NHL Draft Day Approaches

The Sudbury Wolves are looking for more draft-day success in Pittsburgh when at least two Sudbury forwards expect to have their names called.   Wolves’ 2010 1^st rounder MATHEW CAMPAGNA is rated by RED LINE REPORT at the #101 position of the draft. Campagna was having an excellent season in the first-half of the season and was one of the league leaders in short-handed goals with four markers before he was stricken with a head injury in Peterborough in early January. The Mississauga native then spent seven weeks on the sidelines and was just starting to regain his strength when the Wolves were ousted in the first round of the play-offs by Brampton. Campagna was named the team’s TOP PERFORMER OF THE MONTH of December before suffering his injury.

Campagna is a very skilled playmaking centre that prefers to pass than shoot but his quick release is hard and accurate. Campagna is also regarded as a ‘shootout specialist’ having scored several highlight reel goals in his young OHL career. Campagna is an outstanding citizen and his engaging personality is highly regarded by the Wolves’ organization and his teammates. Mathew will likely be drafted later than he normally would be due to his long-term injury of which he has fully recovered. The NHL team that selects Mathew will be pleasantly surprised with his skill level, speed and finesse that this young prospect will provide to his team.

Wolves’ 2010 5^th round selection NATHAN PANCEL is rated to be drafted in the 5^th round of the NHL draft by RED LINE REPORT at #134 overall.   The Ottawa native had an outstanding rookie season in the OHL scoring 23 goals.   Pancel finished 4^th in league rookie scoring with 44 points in 64 games.   Pancel had a great second-half of the season and added two points in four play-off games.   Nathan also recorded a +15 rating and really improved his defensive game which allowed Trent Cull to play Nathan in all situations.   Despite his 5’10” stature, Pancel is extremely strong and plays like a ‘pitbull’ around opposition nets.  He is not afraid to stick his nose into scrums and will go into corners and generally comes out with the puck more often than not.

Nathan Pancel is one of those unheralded forwards heading into the NHL draft but so was Josh Leivo last Season before the Toronto Maple Leafs drafted Josh in the 3^rd round. Leivo went on to score 32 goals this past season. Leivo was one of the players that the RED LINE REPORT had on their rated list while many others including NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING failed to recognize. Pancel is also one of the best ‘community’ players as he eagerly participates in charitable functions and has fun in doing so. Pancel was also named as the Wolves’ ROOKIE OF THE YEAR at the team’s year-end awards banquet.

The Sudbury Wolves are very proud of Mathew and Nathan and wish them the best of fortune heading into the 2012 NHL Entry Draft scheduled for June 22 and 23^rd in Pittsburgh.

Looking ahead to the 2013 NHL draft, RED LINE REPORT has Wolves’ forwards BRODY SILK rated at #26 making the Iroquois Falls native a potential 1^st round NHL pick. Also very highly regarded is Wolves’ 2011 1^st rounder NICK BAPTISTE. The Ottawa native is presently rated at #44 or an early 2^nd round NHL selection.   Baptiste is currently high on the radar for Hockey Canada’s U18 final camp and will be looking to represent Team Canada at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament in the Czech Republic in early August. Baptiste has qualified for U18 Team Canada final camp based on his outstanding performance at the U17 tournament in Windsor in early January.