Chitaroni to Wolves
Like father, like son. Forward Hudson Chitaroni of the Soo Jr. Greyhounds of the Great North Under 18 Hockey League has been picked by the Sudbury Wolves in the third round of the 2023 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft.
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 picked 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.
Chitaroni was the first player from the Great North to be selected at this year’s OHL draft and Wolves general manager Rob Papineau was thrilled to get the skilled skater from the Jr. Greyhounds for Sudbury.
“(Chitaroni) has that ability to score, he competes for pucks and he had a dominant playoff tournament with 14 points in five games. In our opinion, he was the best player in the North and to be able to grab him in the third round was something we were happy about,” Papineau relayed to Postmedia.
“Guys in the North have a lot of success. They are hard working, they are humble and being able to add him, regardless of his last name, was something we were excited to be able to do, but it’s a neat connection. His dad sits on the (Wolves) captain’s wall and he knows that. He almost knows what it’s like to be a Wolf already and he hasn’t even been here yet,” Papineau added.