Storm Draft Flashbacks… 2005

The 2012 OHL Priority Selection will be conducted online on Saturday, April 7. With the sixth choice of the draft, Guelph Storm GM and Vice President Mike Kelly along with his scouting staff will certainly have the opportunity to add an elite player to the club for what looks like an exciting season in 2012-13. 

GuelphStorm.com looks back at OHL Priority Selections in team history including several that were headed by Kelly during his last tenure with the Storm.

2005 OHL PRIORITY SELECTION

A year after beginning his first ever OHL draft with the 19th overall pick, General Manager Dave Barr would own a much more favourable fifth overall pick in the 2005 OHL Priority Selection.  Less than 24 hours before the 9 am start time for the draft, the OHL would throw a curveball at clubs by adding 15 year old John Tavares to the eligible list under a new exceptional player rule.  The decision would cause waves in the hours preceeding Oshawa’s first overall selection with representatives for Logan Couture, the top rated 16 year old, protesting the decision. 

Despite the ramifications of the new rule, Barr would stick to his plan and select London Jr. Knights blueliner Drew Doughty with the highest Storm pick in over a decade.  Doughty would play just three seasons in the Royal City earning countless accolades and eventually be drafted 2nd overall by the LA Kings in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

Doughty was not the only OHL standout selected that day by the Storm in one of the best drafts in team history.  A total of nine players went on to play in the CHL headlined by future captains Matt Kennedy and Harry Young (Windsor Spitfires).  Also among the 2005 Storm picks were 2nd round pick Jamie Arniel, who left Guelph in his third season after demanding a trade, and London native Leigh Salters, who would return to his hometown Knights late in his fourth season.

The combined CHL totals for the Storm’s 2005 draft class are very impressive. While the top Storm picks of the day including Doughty and Arniel compare  favourably to any other draft in team history, 12th and 13th round picks Jeff Hayes and Tyler Melancon also carved out solid OHL careers with 440 regular season games combined.

Just three years after capturing Rookie of the Year honours for the Storm, Doughty was skating for the LA Kings.  As of the 2011/12 season, three players including Doughty have played in the NHL.  Joining the former Storm blueliner are Jamie Arniel, who played for Boston and Kevin Shattenkirk, who currently plays for the St. Louis Blues.

Below are the Guelph Storm’s 2005 OHL Priority Selections picks.  The combined Guelph Storm and CHL totals for the 15 players selected that day are at the bottom of the table.

		Round	Player	GP	G	A	Pts	Pim	Notes
		1	Drew Doughty	190	39	118	157	184
		2	Jamie Arniel	149	51	43	94	97	Also played for Sarnia
			CHL Totals	252	101	95	196	199
		2	Leigh Salters	170	13	26	39	262	Also played for London
			CHL TOTALS	250	34	50	84	379
		3	Doug Leaverton						Playing NCAA hockey
		4	Harry Young	51	0	6	6	31	Also played for Windsor
			CHL TOTALS	277	19	36	55	549
		5	Zane Neily	16	3	2	5	8	Played for Saint John & Saginaw
		5	Denver Manderson	10	1	1	2	16	Also played for Kitchener
			CHL TOTALS	20	1	1	2	16	Gatineau and Saint John (QMJHL)
		7	Matt Kennedy	202	71	62	133	318
			CHL TOTALS	231	79	72	151	336	Also played for Barrie
		8	Matthew Dawdy
		10	Patrick Leonard
		11	Kevin Shattenkik						Played NCAA hockey
		12	Jeff Hayes	52	8	2	10	14	Also played for Oshawa
			CHL TOTALS	250	43	55	98	58
		13	Tyler Melancon	190	32	66	98	119
		14	Daniel McCarthy
		15	Matthew Diminie
			Guelph Storm Totals	1014	215	324	539	1041
			CHL Totals	1676	351	495	846	1796