Great North draft prospects


By
March 20, 2017

Led by Northern Ontario Hockey Association player-of-the-year Camaryn Baber, about a dozen 2001 birth-year players from the Great North Midget League could be selected at next month’s Ontario Hockey League draft.

A HockeyNewsNorth.com cross-section of OHL scouts and general managers places Baber, a hard-nosed, high-scoring right winger with the Soo Greyhounds, as a second-or-third-round pick at the April 8 under-16 draft.

The son of Brad Baber and Melissa Holder placed third on the Greyhound midgets in scoring during the 2016-2017 regular season with 32 goals, 30 assists, 62 points in 32 games — while racking up 99 minutes in penalties. Young Baber then added 5 goals, 2 assists, 7 points in 6 playoff contests.

A likeable kid who is known for his strong work ethic and great attitude in addition to his hockey skills, Baber’s gritty style only adds to his all-around game and makes him the consensus first pick from the Great North loop for the upcoming OHL draft.

Payton Vescio, a slick, smart, cool-under-pressure defenseman with the North Bay Trappers, is projected to be the second player from the Great North to be chosen at the April 8 OHL lottery.

A quiet leader and character kid, Vescio is viewed as a third-to-fifth round pick.

Three more players from North Bay and one from the Sudbury Wolves are seen as fifth-to-eighth-round picks.

They are Trappers forwards Matt Hardwick and Ryan Mills and goalie Joel Rainville and Wolves forward Joe Mazur.

Others from the Great North loop who are being mentioned as possible late picks in the 15-round draft are Trappers forward Cole Craft and defensemen Jake Peterson-Galema and Kobe Seguin, Greyhounds defenseman Tristan Cicchello and Wolves defenseman Alex Fowke.

Keep in mind that some teams like certain players more than others.

As one veteran OHL scout told HockeyNewsNorth.com: “Remember that it takes only one team to love a guy.”

DRAFT TABLE

Barrie Colts have the first overall pick at the 2017 OHL draft and are expected to select Toronto Marlboros centre Jack Hughes with the top selection…Two forwards from Sault Ste. Marie who opted to play their minor midget season in southern Ontario are rated as players who figure to go in the top two rounds. They are Nicholas Porco of the Vaughan Kings and Cole Mackay of the Kitchener Rangers…Zachary Roy, a goalie from the North Bay area (Callander) who went south this season to play for the Toronto Nationals, is rated as one of the top at his position for the upcoming OHL draft.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *