Wolves Prepare of ‘OHL Priority Draft’on Saturday
The Sudbury Wolves will have a busy weekend this week as one of the OHL’s storied franchises Prepares for the Eastern Conference semi-final series with the Belleville Bulls while also preparing for the 2013 OHL Priority Draft on Saturday, April 6th beginning at 9 am. The Wolves will enjoy the 7th overall selection in the draft which will feature the selection of 300 players born in 1997. The Wolves’ draft will be led by new Head Scout Andrew Shaw who joined the club last summer. The Sarnia native previously served as a Head Scout with the Brampton Battalion and the Sarnia Sting while also serving as a regional scout for the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets for the past 12 seasons.
“We have enjoyed some very good drafts of late with players such as MATHEW CAMPAGNA (5th) NICK BAPTISTE (6th) and CONOR CUMMINS (14th) selected in the first round” notes Wolves’ GM Blaine Smith. “Ken MacKenzie (assistant GM) and myself will be counting on Andrew and his scouting staff to construct a successful list of rated-players to choose from on Saturday” adds Smith. “We are confident that we are on the right path to building a championship team for Sudbury and we are also confident that this year’s draft will be one of our most successful thanks to the exhaustive and dedicated efforts of Andrew and his staff.”
Smith points to the leadership that Shaw and his experienced scouting staff have provided this year. “Andrew has been instrumental in collecting mounds of information from minor midget coaches and draft-eligible players alike” notes Smith. “We have conducted more in-depth interviews with prospective players than ever before” adds Smith. “Andrew and area scout Josh Boyd have visited with more players and their parents in their respective homes than ever before. Drafting skilled players is one thing, but drafting character players that are team-oriented and dedicated to being the best player that they can be – is equally important to us. We want to select players that lead by example, compete hard all the time and have a burning desire for success. Players like Michael Kantor and Charlie Dodero are showing us what ‘driven’ players can do to lead an OHL team to play-off success” adds Smith.
The Wolves will have 14 draft selections to work with on Saturday as a result of a trade today which saw the Wolves trade one of their 3rd round selections in the 2013 OHL draft to the Windsor Spitfires in return for a 2nd round selection in 2014 and a 5th round selection in 2016. The Wolves will have one draft selection in each of their first five rounds and two selections in the 6th round of Saturday’s OHL draft – as part of their total of 14 draft selections.
“With so many returning players and a solid group of 1995 and 1996-born prospects to work with, we felt it was the right time to move one of our two 3rd round selections to Windsor and add another 2nd round selection to our inventory next year and a 5th round selection down the road” notes Smith. Smith notes that these are draft positions that the club can also use to acquire key players by way of ‘trades’ as well.
Smith adds that this is the first time in a long time that the Wolves have enjoyed so much depth at all positions heading into the annual OHL event but points to the need to continue to add youth into their line-up. “We want to build a championship team but we also want to be a solid contender year-in and year-out and the only way we can do that is by continuing to develop young players and add good young players to our returning nucleus of experienced veterans each year” adds Smith.
The OHL draft will be conducted online and up-to-date results can be found on the Sudbury Wolves website at www.sudburywolves.com and on the OHL league website www.ontariohockeyleague.com throughout the day on Saturday.
