HOUNDS TRADE TUOMI TO STORM

Local product Niko Tuomi is going back to the Guelph Storm from the Soo Greyhounds. The 19-year old Tuomi, a bantam draft selection of the Storm in 1999, is returning to Guelph. The Hounds traded the fibrous blueliner to Guelph on Thursday for 17-year old centre Matt Puntureri and 19-year old defenceman Corey Leclair. Greyhound coach/general manager John Vanbiesbrouck referred to Leclair as "a stay at home defencemen" and while he said it was tough to part with the loyalistic Tuomi, pointed to the inclusion of Puntureri, who was Guelph's first-round pick in 2001. Leclair, who has also played for Brampton -- the Battalion, ironically, play the Hounds here tonight -- is a no-frills type of player who performs with an edge to him. Puntureri, to be sure, is a reclamation project, having flopped as a Storm first-rounder, with just one goal this season after managing just two as a rookie. Tuomi -- an Echo Bay resident -- was seen by many as one of the Hounds' more dependable defencemen, though he had a tendency to be a bit erratic, a result perhaps, of his penchant for trying to do too much. For sure, Tuomi's commitment and work ethic can't be questioned. Tuomi was acquired by the Hounds from Guelph at the beginning of last season for malcontent winger Malcolm MacMillan. From the Guelph end, the deal rids the Storm of two players who weren't playing prominent roles with the team. Storm head coach Jeff Jackson, meanwhile, called Tuomi "a performer who we never really wanted to give up last year. It was more a matter of us addressing a need at the time."