IceDogs confident heading into draft
Centre Shayne Wright of the Don Mills Flyers is expected to be selected first by the Kingston Frontenacs in Saturday’s OHL Priority Selection. Photo by: OHL IMAGES
The Niagara IceDogs plan to be more than just spectators at the Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection Saturday.
The IceDogs don’t have selections in the second and third rounds, but general manager Joey Burke feels confident the club will be able to pick up an important piece for their future when they select 17th in the first round.
“A very high-end player for sure,” Burke said, when asked what the IceDogs feel they can get in the first round. “This year is an interesting draft. There are the top five guys who should go one through five that everyone is anticipating and then there’s a group of about 20 guys that could go in any direction.
“It’s certainly a deep draft in that sense. We know there will be a high-end player there for us.”
Centre Shayne Wright of the Don Mills Flyers is expected to be selected first by the Kingston Frontenacs while Flyers teammates Brandt Clarke and Brennan Othmann could also go in the top three.
Burke dealt Niagara’s second- and third-round picks this season in trades and is attempting to pick up a third-round selection before the trade freeze at 3 p.m. Friday. Teams can deal picks, but not players, until the deadline.
The IceDogs own picks in all other of the 15 rounds, including two selections in the eighth.
“I’m working on trying to turn the fourth into a third if I can. It gives us a little bit more extra help. You plan according who you think might be there for you in the fourth and guys you hope may fall and you identify it that way.
“There’s always surprises on draft day. You’re looking for the best player possible and often there is a guy you don’t anticipate being there that surprises you and falls to where you are picking.”
Burke said ideally the IceDogs would like to pick up a defenceman with their pick in the first round.
“Having moved Lleyton Moore and Billy Constantinou, defence would be a need,” he said. “With that being said, if we’re able to get a third-round puck and we believe a high-end defenceman will be there similar to the calibre of what’s there at the end of the first round, then maybe we’ll have more flexibility to take a forward you know won’t have that talent level in the third.
“Last year I would have said forward was more of a need than defence but Moore was such a high-end defenceman we said we would make it work.”
The IceDogs are in the hunt for a Memorial Cup and went all in dealing some of their future for veterans such as Matt Brassard, Jacob Paquette, Jason Robertson and Jack Studnicka.
“No regrets at all,” Burke said. “If you look at all the talent we have, we believe we can go toe to toe against anyone in this league or in this country. We think we’re that strongly built.
“Robertson is the best offensive player in the league and Studnicka is the most complete forward. Those are the kind of guys who will get better and better as the playoffs go and you can win with those guys where Moore is going to be a superstar in this league, but he’s not going to be a superstar in this series.
“We’ve got a real chance to go for it so we went all in.”
And while the IceDogs won’t have a full set of picks heading forward, Burke said that doesn’t mean the future is bleak for the organization.
“I think people are sleeping on us a bit. I think they’re going to think we’re going to be younger and way worse than we’re going to be,” he said. “We’ll be returning quite a bit and have our choice of an unbelievable group of 99s that will be back for overagers.
“We’ll have some game breakers and two of the best players in the league in Akil (Thomas) and (Phil) Tomasino if we do get them back.”
Burke said he’s also been encouraged with reports on some of the club’s top prospects.
“We have some high-end prospects that have really impressed that we think we can get signed. I’m very confident. I think our 02 and 03 group are very strong. We’ll be more competitive than people give us credit for.
“Having never missed the playoffs if our organization’s history, we don’t plan on starting.”
Among the local players who could get drafted are Parker Hendsbee and Matteo Giampa of the Niagara North Stars and Blake Hall of the Southern Tier Admirals.
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