Sting Get Bigger And Stronger In Draft
Video Recap of the Sting’s First 4 Picks
By DAVE BORODY
Sarnia Sting head coach and general manager Jacques Beaulieu said he had a plan in place going into this year’s Ontario Hockey League Priority Draft.
“We had a vision in mind. We are losing several forwards so we wanted to stockpile that position. We also wanted to get bigger as a team.”
Beaulieu said after Saturday’s draft the Sting accomplished both those goals.
“I had my mind made up on Tuesday who our top three picks should be and we got all three,” said Beaulieu. “Everyone has their lists and have to live by it. Right or wrong we stuck to our list. Down the road we’ll find out about the decisions we made today.”
The Sting began the 2012 draft by selecting right-winger Brett Hargrave from the Mississauga Rebels with the 13th overall pick.
Hargrave, who calls North Bay home, stands six feet four inches and 195 pounds. In 58 games this season Hargrave had 28 goals and 36 assists for 64 points, along with 58 penalty minutes.
He helped his team win the OHL Cup last month.
“He’s a big power forward, who plays with grit and can skate,” says Jim Debenham, head scout for the Sting. “He’s going to be a big body in this league and certainly add size to our lineup.”
Debenham saw Hargrave play numerous times throughout the course of the season, whether it was in league play, tournaments or the playoffs.
“We had two or three guys identified for our selection and he was the highest of those potential picks. We are very pleased to get him.”
Beaulieu also saw Hargrave several times.
“He’s a big, strong kid who likes to compete. We think he is still untapped. He’s from the north that played just one season in the Toronto area. We see a kid with plenty of potential.”
Hargrave says he’s looking forward to coming to the Sting.
“They are a great organization. I saw the team play a couple of times this season and they had a lot of very good players. As for my game, I try and be a power forward who has a good shot, but can also make good passes to my team mates.”
OHL Central Scouting described Hargrave in this fashion.
“Brett is a player that is finally being challenged and pushed. He has played the last two years in the Great North Midget League and decided to make the move to the GTHL. Brett has a very heavy shot and he likes to shoot the puck in the offensive zone. He is not afraid to use his size to his advantage, especially in front of the net on the power play.
“He has such good hand eye coordination and he is not afraid of the abuse in front of the net. Brett has a very good understanding of the game and this allows him to find open ice and be in good shooting position to score goals.”
With their second pick the Sting selected another forward, left-winger Alexandre Renaud of the Ottawa 67s midgets. The six foot, one inch, 190 pounder had 14 goals and 20 assists in 38 games, along with 48 penalty minutes.
“Alex is another big skilled winger with a hard shot who likes to compete,” said Debenham. “I didn’t see him as much as some other guys, but he performed very well at the recent OHL Cup. He uses his big body well.”
Debenham says he expects both Hargrave and Renaud to be in the starting lineup for the Sting next season.
Renaud’s story is rather unique in that last season was his first year at the AAA level after playing two years at the AA level.
“I had a five-inch growth spurt. The bigger size certainly helped me a lot as I want to make it to the next level of my hockey career.”
As for being drafted by the Sting, Renaud said, “What a better place to go than to Sarnia. I know it’s far from home, but I couldn’t have been happier when I heard my named called by the Sting.”
When asked to describe himself as a player, Renaud said, “I’m a power forward who models my play after Milan Lucic of the Boston Bruins. I will go into the dirty areas to get the puck. But I also feel I have that vision not only to shoot the puck, but get the puck to my teammates.”
Beaulieu also likes Renaud.
“He’s the same type of player as Hargrave with the same attributes. When he says he likes to play like Lucic, it tells me he’s a hard-nosed player who knows how to play the game.”
Sarnia had no pick in the third round, but made two selections in round four.
The Sting grabbed left-winger, Jordon Addesi from the Vaughan Kings, 64th overall and eight picks later selected defenceman Josh Jacobs of the Detroit Honeybaked Under16s.
Addesi stands six feet, one inch and 175 pounds. His season was cut short by a shoulder injury where he played only 19 games and had six goals and seven assists.
“Jordon had surgery shoulder, but should be ready for training camp,” said Debenham. “He’s another big winger who I liked what I saw before he got hurt.”
Jacobs stands six feet, two inches and weighs 175 pounds. He had three goals and 11 assists in 18 games.
“Josh could be the steal of the draft,” said Debenham. “We had him ranked as high as the first round. I would say he was the best United States defenceman for the draft. He’s big and mobile and plays with an edge.”
Debenham says Jacobs has not yet committed to the OHL.
“We’ve talked to his agent. We need to work on him over the summer. To me it was a big surprise when he was still there in the fourth round.”
Asked about Jacobs, Beaulieu said, “We had him real high on our list. He’s going to be a top National Hockey League draft pick someday.”
Sarnia had two picks in round five and with one of those picks selected hometown boy, Matteo Ciccarelli of the Lambton Jr. Sting midgets. Matteo is the son of Sting co-owner Larry Ciccarelli.
“He’s a grinder,” says Beaulieu. “He plays the game the right way and deserved to be drafted where he did. Down the road he’s going to be a role player on our team.”
“It feels good,” said Matteo, when asked about being drafted by the Sting. “It’s always been a dream to someday play in the OHL. I want to be treated like everyone else.”
As for his style of play, Matteo said, “I’m an all-around player. I like to play at both ends of the rink, but I like to score goals.”
Even though the draft is now over, that won’t stop him from continuing to find players for the Sting.
He, along with Bill Abercrombie, vice-president of hockey operations, will be going to the Czech Republic next week to scout the World Under-18 Tournament.
“We need two Europeans next season,” said Beaulieu. “We’re hoping to find a gem there. We want to get a good look at as many players as we can. That’s why Bill is going, to have another set of eyes.”
Nail Yakupov of Russia is expected to be the top pick in this year’s NHL draft while Ludvig Rensfeldt of Sweden is a second round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks and will likely be in their organization next season. He would be an overager in the OHL next year.
The following is the entire list of Sting draft picks from Saturday’s draft.
