Troops look to productive Entry Draft
BRAMPTON, Ont. – The Brampton Battalion will fare better in the National Hockey League’s 2008 Entry Draft starting Friday night at Ottawa than it did a year ago in Columbus, Ohio, when the Troops were shut out for the first time.
“Last year was tough for us at the draft, but that happens sometimes, no matter who the organization is,” said Stan Butler, the club’s director of hockey operations and head coach. “I think the next few years at the NHL Draft will be pretty positive for the Brampton Battalion.”
Since 1999, the first year that Battalion players were eligible, the Troops have had 28 players taken, tied with the Plymouth Whalers for the most among OHL clubs. Four Battalion players have been first-round choices, and 12 have been tabbed in the first three rounds.
Centre Cody Hodgson leads a Battalion quartet which was rated by the NHL’s Central Scouting service in its final rankings.
Hodgson is ranked ninth among North American-based skaters, while left winger Mike Lomas and right winger Kyle DeCoste are 97th and 115th respectively. Patrick Killeen is 15th among North American-based goaltenders.
The first round of the NHL Entry Draft at Scotiabank Place is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Friday, with the second of seven rounds slated at 10 a.m. Saturday. TSN will telecast the first round live.
Hodgson, 18, led the Troops with 40 goals last season, adding 45 assists for 85 points in 68 games. A first-round choice in the 2006 OHL Priority Selection, he captained Canada’s winning entry at the World Under-18 Championship in Russia in April.
“Cody has done nothing but enhance his chances to get taken high Friday night,” said Butler. “I think he’ll go somewhere between seven and 10th overall. Anytime you can be considered one of the top 10 players at your age group in the world, it’s a huge accomplishment.”
Lomas, a second-rounder in 2006 who turns 18 on Aug. 16, recorded 13 goals and 20 assists for 33 points in 62 games.
“He’s a solid player with good potential,” noted Butler. “There might be a team that has watched him closely and thinks he can make the next step.”
DeCoste, who turns 18 on June 30, was a fifth-round choice in the 2006 OHL Priority Selection. He put up 10 goals and 12 assists for 22 points in 66 games.
“I think he’ll get picked in the later rounds,” said Butler. “He’ll be a good pick at that time.”
The 18-year-old Killeen, a fifth-rounder in 2006, played 34 games, compiling a won-lost-extended record of 20-9-2 with one shutout, a goals-against average of 2.76 and a save percentage of .908.
“I think he’ll get drafted in the mid rounds, somewhere between the fourth and sixth,” said Butler. “He’s a pretty good prospect, and I’m sure there are some teams out there that feel the same way.
“All you need as a goalie is to get drafted and get a chance to go to a camp to show them what you can do.”
