Attack Add Talent In 2020 OHL Draft
The Owen Sound Attack continued to stockpile talent through the 2020 OHL Draft after selecting forward Cedrick Guindon with the 10th overall pick.
The Attack held the 37th overall selection in the 2nd round, where General Manager Dale DeGray opted for Centre Gavin Bryant from the Brantford 99ers. Attack Director of Scouting David McNamara was full of praise for the forward: “He’s a great two way player. He has high end hockey sense and makes others around him better. We see a lot of leadership potential in him, and he’ll be a sneaky good point getter.” Bryant scored 14 goals and added 26 assists in 31 games with the 99ers this season.
With the 50th overall pick, Owen Sound opted for defenseman Madden Steen from the Guelph Jr. Gryphons. Steen found the back of the net 11 times with 16 assists from the blueline in 2019-20. Attack Director of Player Development Sean LaFortune says: “He’s a two way defender. He plays a very simple yet efficient offensive game. He has good feet, he’s hard to play against and he’s going to slot into the lineup from day one, and work his way up from there.”
Eight picks later, the Attack added another forward. Lorenzo Bonaiuto from the Toronto Marlboros went 58th overall to the Bears. This past season, Bonaiuto was one of the leading scorers on one of the best teams in the province, notching 17 goals with 15 assists in 33 games. LaFortune says: “Bonaiuto mixes competitiveness and skill very well. He finishes plays and he’s going to mesh really well with the other players we’ve added today.”
Owen Sound had to wait until the 76th pick for their next selection. With it, the team drafted defenseman Cédricson Okitundu from the Waterloo Wolves. In 30 games, the blueliner scored six times and had 12 helpers. LaFortune’s scouting report includes:
“He’s a defense first, competitive guy. Moves pucks really hard, supports the rush when needed, but better in his own end. He could easily make the club this next year.”
The Attack selected their first goaltender in the draft at pick #80. Corbin Votary was one of the top ranked goalies on the Attack’s draft board, and GM Dale DeGray was happy he landed him in the 4th. DeGray says: “He’s got great size, he’s going to compete for pucks, and he can really handle the puck well.” In 18 games with the Quinte Red Devils this year, Votary had a sparkling 1.28 GAA.
Isaac Howard was the selection with Owen Sound’s first pick in the 5th round, 87th overall. Howard is currently committed to the NTDP in the United States, but LaFortune loves the upside: “Howard is a dynamic offensive player, one of our top ranked Americans. He’s a goal scorer who plays on the wing but could play anywhere. We hope after his commitment to the NTDP, he could play in Owen Sound.” In 38 games this season with Shattuck St. Mary’s, Howard scored 31 times with 33 assists.
The Attack returned to Ontario with the 90th pick in the draft. Going to the York-Simcoe Express, Owen Sound selected forward Jack Piper. LaFortune says: “Piper is competitive, a workhorse and almost averaged a goal per game in a competitive loop. Plays heavy and aggressive with skills to back it up.” Piper scored 32 goals in 33 games and added some playmaking with 14 assists.
With a pair of picks in the sixth round, the Attack grabbed scoring forward Joey Muldowney out of the Buffalo Regals program. In 32 games in the SCTA this season, Muldowney notched 22 goals and assisted on 28 more.
The team’s second pick in the sixth was used to select Kingston Jr. Gaels Defenseman Jackson Barnes. The 112th overall pick scored once this year in 35 games and added ten assists. Director of Scouting Dave McNamara says: “He’s a good sized defenseman who moves pucks and is hard to play against. He plays a simple game, but it’s very effective.”
Owen Sound held no pick in the 7th round, but had two in the 8th. The first was used on Richmond Hills Coyote forward Julian Fantino. In 33 games this season, Fantino scored 25 times and added 21 assists. McNamara says: “He has great hands and plays with a high pace. He’s a big numbers guy and should put up good points. He’s a shooter.”
The second 8th-round-pick was used on forward Trevor Hoskin from the Kingston Jr. Gaels. In 36 games with the Gaels, Hoskin put 11 pucks into the net and was in on 18 more goals with assists. LaFortune says: “He’s a highly skilled, two-way pivot that led his team offensively and competes for pucks. He’s undersized now but has a lot of room to grow, plenty of potential.”
The Attack had no ninth round selections, but once again had two picks in the tenth. The organization took another dip into the the Richmond Hill Coyotes program for Jared Coccimiglio. The forward was a near point per game player in the OMHA this season with 19 goals and 11 assists in 34 games. LaFortune calls him: “A high engine player that doesn’t take any shifts off. He combines that with playmaking ability. If he grows a bit more, he has a lot of potential.
Owen Sound went south of the border for their second pick in the 10th, this time taking defenseman Brian Robertson out of the Detroit Compuware Program. Robertson played 13 games this season, picking up 2 goals and 3 helpers. LaFortune says: “He trends more to the defensive side, but he can play both ways and he definitely has the caliber to play in our top four someday.”
Returning back to the States for a defenseman, the team used their 11th round selection on Patrick Czarnecki, a Detroit Honeybaked product. Czarnecki played 62 games this past season, scoring 6 times and adding 28 assists. LaFortune has praise for the young defender: “Czarneck is a high end offensive defenseman. He plays for a fantastic program, he could be a powerplay quarterback type that could lead the offense for us.”
In the 11th, Owen Sound opted for Taos Jordan out of the Whitby Wildcats program of the OMHA. Jordan is a defenseman that played in 36 games this past season, with 9 goals to go alongside 19 assists for 28 points. Director of Player Development Sean LaFortune says: “He’s a smart, two way guy. Really led the power play in Whitby and came on strong as the year ended. He’s really trending in the right direction.”
With the Attack’s 13th round pick, the team went back to the Brantford 99ers program for Luke Bibby. The forward scored 14 times this season in 30 games, and showed passing ability with 12 assists. McNamara says: “He’s a smaller kid what will just as soon run you over than go around you. He has some speed and some skill.”
The final pick of the afternoon for Owen Sound went to select local product Charlie McKenzie of the Grey-Bruce Highlanders. The left shot defenseman played in 32 games this season and racked up 3 goals and 5 assists. LaFortune praised his grit: “McKenzie is a physical, hard to play against defender with a really good shot. He competes hard and if he puts it all together he has a real opportunity at playing for us.”
The Owen Sound Attack welcome our eighteen new players and families into the organization, and look forward to getting started at training camp in August.
Full draft results are available online
