Rookie rewind for Storm

Storm City has waited a long time to see a pair of 16 year olds post offensive numbers like Hunter Garlent and Jason Dickinson have in 2011-12.

Drafted by Guelph in the 1st and 2nd rounds respectively of the 2011 OHL Priority Selection, Garlent and Dickinson both rank among the top 1995 born scorers with a little less than two weeks remaining in the campaign.

Garlent, taken by the Storm with the 10th pick of the draft, ranks second among all 1995 born players with 39 points (13 goals and 23 assists).  The Welland native missed a handful of games over the Christmas holidays when he led Team Ontario in scoring at the World Under 17 Hockey Challenge in Windsor, Ontario.  No question, seeing where he stacked up against the best 16 year olds in the world has only boosted Garlent’s confidence as he has collected 18 points in 23 contests since his return.

Selected one round later at 32nd overall, Jason Dickinson has no doubt surprised many with his offensive output.  While Garlent was starring at the Under-17’s, Dickinson seemed to discover his scoring touch with the Storm.  Since starting the season with 7 points in his first 28 games, the Georgetown native has racked up 25 points in 29 contests.  Dickinson’s 32 points this year leaves him in a tie for 4th among all 1995 born players.

It’s been over 10 years since two Guelph players ranked among the 16 year old scoring leaders.  When the Storm moved to the Sleeman Centre to open the 2000-01 season, a pair of fresh faces in Daniel Paille and Dustin Brown impressed in their first year posting 53 and 45 points respectively.

2011-12 1995 born scoring leaders* (Aaron Ekblad is born in 1996)