Players to watch have Spirit
Three members of the Saginaw Spirit of the Ontario Hockey League are on the initial Central Scouting players-to-watch list for the 2018 National Hockey League draft.
The trio of 2000 birth-year skaters includes forwards Maxim Grondin and Blade Jenkins and defenseman Caleb Everett.
Grondin, a hulking 6-foot-3, 205-pound center, hails from the northeastern Ontario town of Hearst.
Jenkins and Everett are both American-born prospects from the state of Michigan.
All three Spirit players on the NHL Central Scouting watch list are “C” rated, which grades them as projected fourth, fifth, or sixth round draft picks for 2018.
All three were selected by Saginaw at the 2016 OHL draft.
Meanwhile, a fourth player taken by Saginaw general manager Dave Drinkill at the 2016 OHL draft is on the NHL watch list as a “B” rated skater, which grades him as a projected second or third round draft pick for 2018.
That player is big defenseman Bode Wilde, who has not signed with Saginaw but remains Spirit property.
Wilde is currently in his second season with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program.