Knights make Read’s day
Noah Read was ecstatic Saturday when he was selected in the 10th round, 188th overall by the London Knights in the 2023 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection.
“It was an unbelievable feeling to be able to reach my goal,” the 16-year-old St. Catharines resident said. “It would have been amazing to get drafted by any organization but especially to one that has the reputation of a winning team. It is great to go there.”
The Grade 10 student at Sir Winston Churchill went into the draft wishing for the best.
“I was hoping for a bit better but it is still great to get drafted.”
He watched the draft with his parents, Katherine and Matt, and his youngest brother, Finn.
After his name was announced, he received a call from London general manager Mark Hunter.
“He congratulated me and he let me know about rookie camp coming up,” said the six-foot, 157-pound centre, who played this past season with the Southern Tier Admirals.
It was a great moment.
“Mark Hunter, everyone knows him, and it was really cool hearing from him.”
The Knights’ rookie camp will be held May 13 and 14 and Read is excited to show what he can do.
“I want to go there and see how I compare to the other draft picks and the other players and try and do my best too. Hopefully I can get on their radar and even if I don’t make team, just go in there and make sure they know who I am for next year.”
Read started his hockey career with the Garden City Kiwanis before moving on to travel hockey with the Niagara North Stars. He joined the Southern Tier Admirals for his draft year. This past season, he recorded 26 goals and 45 points in 36 games with the Admirals.
Read always wanted to play in the OHL and realized after he joined the Admirals that he had a shot to make it a reality.
He believes his game is trending upwards.
“I used to be this player who would go 100 miles per hour down the ice and back. I kind of slowed it down a bit and looked to create some space by going more east and west. I also worked on my shot a lot to make sure I had a good shot going into my draft year. I used it a lot this year to score some goals.”
He knows there is still work to do, especially getting bigger and stronger.
“For me, I am not as big as a lot of the other kids so this summer I am really going to be focused on gaining weight and getting stronger and faster. I hoping to get to 170 or 175.”
He has already began to prepare for next season.
“I am going to work out a lot and I am also going to be trying to get on the ice as much as possible to make sure my game is at its best.”
