Fan favourite Zach Shankar has been traded by the North Bay Battalion to the Niagara IceDogs, the Ontario Hockey League club announced Thursday.
The Battalion received a fifth-round pick in the 2019 OHL Priority Selection in exchange for overage defenceman Shankar.
The six-foot, 198-pound resident of Prescott, Ont., played three seasons with the Troops after being chosen in the fourth round of the 2013 OHL Priority Selection.
Shankar played a total of 165 games with the Battalion, scoring seven goals and earning 39 assists for 46 points while accumulating 212 penalty minutes. In 67 games last season, he had four goals and 24 assists for 28 points with 120 penalty minutes.
The move brings the team down to the overage limit of three. Overage returnees currently on the North Bay roster include defencemen Riley Bruce and Jesse Saban, and centre Brett McKenzie.
The Battalion opens training camp Monday with fitness testing before players take to the Memorial Gardens ice for three days starting Tuesday.
