Battalion makes McIvor first of 16 selections
BRAMPTON, Ont. – The Brampton Battalion chose defenceman Marcus McIvor of the Whitby Wildcats minor midgets with its first-round pick in the Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection on Saturday.
A six-foot-two, 190-pound right shot, McIvor, who turns 16 on May 20, scored 15 goals and earned 37 assists for 52 points in 71 games with Whitby.
“I’m very excited,” McIvor, taken ninth overall, said via telephone. “I’d heard a lot of teams were interested in me, and I’m thrilled to be taken by Brampton.”
A native of Ajax, Ont., McIvor is the first blueliner selected by the Battalion in the first round since John de Gray in 2004. The Troops took another right-shot defenceman, Dylan Blujus of the Buffalo Regals major midgets, with their second pick.
The Battalion selected 16 players, all born in 1994, made up of four centres, two left wingers, two right wingers, five defencemen and three goaltenders.
The 20 OHL clubs, making selections via the Internet from remote locations connected to the league office, picked 301 players over 15 rounds. The Niagara IceDogs had two first-round choices after receiving the eighth overall pick as compensation for the failure to report last year of left winger Lucas Lessio.
“I’m a big, mobile defenceman who sees the ice well and can make a good first pass,” said McIvor. “I really want to play in the OHL and I’ll be ready. I’m going to have to work hard over the summer. I know I’ll have to work for everything I get.”
OHL commissioner David Branch coached the Wildcats.
“Marcus was usually given the assignment of shutting down the other team’s top guy,” Branch told the Belleville newspaper The Intelligencer for an April 22 story. “As a player, his greatest asset is his offensive side. He has an OHL shot right now, makes a great first pass, sees the ice better than most and has all the physical tools.”
Added Branch: “I’ve coached for a long time and I’ve never met a better leader. He’s sensitive to his teammates and supports them. He has incredible perception. There’s no arrogance with Marcus. Nothing has been handed to him. He really gets it.”
The Battalion didn’t have a second-round pick, having dealt it to the Guelph Storm in a trade for goaltender Thomas McCollum in January, 2009.
With a third-round choice, 60th overall, the Battalion grabbed Blujus. The pick, which originally belonged to the Windsor Spitfires, was acquired from the Owen Sound Attack on June 24, 2008, for left winger Mike Lomas. The Troops traded their own selection in the third round to the Plymouth Whalers for defenceman Zack Shepley on Dec. 7, 2007.
A resident of Amherst, N.Y., Blujus, six-foot-three, 195 pounds, produced five goals and 17 assists for 22 points in 48 games.
“I’m really happy to get picked by the Battalion,” Blujus said via telephone. “This is the team I was hoping would pick me. I’m a defensive defenceman, and I think I’m a smart player who makes good passes. I’m a competitive player and I’m working on my offensive game. I’ll be working hard over the summer to get ready.”
Blujus’s selection marked the second time that the club made defencemen its first two picks. In its first OHL Priority Selection, in 1998, the Battalion took Jay Harrison with the first overall pick and Tyler Hanchuck in the second round.
The Battalion, which dealt its fourth-round pick to the Kingston Frontenacs for left winger Matt Kang a day before the McCollum deal, had two choices in the fifth round, its own at 89th overall and the first in the round, No. 82, acquired from the Sarnia Sting for right winger Matt Smyth on June 26, 2007.
The Battalion first selected left-shot centre Matt Lane of the Mississauga Reps minor midgets. Lane, whose older brother, Philip, scored 18 goals as a rookie right winger with the Troops in 2009-10, had 34 goals and 41 assists for 75 points in 64 games. He is a five-foot-eight, 160-pound native of Rochester, N.Y.
The Battalion then plucked left winger Adam Lloyd of the Ottawa Jr. 67’s minor midgets. A Winnipeg native who lives in Orleans, Ont., the five-foot-10, 160-pound Lloyd scored 29 goals and added 45 assists for 74 points in 43 games.
In the sixth round, the Troops chose left-shot centre Cody Bradley of the Toronto Jr. Canadiens minor midgets at No. 109. Bradley, whose father, Brian, played 651 games with four National Hockey League teams, had 23 goals and 43 assists for 66 points in 59 games. A five-foot-six, 145-pound native of Tampa, Fla., who lives in Bolton, Bradley turns 16 on May 26.
The Battalion had two picks in the seventh round, its own at 129th and that of the Ottawa 67’s seven slots later. It was acquired last June 10 for right winger Andrew Merrett.
The first choice was left-shot centre Connor Jarvis of the Toronto Young Nationals minor midgets. Jarvis, five-foot-eight and 150 pounds, recorded 26 goals and 38 assists for 64 points in 83 games. He turns 16 on Aug. 27.
Goaltender Emerson Verrier of the Whitby minor midgets was the next pick. Verrier, six feet and 190 pounds, had six shutouts and a 1.37 goals-against average in 37 games. British-born in London, Verrier is a Whitby resident.
In the eighth round, at No. 149, the Battalion tabbed left-shot defenceman Brenden Miller, six feet and 160 pounds, of the York Simcoe Express minor midgets. A resident of Orangeville, Miller had 15 goals and 15 assists for 30 points in 60 games.
Right-shot centre Jordan Poirier of the Markham Majors minor midgets was taken in the ninth round, 169th overall. A Markham, Ont., resident, the six-foot-two, 170-pound Poirier amassed 24 goals and 37 assists for 61 points in 53 games. He turns 16 on Aug. 13.
In the 10th round, the Battalion chose left-shot defenceman Jordan McNaughton, five-foot-nine and 170 pounds, from the Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs minor midgets with the 189th pick. A resident of Komoka, Ont., he scored 10 goals and added 36 assists for 46 points in 56 games.
The 11th-round pick, 209th overall, was goaltender Dalton Izyk of the Syracuse Jr. Nationals. Izyk, a six-foot-two, 190-pound resident of Oswego, N.Y., posted a 2.33 goals-against average in 24 games.
Goaltender Alex Lepore of the Reps was taken in the 12th round, 229th overall. A Toronto native, the six-foot 175-pounder played 33 games, posting seven shutouts and a 1.82 goals-against average.
In the 13th round, 249th overall, the Troops tabbed right winger Emmerson Small of the Brampton Battalion minor midgets. Small, six-foot-two and 165 pounds, had 31 goals and 26 assists for 57 points in 55 games.
Defenceman Jeffrey Markus of the Jr. Canadiens was a 14th-round choice, 269th overall. Markus, a five-foot-11, 165-pound left shot, scored three goals and added 16 assists for 19 points in 59 games.
The Battalion had back-to-back picks in the 15th round, its own at 289th and Kingston’s selection, acquired for defenceman Stephane Chabot on Sept. 25, 2007.
The first pick was right winger Liam Bird of the Hamilton Jr. Bulldogs minor midgets. A five-foot-10, 145-pound resident of Ancaster, Ont., Bird scored 17 goals and added 13 assists for 30 points with 131 penalty minutes in 58 games.
The Battalion’s final pick was left winger Mitchell Byrne of the Nickel City Sons minor midgets. The five-foot-11, 180-pound Sudbury native had 19 goals and 23 assists for 42 points in 34 games.
With the first overall pick, Sarnia selected centre Alex Galchenyuk of the Chicago Young Americans minor midgets.
