TORONTO, Ont. - The Toronto Patriots and Burlington Cougars pulled off a blockbuster deal Thursday.

In the deal, the Pats acquired forwards Zach Lawrence and Josiah DeGazon in return for forwards Evan Benwell and Michael Boushy.

Lawrence, 20, is a native of Burlington, and scored 19 goals while adding 48 points through 60 contests for the Junior B St. Catherines Falcons a year ago. He has five goals and eight points in 15 appearances for his hometown Cougars this campaign. Lawrence spent three full seasons in the Greater Ontario Junior 'B' Hockey League with the Ancaster Avalanche, and the Falcons, before joining Burlington this past off-season. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound left-shot winger is an alumnus of the Burlington Eagles minor hockey system.

DeGazon, 18, has 37 points in 64 Ontario Junior Hockey League contests between this year and last, all with the Cougars. A native of Mississauga, the 6-foot-1, 170-pound winger featured for his hometown Rebels in the 2017 Telus Cup, and earned a U18 Ontario Hockey League draft selection from the Barrie Colts in the third round. DeGazon posted a point in four contests for the Mississauga Senators minor midgets in the 2016 OHL Cup.

Toronto also acquired the Junior 'A' rights to goaltender Mario Peccia. Peccia, 19, appeared in 22 Ontario Hockey League games over the the last two seasons, most notably backing up former Patriots' net minder Jeremy Helvig with the Kingston Frontenacs in 2016-17. The Toronto native is 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, and had yet to appear for the Oshawa Generals, who owned his OHL rights.

The price the Pats paid was certainly hefty.

Boushy, 19, joined Toronto from Burlington mid-way through last season, and went on to score 19 times and add 29 assists in 60 contests for the Patriots. An alumnus of the Hamilton Jr. Bulldogs minor hockey system, Boushy has 208 OJHL games under his belt, posting 137 points over that span.

Benwell, 18, had 41 points in 67 games for Toronto in his rookie campaign last year, and is property of the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL, who took him out of the Mississauga Rebels midgets in 2017. Evan's older brother Oliver spent two years with the Pats before departing last off-season for the Johnstown Tomahawks of the North American Hockey League.