Greyhounds round out OHL draft with 'a good mix'

The 2020 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection is in the books and it’s not uncommon for general managers around the league to talk about how happy they were with their choices.

Soo Greyhounds general manager Kyle Raftis is no different.

In this case, the happiness is based on selecting players they were high on going into the annual selection process.

“It’s easy leave the draft and be happy with it because any player you’re selecting, there’s a reason you’re selecting them,” said Greyhounds general manager Kyle Raftis. “For us, we went after a lot of the players we were able to talk about leading up to the draft and some of the guys we had higher up on our list, we were able to get. That’s always leaves a good feeling.”

“We got a good mix of players at different position,” Raftis added.

At the top of that list was London Jr. Knights centre Bryce McConnell-Barker, selected fourth overall by the club after a strong year in minor midget.

“He’s smart. He’s got great speed and great skill,” said Greyhounds general manager Kyle Raftis. “He’s got an engine on him and as a centreman, he puts a lot of pressure on opposing defenders. He can really create space for himself.

“He’s someone that can create offence for himself and his teammates,” Raftis added.

At 6-foot and 162 pounds, McConnell-Barker has room to fill out, which is something that makes him more appealing as well.

“The height is there and like of a lot of these guys, he’s going to continue to build on strength. The weight is going to come,” Raftis said. “When you see his speed already, if he can continue to gain strength and add to that, it can give him another gear, which can make him even more of a special player.”

Independent scouting service HockeyProspect called McConnell-Barker “an electric centre with a well-rounded game who pushes the pace and drives the offence for the London Jr. Knights.”

“His first step and jump are among the best in this draft class and you notice his effort with every stride he takes,” McConnell-Barker’s scouting report also says. “He can burn opponents to the outside but can also turn them inside out with the combination of his speed and puck control. He shows great acceleration and anticipation moving to the right areas at the right time and does not stop moving his feet even when he is being double shifted. With the puck he drives all lanes hard and confidently uses his body and puck protection skills to maneuver through high pressure. His edge work and balance are solid as he eludes and holds off defenders in the offensive zone while looking for options. Constantly creates opportunities by using his speed and agility, displaying excellent mobility moving from one spot to the next very quickly.”

The Greyhounds proceeded to go local with their next pick.

After not having a selection in the second round, the team drafted Soo Jr. Greyhounds defenceman Connor Toms.

“When we talk about a defenceman and what we look for in terms of skillset, he has that,” Raftis said. “He’s a great skater. He’s got a great I.Q. His decision-making is elite. He can create shot lanes for himself on the blueline. He defends well and he quarterbacked the power play for them this year. He has a lot of attributes on that side of it and he’s definitely a kid that’s motivated.”

The scouting reports on Toms speak of his mobility and offensive skill.

“He is a defenseman who has very good hockey IQ and skating ability with the puck,” HockeyProspect said of Toms. “He is very comfortable with the puck on his forehand and his backhand anywhere on the ice. The way he displays his intelligence on the ice is when he shoulders checks, retrieving the puck in his own zone, head is up looking for open lanes when walking the line in the offensive zone. Also, he looks off his wingers to make the goalie bite on the shot before passing it off to his winger for an easy goal.”

In the fourth round, the Greyhounds selected high-scoring forward Rutger McGroarty of the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies.

A 6-foot, 177-pound centre, McGroarty scored 82 goals and 160 points in 63 games in 2019-20 and is slated to play with the U.S. National Development Program’s Under-17 team in 2020-21.

“He’s a really smart player with great skill,” Raftis said. “He’s got great size. He’s somebody that I think everybody would have had a lot higher on their board if not for the under-17 commitment.”

“He was someone that we really had in a high spot on our board,” Raftis added. “If we can get him at some point, it can be a game-changer for us.”

McGroarty currently has a verbal commitment to play college hockey at Notre Dame, beginning in 2022.

“It was a pick that, where we were in the draft, if a player like that decides to make a jump for us, we think we’re going to have a great group for the next couple of years so it would be a great pick to add him to that as well,” Raftis said.

McGroarty is widely considered one of the most skilled players in the draft and can play the wing as well as centre.

“He can beat you with speed, stickhandle throughout, or beat you with straight up strength,” HockeyProspect said of McGroarty.

In round five, the Greyhounds selected defenceman Caedan Carlisle of the Mississauga Senators.

“He’s another defenceman who is really smart, really composed,” Raftis said. “He defends well. He’s a good skater. When we were looking at our D corps, we return a lot of our D coming up, so it’s somebody that we can see making the jump a year from now. With the skillset he has, it’s a lot of skill that’s tough to teach.”

The team had a pair of picks in the fifth round, selecting goaltender Charlie Schenkel of the Rockland Nationals with the 91st pick.

“Charlie is a really big goaltender,” Raftis said. “When we talked about our goalie list, we saw, we started to see the goalie run take off there in the fifth round so we decided to jump up on Charlie. He’s got great size and he moves really well for his size at a young age. He’s someone that’s got a lot of OHL skill already and it’s a matter of rounding out his game.”

Other Greyhound picks in the draft included:

• Left wing Jax Bellwood of the Barrie Jr. Colts in the sixth round. Raftis called Bellwood “a big centre. He had a great season but really came on in the playoffs. He has good skill and is a good skater. He’s got good size that needs to fill out, but he definitely had a great season with the way it wrapped up.”
• Centre Owen Allard of the Kanata Lasers in the seventh round, a player Raftis called “super skilled.”
• Left wing Justin Varner of Detroit Honeybaked in the eighth round. “He’s a similar mold (to Allard),” Raftis said. “He’s a good skill player with good speed.”
• Defenceman Nathaniel Davis, also selected in the eighth round. “Davis is a really composed D,” Raftis said. “He’s a good puck mover, makes a good first pass. He defends really well. Being a right shot elevated him a little bit too because it’s always great when you can add that in.”
• Right wing Landen Hookey of the Lambton Jr. Sting in the ninth round. “Hookey is a big-bodied forward. He’s really good around the net and down low. He scored a lot of big goals for his team down the stretch. He’s got real good puck protection.”
• Right wing Justin Spurrell of the Brampton 45’s in the 10th round. “He’s a good, skilled (forward). He’s hard to play against. He’s good on faceoffs. He’s a big body that didn’t play on a relatively strong team but played some big minutes against tough matchups and played really well.”
• Goaltender Nolan Dunn of the Whitby Wildcats in the 11th round. “With all of our goaltenders, we got guys that have OHL size, move well, and are coming off great years,” Raftis said. “Nolan fits that group. He’s someone that can push some guys here. He’s coming off a great year and he’s got a lot of tools that can make him be successful.”
• Centre Jackson Ryan of the Peterborough Petes in the 12th round. “Ryan didn’t play on a particularly strong team this year, but he carried the offence for his team,” Raftis said. “He has great creativity and a good skillset.”
• Defenceman Caleb Van De Ven of the Lambton Jr. Sting in the 13th round. “Caleb is a great-skating, mobile defenceman,” Raftis said. “He’s somebody that could potentially put up a lot of points for us. He’s got that kind of skillset. He’s got to continue to get stronger, but he’s got good size and he skates incredibly well for his size.”
• Defenceman Owen West of Detroit Belle Tire in the 14th round. He’s got good decision-making (ability),” Raftis said. “He’s very mobile; a good skater. He played some big minutes with Detroit Belle Tire this year. He fits the mold. He might be a little undersized right now, but he’s a great decision-maker and very mobile.”
• Goaltender Tyler Muszelik of the New Jersey Rockets in the 15th round. “He’s set to play for the (U.S.) Under-17 team,” Raftis said. “He somebody that we really liked as a goaltender throughout they year. We probably would have had him higher on our list, but with him going to the Under-17 program, it pushed him down.”

In addition to Toms, three other locals were selected in the draft as well.

The London Knights selected Soo Jr. Greyhounds defenceman Mason Chitaroni in the firth round while Jr. Greyhounds forward Devin Mauro was selected by the Sudbury Wolves in the 11th round.

The Barrie Colts selected forward Jacob Kovacs of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Soo Thunderbirds in the 13th round.

Announced on Friday afternoon, the North Bay Battalion selected defenceman Ty Nelson of the Toronto Jr. Canadiens with the top pick.

With the second pick, the Niagara IceDogs selected centre Pano Fimis, a teammate of Nelson’s with the Jr. Canadiens.

The Sarnia Sting rounded out the top three by selecting American-born centre Max Namestnikov of Detroit HoneyBaked.