Three players from the OHL’s Barrie Colts were selected in this weekend’s NHL Draft in Dallas, Tex., with Russian sniper Andrei Svechnikov leading the way at second overall.
Svechnikov was taken by the Carolina Hurricanes, the highest Barrie Colts player to go in the draft since defenceman and former NHL rookie of the year Aaron Ekblad was the top pick in 2014.
"It's a team that's on the way up,” Svechnikov told Hurricanes.com. “That suits me."
Last season with the Colts, the six-foot-two left-handed right-winger scored 40 goals and added 32 assists in only 44 regular-season games. The Russian, who was named Canadian Hockey League Top Prospect of the Year, also added five goals and six assists in eight playoff games.
Carolina Hurricanes president and general manager Don Waddell said Svechnikov is a threat every time he’s on the ice.
“Andrei is a player who is not afraid to go to the net, and when he goes to the net, he goes hard,” Waddell told Hurricanes.com. “He shoots the puck so well. When you look at the abilities he has, it can be a game-changer for you."
The Buffalo Sabres drafted defenceman Rasmus Dahlin with the top pick, making him the first Swede to go first overall since the Quebec Nordiques drafted Mats Sundin in 1989.
In the third round, big centre Jack McBain, who was originally drafted by the Barrie Colts but who opted instead to play college hockey in the United States, was selected 63rd overall by the Minnesota Wild. This past season, six-foot-three centreman had 58 points (21G, 37A) with the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Toronto Jr. Canadiens. He will play at Boston College next season.
Barrie Colts blue-liner Joey Keane was drafted in the third round (88th overall) by the New York Rangers. The native of Homer Glen, Ill., had 12 goals and 32 assists in 62 games to go along with a very impressive plus-45 rating. Keane also had seven assists in 12 playoff games.
Former Barrie Colts centre Curtis Douglas, a behemoth at six-foot-eight and 234 pounds, was selected in the fourth round (106th overall) by the Dallas Stars, who hosted this weekend’s draft. The Oakville native was traded by Barrie midway through this past season to Windsor, where he had 28 points (15G, 13A) in 38 games after the deal.
Barrie native Dennis Busby, a defenceman with the OHL’s Flint Firebirds where he missed all but two games this past OHL season, was selected in the fifth round (145th overall) by the Arizona Coyotes.
Also in the fifth round, Beeton native Connor Corcoran, a defenceman with the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, was picked 154th overall by the Vegas Golden Knights. He had three goals and 21 assists in 63 games with the Spits last year.
Barrie native Jacob Ingham, a goalie with the OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads where he posted a 16-22-2 record this past season, went in the sixth round (175th overall) to the L.A. Kings. The six-foot-three goaltender had a 3.65 goals-against average and a .880 save percentage in 43 games.
In the seventh round of the NHL draft, Barrie Colts defenceman Tyler Tucker was taken 200th overall by the St. Louis Blues. The six-foot-one, 203-pounder defender had three goals and 20 assists in 59 games to go along with a plus-23 rating. The native of Longlac, Ont., also had six points (3G, 3A) in 12 playoff games.
