IceDogs thrilled with draft haul
Defenceman Caden Bell was selected in the third round of the 2025 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection. Photo: BILL POTRECZ
Adam Henrich was like a kid on Christmas morning playing with all his new toys when asked about the 2025 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection.
The Niagara IceDogs director of scouting was all smiles after the draft wrapped up Saturday afternoon when discussing the team’s 16 selections.
“Really good,” he said. “We have the best players available. We got players that we had rated in the first round and we got them in the third, fourth and fifth. Like you can’t ask for anything better, right?
“In this draft, it was different. There’s so many talented players and you saw guys go to all levels. But we stuck to the plan like we did in the past. We took highly skilled players who compete, who are hungry, and that’s what we got.”
The first three rounds of the draft were held Friday night. With their first-round pick (10th overall) the IceDogs selected centre Ryerson Edgar of the York Simcoe Express followed by defenceman Caden Bell (32-10-19-29) of the Don Mills Flyers in the third round (49th overall). The team did not have a pick in the second round.
“Caden Bell, (we had him rated) late first round, we got him in the third,” Henrich said.
Bell, who hails from Scarborough, made the trip to Niagara Saturday.
“It was just an honour to get drafted by this team,” he said. “It just felt great getting drafted, especially the first day. It just means a lot to me.”
Bell feels he is a good fit for the IceDogs who are in need of help on defence.
“It’s amazing, especially that they need D. It’s just a great organization to come to.”
Bell plans to work out this summer in preparation for training camp.
“It’s a pretty big jump. I’ve got to get bigger, stronger, faster to get to the next level but that all comes with my hard work and what I do in the summer.”
The IceDogs added forward Michael Tang from the Toronto Titans in the fourth round.
“He’s another guy we had late in the first round,” Henrich said.
Tang, who had a whopping 52 goals and 128 points in 784 games with the Toronto Titans U16AAA squad this season, committed to the Madison Capitols of the United States Hockey League recently.
The IceDogs added goaltender Connor Haffner from the Upper Canada Cyclones U16AAA with their fifth-round selection.
“He’s a top two or three goalie and we got him late,” Henrich said. “Big size (6-foot-2) and competes, won games for his team.”
Henrich said he felt it necessary to add more depth at the goaltending position.
“You assess what we have and there’s always changes that are being made through the summer and the season,” he said. “I thought it was a necessity to get a big goalie that has some potential that can be part of the program. That’s what we got. I think every year I try to take one or two of those and then you sort of build with that.
“Haffner is basically as big as (Matthew) Humphries. He’s amazing. He was our 1A, 1B goalie off the board”.
Forward Tyler Lee of the Don Mills Flyers U16AAA was selected in the sixth round.
“We had him in the first round,” Henrich said.
The team selected local players Justin Flora of St. Catharines, who played with the North York Rangers, and defenceman Ethan Dixon of Fonthill, who played with the Southern Tier Admirals.
Overall, the IceDogs drafted six defencemen, six wingers, three centres and a goaltender.
The IceDogs will hold their rookie development camp next weekend where Edgar is expected to attend.
Following are the IceDogs 2025 draft selections:
1. Ryerson Edgar, C, first round, 10th overall.
2. Caden Bell, D, third round, 49th overall.
3. Michael Tang, RW, fourth round, 78th overall.
4. Connor Haffner, G, fifth round, 95th overall.
5. Tyler Lee, C, sixth round, 112th overall.
6. Will Mullins, RW, seventh round, 132nd overall.
7. George Raymond, D, eighth round, 151st overall.
8. Nikita Ilchenko, LW, eighth round, 160th overall.
9. Justin Flora, C, ninth round, 172nd overall.
10. Ethan Dixon, D, 10th round, 192nd overall.
11. Carter L’Heureux, 11th round, 212th overall.
12. Louis Lettieri, LW, 12th round, 232nd overall.
13. Irvin Yunhan Lang, D, 13th round, 260th overall.
14. Cameron Gelins, D, 14th round, 271st overall.
15. Gavin Kindree, D, 14th round, 272nd overall.
16. Jeries Kakish, LW, 15th round, 292nd overall.
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