CREDIT: CLAUS ANDERSON OF GETTY IMAGES
With the playoffs right around the corner, new Knights' addition Mitch Vande Sompel will be a great asset to the team and will hopefully help them once again bring home the Memorial Cup.

The Ontario Hockey League (OHL) trade deadline has been extremely kind to the London Knights so far.

The additions of Dante Salituro, Mitch Vande Sompel and Mitchell Stephens have made an already talented team even better.

While they gave up considerable draft picks to acquire short-term talent, the Knights are benefiting from the excellent play of the newcomers.

Former Ottawa 67s forward Dante Salituro has been excellent in his return to the OHL; he spent much of this year sitting on the bench in the AHL and ECHL. A former 83-point player for the 67s, Salituro has scored seven points in his first six games as a Knight, including four goals. He’s smart, fast and loves to generate offence; he’s been all around the opposing team’s net in his first few weeks.

Meanwhile, after 37 points in 37 games for the Oshawa Generals, Mitch Vande Sompel is showing no signs of slowing down in London. The New York Islanders third rounder has seven points in six contests for the Knights. That includes a four-point performance against the Niagara IceDogs on Jan. 22, which earned him the OHL’s first star of the night.

Vande Sompel is smart in both zones; he skates well, makes good plays in his own zone and loves to jump into the rush. He’ll be a key player come playoff time.

Mitchell Stephens will be relied on to play more of a defensive role moving forward, but he’s also been factoring into a potent Knights offence. Stephens has a goal and four helpers through his first six games in the Forest City. He’s got great hands and is extremely crafty with the puck. He’s also great defensively and can be relied on at both ends of the ice.

After taking a few games to gel with the new faces in the line-up, the Knights are looking true to form lately.

They’ve scored 31 goals in their last six games, and four wins in their past six have put them back into first place in OHL standings. They’re tied with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds with 67 points. They also have two games in hand.

With two huge wins against Ottawa (7-2) and Niagara (11-2) on the weekend of Jan. 20, the goal scoring is a non-issue for the Knights. Their 192 goals are good enough for second place in the OHL.

Moving forward, the main issue is the depth of the Western Conference. There are six teams in the west that have more points than the Oshawa Generals, the top team in the east. That means the playoffs are going to be extremely interesting. With Owen Sound on a huge winning streak, and Erie, Sault Ste. Marie and Windsor all playing great hockey, it’s going to be tough to beat any of these teams in a seven-game series.

Throw in the dangerous Kitchener Rangers and you have six teams that could compete in the west.

In a playoff series against any of these foes, it could be depth that makes the difference. And after the busiest trade deadline of any OHL team, the London Knights are well prepared no matter who they face.