Over the past four seasons, mostly with the hapless Mississauga Chargers, the most post-season play the 20-year-old forward has seen is the minimum four games in the first round of the playoffs before the junior A Chargers were eliminated.

Now into his final season of junior hockey, the Mississauga resident wants to experience what it's like to play on a winner, on a team that has the potential to go far in the playoffs.

He contacted the Hamilton Red Wings to see if they wanted him. Little did he know that long before he made that phone call the wheels were in motion to bring Crawford to Hamilton.

“We’ve been working on it since the summer,” said Red Wings chair Stu Hyman of the deal that finally brought Crawford to Hamilton this week.

In exchange for Crawford, the Red Wings have sent goalies Adam Wingate and Paul Claxton along with forward Kelly Burchan and defenceman Tyler Campbell to Mississauga.

Crawford, who was on hand at the Dave Andreychuk-Mountain Arena on Monday night and was expected to be in the Red Wings’ line-up last night (Nov. 6) in Stouffville, was thrilled with the move to Hamilton.

“It’s a whole different atmosphere than what I’m used to,” said Crawford, who was among the top scorers in the Ontario Junior Hockey League last season with 41 goals and 57 assists in 46 games. “It feels good to be on a team that expects to win every game and that’s why I’m here.”

The Mississauga resident had seven goals and 15 assists in 12 games with the Chargers this season but had sat out the last few weeks in a bid to push the trade with Hamilton forward.

Crawford, who also spent an injury-plagued season with Saint John in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, said he hopes to fit in with the Red Wings as a team player.

“I don’t want to come in here and say I had (98) points last year, I want to play on the first line. I’m not that type of guy,” he said. “If I have to be on the third or fourth line, I really don’t care, as long as we win games."

Realistically, Crawford can expect to play on the Red Wings’ first or second line.

Head coach Mike Galati had him working out this week along side forward Josh McQuade and will likely add either Josh Vella or Zac Hyman to complete the line.

Galati doesn't want to disturb the Joey Diamond, Anthony Ruberto, Nathan Pageau line that has been clicking well and scoring a lot of goals lately.

“He’ll be a huge addition offensively,” said Galati, who has been seeking Crawford’s services since the beginning of the season. “He brings an element of toughness that we lack in some areas."

The Red Wings are hoping Crawford will provide the extra offensive punch they need not only to win a Central Conference championship, but to advance past the league quarter-finals, something no Hamilton team has ever done.

The Red Wings visit the Toronto Canadiens on Sunday night before returning to the Dave Andreychuk- Mountain Arena on Monday for a 7:30 p. m. game with Newmarket.

At the Dave Andreychuk- Mountain Arena Nov. 3, Noah Schwartz, Josh McQuade and Jeremy Goodwin scored two goals each to lead the Red Wings to a 7-5 win over St. Michael’s. Josh Vella scored the other Hamilton goal. In Toronto Nov. 1, the Red Wings fired 53 shots at the Canadiens’ net en route to a 4-1 win. Joey Diamond, Luke Watson, Josh McQuade and Nathan Pageau scored for Hamilton.