First-place Ottawa 67's pad lineup by acquiring towering D-man David Bedkowski

New Ottawa 67’s GM Jan Egert has made another splash leading into Friday’s Ontario Hockey League trade deadline.

And what a big one it was.

In the first of two deals, Egert acquired Owen Sound Attack blueliner David Bedkowski, a 6-6, 220-pounder who was selected in the third round of last spring’s National Hockey League draft by the Buffalo Sabres.

Bedkowski, a Toronto native, is the type of imposing, stay-at-home defenceman the league’s top team needed.

Over the past two seasons with the Attack, the 19-year-old former Oshawa General scored five goals and 19 assists while accumulating 131 penalty minutes in 73 games.

His size and style on the backend complements the recent acquisitions of forwards Sam McCue, Teddy Spitznagel and 20-year-old Nic Sima — all of whom are at least 6-2 and 200 pounds — that Egert completed in an attempt to add grit and toughness to the lineup for the playoffs.

“David is a unique player in our league,” Egert said in a release. “His range, mobility, strength and physicality make him an uncomfortable opponent to play against.”

To land Sima on Wednesday, the 67’s sent third- and fourth-round picks in 2027 and a second-round choice in 2028 to the Saginaw Spirit, and then they had to release 20-year-old Jack Dever before Thursday’s overage deadline.

Dever, who had played 199 games with the 67’s, was immediately signed by the Kingston Frontenacs.

To get Bedkowski less than 24 hours later, Egert parted with five draft picks: a seventh-rounder in 2026; a second and third in 2027; a third in 2028; and a fourth in 2029.

Egert brought back six draft picks with a second trade on Thursday, sending 17-year-old forward Nathan Amidovski to the Brampton Steelheads for a second-rounder in 2026, second-, third- and sixth-rounders in 2027, a third in 2028 and a fourth in 2029.

Amidovski, who the 67’s drafted 11th overall in 2024, scored eight goals and 14 assists in 86 games with Ottawa.

The 67’s, who sit first overall in the OHL standings, began a northern swing of three games in four days with a contest against the North Bay Battalion on Thursday.

They’ll return home to face the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques on Jan. 16 in the first of a two-game “Battle of the Ottawa River,” reviving a series that had been on hold since 2020.