Battalion set for one selection in CHL Import Draft

Adam Dennis says the North Bay Battalion will be looking to add just one player on Wednesday as the Canadian Hockey League holds its annual import draft online Wednesday.  

The Troops will be losing import Sandis Vilmanis who will move on to play in the Florida Panthers organization, likely with the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL next season. Vilmanis exploded for 28 goals in 30 games with the Battalion after joining the Troops in a trade with the Sarnia Sting near the January trade deadline. 

Meantime, Ihnat Pazii, the Battalion's 2024 first-round CHL import pick, is returning and hoping to build on a solid rookie season in North Bay. 

"He was showed some real flashes and I think that he can be a guy that takes another step this year and be an impactful guy for us," said Dennis, the Battalion president and director of hockey operations about Pazii. 

Dennis says the Battalion's success on the ice is getting recognized in hockey circles and he believes it is creating more opportunities for the organization to grow. 

"We've done the legwork, similar to the last couple of years, and I think what's happened is our contact list has opened up," he said. 

"There are now agents that we've met and maybe didn't quite connect on in the path that are starting the process a little bit earlier, and we've got a healthy list of guys that we're looking at."  

Dennis feels they have narrowed down their selection.  

"But of course, we pick at 47 and there are 46 decisions that need to be made before us. So we'll anxiously wait. We're pretty happy with the list that we've put together and looking forward to the day, but we've learned a lot over the years with the imports, and I think their integration, you know, really helps their success early on. So regardless of who it is, we're able to select, we're really looking forward to showing them our great city."

See related: New Battalion import picks already share a bond

Dennis believes the success of players like Sandis Vilmanis and Matvei Petrov making such smooth transitions to North Bay will also help.  

"They want a platform to get exposure and get better and I think we've been able to offer that," said Dennis. 

"But you can't discredit the work of the player, and it's been a good relationship so far and we hope that we can continue that with our import players."