It’s not uncommon for teams to be pleased with draft day and Saturday was no different for 20 Ontario Hockey League teams.
The annual OHL Priority Selection saw 300 players selected, including 13 by the Soo Greyhounds.
For the Greyhounds, trades to add players at the trade deadline in recent years left the team with fewer picks than usual this year but the team is excited about the potential of the group, including some of its later picks.
“When you evaluate all the picks, there’s some exciting talent there,” said Greyhounds General Manager Kyle Raftis. “We’re excited about it today and it’s a matter of seeing who is going to take that step in August.”
With the top record in the league this season, the Greyhounds would hold the final pick of the first round and use it to select defenceman Ryan O’Rourke of the Vaughan Kings.
“Ryan is a defenceman that has great mobility, high IQ, and a competitor who is very difficult to play against,” Raftis said. “He’s someone that plays with an edge and he’s got a real confidence when he’s moving pucks.
Raftis added that O’Rourke was “a player that was a big target for us.”
“He’s very skilled with pucks and he’s got a big shot,” Raftis said. “And he’s got an edge on the defensive side of the puck. That’s always something where you want to be tough to play against, but you don’t want to give up the skill side of it. He combines both of those so it’s a perfect fit for us.”
OHL Central Scouting called O’Rourke “tough to play against.”
“He has good mobility and is a powerful skater which allows him to close gaps and take away time and space,” O’Rourke’s scouting report reads. “He has a good skill set that allows him to move the puck out of his zone. He can rush the puck when the opportunity is there, and he is good on the offensive blue line at getting pucks on net or distributing it. Ryan is hard to beat defensively. He takes the body well and he has a good understanding of his position and what he has to do.
Without selections in the second and third rounds, the Greyhounds selected centre Rory Kerins of the Mississauga Rebels.
“Rory Kerins is highly-skilled and is someone who is very creative with the puck,” Raftis said.
Independent scouting service Hockey Prospect called Kerins “an intelligent, playmaking forward with a quality work ethic.”
In round five, the Greyhounds selected Peterborough forward Kalvyn Watson.
“He’s a very smart player with the puck,” Raftis said. “He’s very skilled with the puck. He can protect pucks with his body and create separation.”
In the 12th round, the Greyhounds selected American forward Cole Caufield, who was a member of the United States National Development Program this season.
Caufield scored 44 goals with the US Under-17 team in 40 games and added five more in 11 games with the Under-18 team.
Committed to attend the University of Wisconsin to play hockey and eligible for the 2019 NHL Draft, Caufield’s father Paul and grandfather Wayne are Sault natives.
“You never know what’s going to happen down the road,” Raftis said. “We’re at that point in the draft and he’s an elite player with some skill so we decided to take a chance on that and see where it goes.”
The OHL now shifts to the new U18 draft, which is set to be held on Wednesday.
The draft, which debuted last spring, will follow the same draft order as the priority selection and teams will be permitted two picks, three if they select a goaltender.
Players eligible for the draft include players born in 2000 and 2001 who are not already on an OHL team protected list.
Raftis said the approach to the U18 draft is no different than the way the team would approach the main draft.
“We have our list that we’ve put together during the year and we’ll see who falls to us,” Raftis said.
The Sudbury Wolves selected big centre Quinton Byfield of the York-Simcoe Express first overall. Flint used the second pick to draft centre Evan Vierling, who was a teammate of Byfield’s. Winger William Cuylle of the Toronto Marlboros was selected third overall by Peterborough. Erie selected defenceman Jamie Drysdale of the Toronto Marlboros. Saginaw selected centre Cole Perfetti of the Vaughan Kings with the fifth pick.
A pair of players with Sault ties were also selected as the North Bay Battalion selected David Campbell, who is from the Sault but played this season with the North Bay minor midget team, in the fourth round.
The Erie Otters selected Soo Thunderbirds minor midget forward Justin Mauro in the 15th round.
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Greyhounds Picks
- Round 1 – Ryan O’Rourke, LD, Vaughan Kings
- Round 4 – Rory Kerins, C, Mississauga Rebels
- Round 5 – Kalvyn Watson, RW, Peterborough Petes
- Round 7 – Dominic Mufarreh, C, Detroit Compuware 16U; Cole McGuire, LD, Quinte Red Devils
- Round 8 – Tyson Tomasini, C, Pembroke Lumber Kings; Nate Mann, LW, Buffalo Jr. Sabres 15’s
- Round 9 – Matthew Halushak, LW, Thunder Bay Kings
- Round 10 – Owen Parker, G, Buffalo Regals
- Round 11 – Finn Brown, RW, Toronto Marlboros
- Round 12 – Cole Caufield, C/RW, USA U17
- Round 13 – Justin McIntyre, G, Smiths Falls Bears
- Round 14 – Jack Gorton, RW, Selects Academy