IceDogs stock up on second day of draft
Niagara IceDogs draft pick Andrew Vermeulen is flanked by coaches Sean Teakle, right, and Jody Hull, left. Photo by: BILL POTRECZ.
Andrew Vermeulen sacrificed sleep for the thrill of seeing his name pop up on the live feed of the second day of the 2022 Ontario Hockey League draft.
Following the first three rounds Friday night, the draft picked up at 9 a.m. with the fourth round where Vermeulen was selected with the 71st overall choice by the Niagara IceDogs.
“It’s been really exciting, obviously,” Vermeulen said after taking a tour of the Meridian Centre with his parents John and Sandra. “I woke up this morning expecting to be picked pretty quickly and when it happened I was really excited.”
Vermeulen was the lone player with local ties selected by the IceDogs in the draft. The 16-year-old centre played for the Niagara North Starts this season and hails from Cayuga.
“It’s really cool to be selected by a team like this,” Vermeulen said. “They’ve had so many good players come through here and it’s really close to home, so it’s nice.”
Vermeulen collected 14 goals and 38 points for the North Stars this season.
“I think obviously I had a pretty good season and thought I improved over the season,” said Vermeulen, who attends Cayuga Secondary School. “I was getting stronger and faster toward the end and I’m going to continue to do that and that will help translate to the next level.
“I think I’m a skilled forward that can play the body and also set up plays and I slow the game down as well.”
Vermeulen said he began to think he might be able to play at the next level a few years ago.
“When I came to AAA I had to work my way up to the top spot but around peewee I started to realize I was getting pretty good and that maybe I could make the push to the next level,” he said.
The IceDogs chose defenceman Sam Dickinson with their first choice (fourth overall) Friday followed by winger Kevin He of the North York Rangers.
He made the trip to Niagara to meet with the organization Friday but Dickinson, who hails from Toronto, did not appear Friday or Saturday.
“Those are decisions the players and agents have,” IceDogs interim coach Jody Hull said. “At the end of the day it’s still a long summer and we feel he could still be a huge part of our future. He’s that type of defenceman. We just hope over time and maybe getting a better understanding of the direction will make his decisions a lot easier.”
Overall, the IceDogs chose 11 players — seven forwards, three defencemen and one goaltender. Oddly, five picks came from the North York Rangers U16 AAA squad.
“I’m not sure what the in (with North York) was with all the players,” Hull said. “We got players we wanted. We got Dickinson who we wanted, we got the He kid and we got Andrew who we liked. All players who were on our list that we’re excited to have and pieces we can fit into areas that we felt as an organization we needed to get our team better.”
The IceDogs used their pick in the ninth round to select goaltender Charlie Burns from the Soo Greyhounds U18 AAA squad.
“Charlie is a kid who we had on our list,” IceDogs goalie coach Jason Barron said. “He is of U16 age but played U18 because they didn’t have a U16 team. He was someone on our radar and kept close tabs on.
“There is a lot to like about his game. He is a good combination of size and mobility. He does a great job of taking away the bottom of the net, he’s flexile, he’s co-ordinated.”
The IceDogs have goaltender Josh Rosenzweig, Joey Costanzo and Bo Piroski under contact for next season.
“We also have some (goaltenders) we drafted as well, but we look at it as a whole department,” Barron said. “We have a good pulse of what’s going on with each of our goalie prospects and I thought today was an important day to add depth to our goalie stable.”
Hull and assistant coach Sean Teakle aided head scout Roger MacLeod and director of player and prospect development and evaluation Vince Tarantino with the draft.
“Both Sean and I facilitated a couple of scout meetings and we allowed Roger and Vince Tarantino to take control of it a little bit. We made lists and talked about players like every team does,” Hull said.
With rumours swirling of a sale of the team, Hull said he’s approaching the situation one day at a time.
“I’m under contract under the end of June like Sean is and if we get called tomorrow that we need to come and do something, we’ll do it,” he said. “I think those things work themselves out in due time. We’ll be ready for whatever is asked of us.”
Following are the IceDogs picks from the 2022 draft:
— Sam Dickinson, D, Toronto Marlies.
— Kevin He, F, North York Rangers.
— Andrew Vermeulen, F, Niagara North Stars.
— Milo Tian, F, Markham Majors.
— Oscar Wu, D, North York Rangers.
— Qiushi Han, RW, North York Rangers.
— Charlie Burns, G, Soo Greyhounds U18 AAA.
— Braedon Vis, D, Sudbury Nikel Capital Wolves.
— Matthew Little, RW, Toronto Marlboros.
— Luis Valencia, RW, North York Rangers.
— Michael Yu, RW, North York Rangers.
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