GUELPH
The Guelph Storm has signed another highly-regarded draft pick.
New Jersey native Julian Ciocco, who was thought to be going the NCAA route, was signed by the club this week, the team announced yesterday.
Ciocco, his family and his adviser had been mulling over the Storm’s contract offer for a few days.
Ciocco, a 5-foot-11, 190-pound defenceman, was the team’s third-round pick in this year’s entry draft.
The Storm had him rated higher.
“We’re extremely happy we got him,” Storm coach/general manager Jason Brooks said yesterday. “We think he’s going to be a very physical presence for us down the line. We feel pretty fortunate, getting him where we did.”
Last season he played for Cushing Academy Prep School near Boston, totalling 12 points, including two goals and 10 assists in 31 games.
“We’ve got a lot of teaching to do, with him coming out of prep school. We don’t expect him to command a lot of minutes right away,” Brooks said.
The coach said he expects Ciocco to be brought along slowly, much like Ben Chiarot was his first year with the team. Chiarot flourished in his second season.