OHL champs return to London

By Jonathon Brodie/London Community News / Twitter: @jonathonbrodie It has been a little more than two months since the London Knights returned to the Forest City as a team, but the 2012 Ontario Hockey League champions were in the city to give fans one last look of the hockey club Tuesday (July 31) before a new squad takes shape for the upcoming season. “It’s good to see all the guys. Everyone takes off for the summer and you don’t get to see a lot of the boys on the team a lot, so it’s good to be back,” said Knights’ captain Jarred Tinordi, sitting beside 2012 OHL Player of the Year, Michael Houser, at the fan autograph session hosted at Toyota-Town London, located at 1065 Wharncliffe Road South. “We were a really close team, so it’s easy to pick up where we left off when we were all around each other.” A few hundred people came out for the event, coming from down the street and even as far as Toronto to check out some of the potential NHL prospects. “In the two years that I was here I found a good home here in London,” Tinordi said, selected as the 22^nd overall choice by the Montreal Canadians in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. ”You don’t know how many people are going to show up, but it shows the passion that this city has for this team all year round.” With players like Tinordi, Houser, Vlad Namestnikov, Jared Knight and Greg McKegg expected to graduate to the professional level, barring an agreement between the NHLPA and league owners doesn’t happen before the NHL season starts, the team will obviously have a new look for the upcoming season filling some holes. The autograph session coincided with the announcement of Toyota-Town, Scion-Town and Lexus of London as the new official automotive partner of the Knights. [gallery link="file"] Find us on Facebook: London Community News