Greyhounds take 'smooth-skating' defenceman early

Having drafted a defenceman with their top pick a year ago, that didn’t deter the Soo Greyhounds from going in the same direction this spring.

As the Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection played out on Saturday, the Greyhounds opened the day by selecting defenceman Jacob Holmes in the opening round, 18th overall on Saturday.

Holmes, who scored seven goals and 17 points in 33 games with the Express this season, is seen as a “mobile defender that can skate with anyone.”

OHL Central Scouting went on to say Holmes, “has good puck skills and vision from the back end.”

Independent service HockeyProspect.com called Holmes “a smooth-skating defender who plays an intriguing two-way game.”

“He possesses good size that projects well at the next level. He thrives in possession making key plays with the puck and driving play to the net, showing good puck movement and offensive potential.”

“We like his skating, he’s got a great shot and good vision,” said Greyhounds general manager Kyle Raftis. “He plays very similar to the way we like a lot of our defencemen to play.”

“He was one of the premier power play defencemen of his age group this year,” Raftis also said. “He had a great Canada Winter Games on Team Ontario and led a strong York Simcoe team.”

After not having a pick in round two, the Greyhounds selected winger Marc Boudreau of the Toronto Marlies in the third round.

In 68 games with the Marlies, the 6-foot, 158-pound Boudreau had 25 goals and 63 points.

According to HockeyProspect, Boudreau is a “hard-working, power forward who uses his quickness and top-end speed to be a menace on the ice for opponents.”

“His skating ability and competitive mentality allows him to beat defenders to the puck in corners on forechecks and forcing the opponent to make a quick decision,” the scouting report adds. “In addition, he is willing to play physical, requiring opponents to know where he is on the ice at all times.”

“He’s a goal-scorer who plays hard and gets under people’s skin,” Raftis said. “He’s a good skater and goes to the dirty areas. He really had an exceptional second half with the Marlies.”

The fourth round saw the Greyhounds select 6-foot, 174-pound centre Jordan D’Intino from the London Jr. Knights.

D’Intino scored eight goals and 24 points in 14 games this season. The 16-year-old missed time due to a foot injury but Raftis said the youngster progressed well.

“He’s a big kid and was able to make plays and extend possession,” Raftis said. “He’s someone who rose up our draft board as the year progressed.”

Scouting reports on D’Intino say he’s “an aggressive centre with good size.”

HockeyProspect says D’Intino “moves around the ice very well, anticipating where to be and quickly getting up to top speed using a powerful, long stride. Very calm with the puck, he has the ability to handle it or shoot the puck through defenders, force his way around defenders, or set up his teammates. His shot is hard, and when paired with his quick release and solid accuracy, it shows well.”

Owen Parsons, selected in the fifth round from the Waterloo Wolves, joins the Greyhounds after an offensively-charged year in minor midget.

“He’s a goal-scorer with a great shot,” Raftis said. “He’s a very smart player. As he gains strength, he should be someone that realty fits in well with what we do here.”

HockeyProspect noted an improvement in Parsons game throughout the season.

Parsons’ 28 goals were second among players in his league.

Sixth round pick Luc Brzustowski, a defenceman from the Kitchener Jr. Rangers, skates well, is solid positionally with the ability to move the puck.

“We liked his IQ,” Raftis said. “The way he can walk the line, the mobility of it.”

The locals selected a goaltender in round seven, drafting Coulter Taylor from the North Central Predators.

In the eighth round, the Greyhounds selected 5-foot-9, 162-pound centre Luke Haymes from the Rockland Nationals. Haymes was described by HockeyProspect as a two-way forward who plays an aggressive style without the puck.

The ninth round saw the Greyhounds select Rhys Chiddenton, a winger from the Mississauga Reps.

Hunter Brown, a defenceman with the Kemptville 73’s, was the Greyhounds 10th round pick.

Tyler Savard, a winger with the Peterborough Petes minor midgets and selected in the 11th round, is the son of former NHL forward Marc Savard.

HockeyProspect called Savard an “intriguing” prospect because of his combination of offensive tools, size and hard-nosed style of game.

Goaltender Luca DiPasquo, selected in the 12th round from Detroit Compuware, has ties to the area with family from the Sault.

The Greyhounds selected American centre Connor Miller of Detroit Honeybaked in the 13th round before selecting Huron-Perth Lakers defenceman Luke DeVries in the 14th round.

The team wrapped up the day by selecting defenceman Logan Heroux of the New Jersey Devils Youth 16U team in round 15.

As the opening round wrapped up, the Ottawa 67’s selected Sault product Jack Matier with the final pick of the opening round.

The Soo Thunderbirds minor midget defenceman, who had 10 goals and 22 points in 21 regular season games, skates well and has good size at 6-foot-2 and 169 pounds.

In an interview posted on the 67’s social media, Ottawa assistant general manager and director of scouting Jan Egert said Matier will be “a mainstay on the 67’s blueline for the duration of his OHL career.”

“There’s a lot of potential in Jack,” Egert also said.

Matier’s teammate, defenceman Tyler Dunbar was selected by the Flint Firebirds with the second pick of the third round.

Dunbar had four goals and 16 points in 23 games this season.

The Niagara IceDogs also selected a Sault product, drafting defenceman Stephen Pszeniczny from the minor midget Thunderbirds in the final round.

The Kingston Frontenacs selected Shane Wright of the Don Mills Flyers with the first pick.

Born in 2004, Wright was granted exceptional player status to enter the draft a year early.

While playing with the Don Mills Flyers minor midgets, Wright scored 66 goals and 150 points in 72 games.

Of the top five picks in the draft, three game from the Flyers, including winger Brennan Othmann – selected second overall by the Flint Firebirds – and defenceman Brandt Clarke – selected fourth overall by the Barrie Colts.