Mitchell, the captain has had a tremendously positive influence on the two rookies, who will serve as the cornerstone of the franchise for the next few years. And, of course, Tsimikalis has enjoyed à breakthrough season on the ice, now sixth in league scoring with 74 points in 40 games. Waddell, meantime, has stepped up and filled a valuable role on the blue-line, arguably the team's best defenceman this- season. The hope, presumably, is that Tsimikalis, Tsimikalis, Waddell and goalie Carlo DiRienzo return as overage -players next season, providing a solid core of talent for what should be a much better season (how could it be worse?) for the team. Such a plan would explain why Selwood Selwood dealt 19-year-old Slovak David Halasz, who is still battling a knee injury, for what will probably amount to a high sixth round draft pick from the Knights in 2007. .Selwood's only other deadline deal saw him land a 2005 first-rounder, Brett Pam- ham, in exchange for Gary Friesen, the lone remaining player who had been coached by George Burnett in the previous previous regime. . In other words, he has acquired a player of unknown potential, but hopefully an offensive threat down the road, for a classy veteran who will likely never be more than a third-line checker. Good move for a rebuilding team. Selwood's biggest and best deal came more than a month before, the deadline, when he sent 19-year-olds Adam Berti and Bret Nasby to the Erie Otters for Brett MacLean, Eric Regan and second . round picks in the next two drafts. Considering Considering the potential of the two 17-year- old acquisitions and the fact Erie has dropped into ninth spot in the Western Conference,-this trade is looking better with every passing day. :The Generals now have an impressive group of players born in 1988 and 1989, not to mention a superstar bom in 1990, which means there is light at the end of the long tunnel, ';For that, Selwood should be given a passing grade this season, no matter the dismal record. Brian McNair's column appears every third Wednesday. E-mail: hmcnair@durhamregion.com Mills pockets 10 grand in PGA debut HONOLULU - Jon Mills started and finished strong at the Sony Open in Hawaii, his first event as a full-time member of the PGA Tour. Mills, a 27-year-old Oshawa native, made the cut after rounds of 69-72, then shot 73-68 on the weekend to finish tied for 59th, good for a $10,914 pay cheque. He finished the tournament at two- over-par and was the best of two Canadians Canadians in the field, as Mike Weir missed the cut. Mills certainly served notice that he could hit with the big boys, finishing 12th in driving distance with an average of 305.1 yards. lie will back at it again this weekend, part of an impressive field at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in California. Scott Freeman out 4-6 weeks with broken wrist BY BRAD KELLY Sports Editor BOWMANVILLE - Maybe it was a good thing Scott Freeman used his good hand to sign a scholarship agreement with Clarkson University when he did. Just a few days after committing to the Division I Golden Knights for the fall of 2007, the talented centre and leading scorer for the Bowmanville Eagles broke his wrist as the result of a collision with a Wellington Dukes player Friday and will lose leading be out four to six weeks. Most teams would be devastated with the loss of its top point-getter, especially with the playoffs looming just three weeks from now. Bùt GM Perry Bowles is confident his team will pick up the slack. "Scott is a dynamic offensive player, but at the same time, we have a lot of depth behind Scott and we should be OK." Jason Speight filled in on the top line with Kyle Goodchild and David Ross for Sunday's easy 9-2 win over the Peterborough Peterborough Stars, and is likely to remain there, said coach Curtis Hodgins. Freeman is the top scorer on the Eagles, and is among the league leaders with 20- 43-63 totals in 42 games. While Speight will be looked upon to pick up the slack in Freeman's absence, Bowles also singled out Mike Kavanagh Kavanagh as another player capable of increasing his point production. production. As well, there may be another player out there patiently waiting for his turn to shine. "Sometimes you will get a player that you don't see as a scorer, but when he's put in the right position, he responds by scoring some key goals." Scoring hasn't posed much of a problem for the Eagles this season, putting up nine scorer against Peterborough on home ice Sunday Sunday afternoon in the first game without Freeman. Louke Oakley and Jason Speight Speight had a goal and two assists each in the victory, while Paul Michael-Rivest scored twice. Singles went to Ross, Goodchild, Andrew Fracz, Brent Small and Dan Nicholls. In the Wellington game in which Freeman Freeman was injured, Nicholls and newcomer Craig Woods, acquired from the Lindsay Muskies at the trade deadline, were the marksmen in a 2-2 tie. The Eagles (33-5-5-0) have the week' , off, before entering the stretch drive of the \ regular season Sunday at home to Lindsay Lindsay at 1:30 p.m. Just six games remain on the schedule before the playoffs commence commence the first week of February. Hands up, baby, hands up A.J. Groen/Metroland Durham Region Media Group OSHAWA - Taylon Brown of the Clarington Swim Club was using perfect form when she competed in the 15 and over 100m butterfly during the Woodland Woodland Homes Pentathlon hosted by the Oshawa Aquatic Club. The meet was held at the Donevan Recreation Complex on Saturday. A.J. Groen/Metroland Durham Region Media Group Cal Clutterbuck (15) of the Oshawa Generals hud a step on a Sarnia Sting defender during Sunday's 5-1 loss at the Civic Auditorium. Lacklustre effort results in 5-1 loss to Sarnia Sunday BY BRIAN MCNAIR Staff Editor OSHAWA - If the Oshawa Generals really hope to turn a corner down the road, they need to start taking games more seriously now. Riding a modest high after their best 10-game stretch (5-3-1-1) under head coach Randy Ladouceur, the Generals came crashing back to earth this past •weekend, dropping two very winnable games at the Civic Auditorium. Sunday's 5-1 loss to the Sarnia Sting was particularly disappointing, one that allowed the Sting (13-25-2-2) to move four points ahead of the Generals (11- 27-3-1) in the battle of the conference cellar-dwellars. It wasn't so much the outcome, but the manner in which it came about that disturbed Ladouceur. "We weren't willing .to compete hard enough in that game for me," he said afterward, "Right from the drop of the puck, we weren't willing to engage, we weren't willing to get into the fight, into the battles and consequently we got outskated, which is disappointing when you're facing a team that's played three in three nights, We looked like the team that had played three in three nights." Indeed, the Generals appeared disinterested disinterested for much of the game, although a slew of first-period penalties may have contributed to a lack of flow. The Sting won the game thanks in no small part to converting three of 13 power-play attempts. In fact, all three goals came while Sarnia had a two- man advantage, something they enjoyed on five different occasions during the game. The Generals got one back on the power play, as John Tavares tipped home his team-leading 28lh goal of the season, but not until late in the third period with the score 5-0 for the visi tors. If oddsmakers had put lines on the weekend games, the Generals may well have been favoured despite their last place standing, Heading into the week end, Oshawa had a .500 record at home while both Windsor and Sarnia had struggled badly on the road. Yet, the Generals fell behind 5-1 Friday, Friday, before losing 5-4 to the Spitfires, and never challenged the Sting at all. Asked if the inexperience of the club played a factor in the losses, captain Peter Tsimikalis downplayed that and bore the brunt of the blame himself. "I did nothing this weekend, one assist in two games, and first line guys can't be doing that," he said. "I think, to be honest, it's maybe the older guys instead of the younger guys (at fault)." To be fair, Tsimikalis was playing through an injured shoulder, perhaps explaining why he was held to just one point after amassing 73 in the previous 38 games. He expects to be back to full, strength for a busy and difficult weekend ahead, as the Generals host the Barrie Colts Friday, travel to Barrie Saturday, and are back home against the Kingston Frontenacs Frontenacs Sunday. GENERALLY SPEAKING: After relieving Kevin Couture for the third period of Friday's game, and making all 12 stops in the third, Carlo DiRienzo went the distance Sunday, facing 41 shots. The Generals have now allowed 216 goals in 42 games, 31 more than the next worst defensive team (St. Mike's).,. Defenceman Mark Katie, who went second in the 2005 draft behind John Tavares, had a goal and two assists for the Sting. Harrison Reed, with a pair, Rich Clinic and Daniel Lombardi scored the other Sarnia goals... Whitby Whitby native Kyle Musselmnn played an energetic game for the Sting, throwing his weight around throughout... Matt Viva was hit behind the play in the third period of Sunday's game and was taken to the hospital with a concussion... Rookie defenceman Brad Vawlowski was scratched for both weekend games with a concussion.