IceDogs targeting defence in Import Draft
The final of three off-season drafts is now front and centre for Joey Burke.
The general manager of the Niagara IceDogs is finalizing his list for the Canadian Hockey League Import Draft which will be held Wednesday, June 30 beginning at 11 a.m.
The IceDogs will select 18th in the first round and 105th in the second round.
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Baie-Comeau Drakkar will select first overall after completing the 2020-21 season with an 8-26-1-1 record.
The Western Hockey League’s Everett Silvertips will select second overall after winning an equal-odds lottery to determine the league’s order of selection following its abbreviated 2020-21 season.
The Ontario Hockey League’s Barrie Colts will select third overall. OHL clubs will draft in inverse order of the lottery results drawn to determine the selection order for the 2021 OHL Priority Selection. The Colts held the last pick of the first round.
Burke said the IceDogs plan to select two players.
“We have two picks but because Danil Gushchin (2020 import draft) is signed by San Jose we can put him on the NHL reserve list and then make two picks. If he doesn’t make San Jose or the AHL, then he comes back to our list and we have to get rid of our second pick.
“We’re going in making two picks but planning that only the first pick will be coming in and joining Gushchin.”
Gushchin was the fourth overall selection and highest import pick in IceDogs history.
Burke said the IceDogs have a specific game plan heading into the draft.
“All things being even I think we’re going in targeting a defenceman,” he said. “At the same time, a lot of the higher-end names being offered to us are forwards. We’re certainly not going to pass on talent just to take a need if we don’t feel it will be the right fit for us.”
Burke also made it clear signability is a key as well.
“There are top-10 NHL picks from Europe but there is no point in taking them because you’re never going to see them here,” he said. “We tried that route with (Timothy) Liljegran, the Leafs’ first-round pick a number of years ago, and it didn’t quite pan out for us. From my end, I’d like to avoid that and whoever we take is someone who is excited to commit and play in Niagara this year.”
Burke also feels it is necessary to select a player who can come in and make an immediate impact.
“We don’t want to take a guy who needs to grow for a year and get used to the pace and all that,” he said. “We want a guy who can play big minutes and make a positive impact this year and beyond.
“It’s a long process and a lot goes into it and if the player is only as good as your 10th-round Canadian kid, then it’s certainly a lot of wasted hours and money getting them over.”
Each CHL team is allowed to carry two import players on its roster in the regular season.
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