Great North to the OHL
A pool of players from the Great North Under 18 Hockey League were plucked at the 2023 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft.
In order of selection they are as follows.
• Forward Hudson Chitaroni of the Soo Jr. Greyhounds was picked by the Sudbury Wolves in the third round. His father, Terry Chitaroni, played four OHL seasons with the Wolves from 1988 to 1992 as a hard-nosed forward who scored 97 goals and racked up 567 minutes in penalties. The elder Chitaroni was taken by Sudbury in the second round of the 1988 OHL draft from the New Liskeard Cubs. The younger Chitaroni led the first place U18 Jr. Greyhounds in scoring during the 2022-2023 regular season and finished second in the Great North with 48 points, including 22 goals, in 28 league games. The 5-foot-10, 170 pound Chitaroni then lit it up with six goals, eight assists, 14 points in five playoff games for the Jr. Greyhounds, who lost to the North Bay U18 Trappers in the Great North championship game.
• Sudbury Under 16 Nickel Capitals defenseman Alexandre Valade was taken by the Mississauga Steelheads in the fourth round. The rugged defender had four goals, nine assists, 13 points in 24 regular season games as team captain for the U16 Nickel Capitals in 2022-2023.
• Goalie Nathan Maguire of the Soo Jr. Greyhounds was selected by the Flint Firebirds in the seventh round. Playing on a first-place Jr. Hounds team in 2022-2023, Maguire had a 1.69 goals against average and four shutouts on a powerhouse Soo squad that did not permit many shots on goal.
• Hard working, good sized winger Cole Dubowsky of the Sudbury Under 16 Nickel Capitals was taken by the Barrie Colts in the seventh round. He netted 12 goals, 14 assists, 26 points in 27 regular season games for the U16 Nickel Capitals in 2022-2023.
• Declan Gallivan, a 6-foot-1 defender, was taken by the North Bay Battalion in the seventh round. Gallivan had nine goals, 16 assists, 25 points in 28 regular season games for the Soo Jr. Greyhounds in 2022-2023 and then added five points in five playoff outings.
• High scoring forward Brendan Cooke of the Soo Jr. Greyhounds was taken by the Flint Firebirds in the eighth round. Hailing from the small Highway 17 town of Thessalon, Cooke connected for 19 goals, 18 assists, 37 points in 28 regular season games for the Jr. Greyhounds before exploding for nine goals, six assists, 15 points in five playoff outings.
• A 6-foot-1, 180 pound forward, Deven Jones McDonald was picked by the Oshawa Generals in the 11th round. Regular season and playoffs included for the Soo Jr. Greyhounds in 2022-2023, Jones McDonald had 16 goals, 15 assists, 31 points.
• Pint sized forward Max Campbell of the Sudbury Under 16 Nickel Capitals was nabbed by the Erie Otters in the 12th round. He had 13 goals, 16 assists, 29 points in 28 games for the U16 Nickel Capitals in 2022-2023.
• Smart, steady. medium size defenseman Candon O’Neill of the Soo Jr. Greyhounds was chosen by the Saginaw Spirit in the 12th round. Regular season and playoffs included for the Jr. Greyhounds in 2022-2023, O’Neill had four goals, 30 assists, 34 points in 33 games.
• Good size defenseman Rylan Fellinger of the Soo Jr. Greyhounds was picked by the Flint Firebirds in the 13th round. Regular season and playoffs included for the Jr. Greyhounds in 2022-2023, Fellinger found range for two goals, 18 assists, 20 points in 31 games.
• A 6-foot-1 defenseman, Cole Ellis of the Timmins Majors was taken by the Kingston Frontenacs in the 15th round. Regular season and playoffs included for Timmins in 2022-2023, the Chapleau native netted seven goals, eight assists, 15 points in 31 games.
OBSERVATIONS: Of the 11 players from the Great North who were selected, Hockey News North had nine of them on our final list of 2007 birth year prospects from the region. Of the 11, we feel the best five picks were Chitaroni to Sudbury, Valade to Mississauga, Cooke to Flint, McDonald Jones to Oshawa and O’Neill to Saginaw. We also feel that OHL teams totally missed the boat on goalies Nick Marson of the Sudbury U16 Nickel Capitals and Alex Hall of the Timmins Majors.