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
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