Mining for Prospect Gold – Sudbury Miners 2017 CCHL Draft Review

CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON):

Going into their first CCHL Entry Draft since their re-location from Copenhagen at the conclusion of the 2016-17 season, the Sudbury Miners were looking to un-earth some talent and change the direction of the club, despite the Cinderella playoff run the franchise had just experienced.

Through his various moves leading up to the draft, General Manager Terry James was armed with 15 picks in this year’s draft (including 5 picks in the first 22) in order to start the re-shaping of this franchise.  He and his scouting staff went big on skill this draft, grabbing such highly rated prospects as Owen Tippett and Casey Mittelstadt among others in this draft.   Elite talent is now bound for Sudbury.

This was always going to be a historic draft for one of the CCHL’s newest cities, but in getting the prospects they did, Sudbury has established a rock-solid foundation for its pipeline.

“It’s hard to get the kind of talent we did anywhere else than in the draft, “ James said.  “It’s not hanging on trees; it’s not low fruit.  You have to build your team and get your elite players through the entry draft.”

The Miners pipeline received a nice infusion of talent up front and on the back-end, but they know that they still need to improve their goaltending prospect pool.  Taking highly touted Finnish goalie, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen early in the second round was a start.

James is quick to caution fans in Sudbury that this is a process, and that players taken from this draft class could take two or more years for any of these prospects to make it to the NHL.  James strongly believes that letting these guys grow and find success at the collegiate, European, and AHL levels often pays big dividends down the road for a patient organization.  He added that the team would not be giving up prospects or picks for short-term gains, instead opting for the long-term approach to development.

Overall, this isn’t a draft that makes the Miners a better team in 2017-18 but it should be a draft that pays dividends down the road, with very strong prospects at forward and in net, and some good “lottery ticket” type picks in the later rounds.  James and his staff have laid the groundwork for the organization’s future success.

Below are the picks that make up the 2017 Sudbury Miners Entry Draft Class:

Owen Tippett - RW 1st Round - 6th Overall

Casey Mittelstadt - C 1st Round - 7th Overall

Jusso Valimaki - D 1st Round - 14th Overall

Elias Petterrsson - C 1st Round - 15th Overall

Martin Necas - RW 1st Round - 19th Overall

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen - G 2nd Round - 36th Overall

Henry Jokiharju - D 2nd Round - 43rd Overall

Alex Formenton - LW 3rd Round - 58th Overall

Troy Terry - C 5th Round - 102nd Overall

Morgan Geekie - C 6th Round - 111th Overall

Ian Scott - G 6th Round - 124th Overall

Evan Barratt – C/LW 7th Round - 146th Overall

Cameron Crotty - D 8th Round - 168th Overall

Matt Benning - D 10th Round - 212th Overall

Brandon Hagel - LW 11th Round - 234th Overall

Norsemen 2017 Draft Review...

2017 CCHL DRAFT REVIEW: Minnesota Norsemen

[SAINT PAUL . MN]

The 2017 CCHL Draft has completed, and the Minnesota Norsemen leave Halifax with twenty new prospects to add to an already immense pool.

                “Like every draft, we’re thorough in our analysis and pick with a purpose,” said General Manager Blake Wendt. “We take pride in how we approach this process. Starts probably early fall when you get those initial eligible names. Some you have been aware of for much longer. But as an overall draft group, that’s when we start laying the ground work for what we hope to accomplish in June/July for the next year.”

                This year’s draft almost didn’t even happen for the Norsemen. Having traded away most of their picks for prospects further along in their development. But parlaying some dispensable assets and cash amassed a large horde for Wendt and his Norsemen.

                “We got some really good quality for the picks we moved out,” said Wendt. “Obviously we run the risk of being left out on the front porch when everyone else is inside partying. But again, we got what we wanted out of trading those picks initially and still managed to acquire many more and really got some high quality future assets in the players we drafted.”

                In total, Minnesota used their twenty picks on seven forwards, ten defensemen and three goaltenders. Amongst that group, they were all over the board geographically, physically and even age.

                The Norsemen took twelve North Americans. Eight Americans and four Canadians. Of the eight from the U.S., they kept to their normal script of keeping as much of the homegrown talent in-state, with seven Minnesotans. Europe traditionally has been a place not well mined for Wendt and his staff. But this year a total of eight players were snagged from over the pond. Five Swedes, one Finn, one Latvian and a Swiss.

                “I think that this draft gave us an opportunity to seek out different places where we don’t normally go,” said Wendt. “This year the crop of first year talent depth was probably not near as heavy as years past. While there was also ample, older talent that maybe developed at a slower rate and have been overlooked. We made it our focus to go after those type players.”

                Age-wise, Minnesota’s youngest player taken was goalie, Olle Eriksson Ek (18, 6/22/99). The oldest being defenseman, Philip Holm (25, 12/8/91).

                The disparity in the Norsemen picks wasn’t just limited to birthdays. Goaltender, Gilles Senn (6’5) stands a full eight inches taller than defenseman, Jacob Bryson (5’9). Center, Scott Reedy and defenseman, Andreas Borgman (205 lbs) are a full thirty five pounds heavier than left-winger, Noah Cates (170 lbs).

                “Overall, we don’t care so much about heights, weights and age. As long as you can skate and be an asset to this team. We kept an open mind to bring in guys that fit into the style of hockey we want to play. If you’re 5’9, from Honolulu, and skate like you’re on air, you’ve got our attention. More than a 6’8 road cone from Saskatoon.”

 Minnesota Norsemen picks:

D Filip Westerlund (Frolunda, SHL)

F Stelio Mattheos (Brandon, WHL)

D Andreas Borgman (HV71, SHL)

F Scott Reedy (US Dev Team, USHL; Committed to the Univ of Minnesota)

D Mikey Anderson (Waterloo, USHL; Committed to the Univ of Minn-Duluth)

F Noah Cates (Stillwater [MN] High School; Committed to the Univ of Minn-Duluth)

F Tanner Laczynski (The Ohio State Univ, NCAA)

G Olle Eriksson Ek (Frolunda J20, Swe-Jr)

D Jake Bischoff (Graduated from the Univ of Minnesota, NCAA)

D Josh Healey (early departure from The Ohio State Univ, NCAA)

D Calle Rosen (Vaxjo, SHL)

D Nick Perbix (Elk River [MN] High School; Committed to St Cloud State Univ, NCAA)

G Matiss Kivlenieks (Sioux City, USHL)

D Philip Holm (Vaxjo, SHL)

F Cameron Hughes (Univ of Wisconsin, NCAA)

F Sebastian Repo (Tappara, SM-liiga)

D Jacob Bryson (Providence Univ, NCAA)

G Gilles Senn (HC Davos, SUI)

D Matt Hellickson (Sioux City, USHL; Committed to the Univ of Notre Dame, NCAA)

F Nick Swaney (Waterloo, USHL; Committed to Univ of Minn-Duluth)

#duNord