“A solid draft” for the North Bay Battalion is how Paul O’Hagan summarizes what the Battalion did during this past weekend’s Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection. O’Hagan is the Ontario Director of Scouting for Neutral Zone (an In-depth amateur scouting coverage and rankings website) and he says he expects the first couple of Battalion draft picks to turn some heads at camp next year.
“Carter Kostuch is as good as anybody in the GTHL (Greater Toronto Hockey League),” says O’Hagan regarding the Troops first round selection.
“He's a good offensive player, he does not have a lot of holes in his game either. Plays well in all three zones and made good plays in all three zones to generate chances off the rush. I thought we had a lower rating on him going into the original draft, but after the OHL Cup tournament, I thought he had a real breakthrough and turned into one of the top offensive players, leading his team to the finals of that tournament.”
O’Hagan adds that Kostuch had steady improvements throughout the year and thinks he can contribute to the Major Junior Club next season. Similarly, size is always a factor at the next level and the Battalion’s third round pick has a lot of it. Zacharay Wilson, listed at 6’4 and 170lbs, the Left Shot defenceman from the Central Ontario Wolves is someone who O’Hagen says has a ton of upside.
“He's one of the biggest young defenders in the draft and I think he’s probably still growing too given his age. For a big kid he moves pretty well and at times defensively especially in the short game in his zone, he overwhelms you with this physical play. He's not afraid to use the body and has a heck of a shot from the blue line. It's a common theme with all the big young defenders, if they can figure out a way to get that pace going at the next level, they could be really effective.”
O’Hagan says he was impressed with Wilson’s showing at a tournament in Peterborough earlier this year.
“(Wilson’s team) had a short bench and Wilson and Carson Cameron (Peterborough Petes top pick) were just shutting people down, they were dynamite and playing big minutes while shutting down some high skilled players in the other lineups and on the other side, he was chipping in offensively too.”
After Wilson, North Bay drafted five other defencemen. The first of which came in the fourth round, with Left Shot defenceman Aaron Enright taken from the Renfrew Wolves system.
“He’s well-rounded, I wouldn't say he's a big bruiser, but he's got good mobility and fronts the opposition. He uses his body and he’s got some wheels, he can skate the puck forward as well and he’s got a sneaky hard shot that gets pucks through. I liked him when I watched him,” says O’Hagan.
In the sixth round, taken 121st overall was Ryan Fairbairn, another Left Shot defenceman who played this past year with the North Central Predators. “I really like Fairburn,” says O’Hagan. “Our scouts in that area really liked him and saw him more than I got to, but he was one of the best players on a really average team and I wonder how that will translate next year. He’s very mobile, has good size (at 6’0 171lbs) and likes to skate with the puck so if they can get him into a situation with better players and more stability around his game, that makes this an interesting pick for me.”
Declan Gallivan stands at 6’0 and 182lbs. Listed as another Left Shot d-man out of the Soo Jr. Greyhounds program and O’Hagen says he’s got some two-way potential, while Tanner Lawson, a Right Shot defenseman taken in the 10th round is someone who O'Hagan says was higher on their list originally.
“Part of how we look at players is we aren’t just evaluating for the OHL but for D1 as well and I’d be surprised if there's anybody faster that North Bay picked. I think he was under rated because of Matthew Schaefer, the number one pick overall coming out of Halton on defense. But if Lawson builds that that core up, I think he's a player to watch regardless of whether he's in North Bay’s system or elsewhere,” he says.
The final defenseman taken by the Battalion was Matthew Darrigan, selected in the 12th round. A Right Shot defender from the Waterloo Wolves and O’Hagan says he saw Darrigan play a dozen times and never saw him make too many mistakes.
On the back end, the Battalion selected two goaltenders. The first was Charlie Larocque, picked in the sixth round from the Carleton Place Canadians and O’Hagan says his puck handling skills are reminiscent of current Troops netminder Dom DiVincentiis.
“There's some potential there, the guys up in Ottawa in the notes that I read this morning they like him quite a bit,” says O’Hagan. He adds the second netminder the Troops chose, James Merideth (Eighth round from Toronto Nationals) is what he calls ‘a gamer.’
“He was outstanding in the OHL Cup. I thought the Nationals surprised a lot of people. They were in a tough group but went 3-0 in pool play and then they lost in overtime to the Peterborough Petes who brought a really strong team this year. I think he made forty saves in the loss in overtime. Real calm in the net, never panicking much under pressure. Based on his OHL Cup, he deserved to be drafted.”
With three straight picks in the fifth round (Picks 99, 100, 101) the Battalion selected three forwards; Center Adam Smeeton from the Don Mills Flyers, Centre Reyth Smith from Windsor Jr. Spitfires and Right Winger Stepan Chukharev from the Vaughn Kings.
“We had Smeeton within a round or two of where he was taken,” says O’Hagan. “He’s big, tall and has great length. He can create a lot of energy off the cycle, and he played on their top line with really high-end players, so he’s got the chops and the offensive skills to kind of hang with them as well as create space for the top line and he ended up as a GTHL All Star.”
“Plays a hard game and I think I would like him to play a harder game, and at the junior level that's something that they have that opportunity to learn and develop,” he says.
Meantime O’Hagan says they had Smith ranked a little higher than where the Battalion took him.
“This kid can shoot; he’s got a real quick release. He was rated as Windsor's best player by far and I'm always interested to see players who don't have a ton of other skilled players to play with at this level and how they elevate their game at the next level when they're playing with much stronger players,” he says.
“He likes to get the puck on his stick and go. He makes good adjustments, but I think he’ll have to find another gear – skating seven days a week with faster and older players should help that development.”
O’Hagan adds that Chukharev, who rounds out this group of forwards did play at times alongside Kostuch this past season with the Kings.
“They had some reps with each other on that team, but that was a very deep team up front. In my mind Chukharev has a similar build to the other two, big and lanky and I would say Chukharev has pretty good skill for a big guy. Stick handles in transition with ease, shoots well off the wing. He’s an offensive threat and will likely have to learn a bit on how to play in his own zone down the road, but all that stuff gets taught at this level. He had a couple of plays in the OHL Cup that really highlighted his skills.”
The lone local player taken by the North Bay Battalion was Ryan Daze, selected with the Troops final selection in the draft in the 14th round, 281st overall. Daze played his OHL draft year with the Mississauga Senators. O’Hagan says, “He played on a team that had a lot of good forwards, but he's got speed, he was strong on the puck pursuit. He's a hard kid to play against but I didn't see a lot of offensive play. Good to get him into the system in North Bay and see if he can develop.”
Rounding out some of the other forwards were Kayden Buller from the Peterborough Petes system, whom the Battalion took in the 9th round. A player who O’Hagan says is, “a rugged winger who can also create space and get to the net.”
Ewan McChesney was the third member of the Vaughn Kings the Battalion chose in this draft. The Left Winger taken in the 12th round was he was a key catalyst on that team according to O’Hagen and has great speed.
He says Deke Osterhout, a Centre taken in the 13th round was the Captain of his Quinte Red Devils team making him “The best player there. A speedy kid who plays the game the right way.”
Overall O’Hagan says the Battalion “made a lot of smart decisions in each of the rounds.”
