Four players commit following Sudbury Wolves training camp

Following what Sudbury Wolves general manager Rob Papineau considers “one of the strongest camps we have had in the last six months,” four players committed to the team.

Included among their ranks is Nate Krawchuk, Devin Mauro, Djibril Touré and Owen Protz.

“The amount of skill and talent, along with the pace, speed and size that was added this year made for a very competitive camp,” Papineau said of the hockey players in a media release.

“All the players showed well during the camp, and we have quite a few returning players from last season which contributed to making it a very competitive environment. We are looking forward to starting the preseason now with this smaller group and working towards our season opener on Sept. 30.”

Approximately 50 players participated in last week’s camp, which marked the beginning of the club’s 50th anniversary.

Nate Krawchuk

Krawchuk was selected third overall in the 2022 U-18 OHL Priority Selection, and Wolves scouting reports describe him “an athletic, fundamentally sound goaltender who battles and competes in the net.”

“He’s a 6’, 153lbs, 17-year-old who plays well in big games and always gives his team a chance to win,” according to a media release issued by the Wolves.

In 18 games with the Thunder Bay Kings U18 AAA team during the 2021-22 season, he had a goals against average of 1.75 and as ave percentage of 0.938.

“We are really excited to sign Nate Krawchuk,” Papineau said.

“I felt this year at our camp we had an outstanding group of goaltenders, who all performed very well and when you're making these decisions, you're looking for consistency throughout the camp and Nate showed us that. He’s a very athletic goalie, he’s very quick and didn’t let in any bad goal this week so we are really excited to have him join the team. He’s a guy that competes, tracks pucks very well and we really see him fitting in and working closely with Joe Ranger and Drew Gaulton. We are looking forward to developing him and him becoming a big part of our future.”

Devin Mauro

Mauro was selected in the 11th round of the 2020 OHL Priority Selection and notched 31 points in 53 games with the Trenton Golden Hawks in the 2021-22 season.

Wolves scouting reports describe him as “a player with an excellent hockey sense and distributes the puck in a timely fashion. He possesses an excellent release on his shot and has the potential to be a point producer at the next level.”

“Devin is a guy that has been at our camp before after we drafted him from Sault Ste. Marie in his U16 year in 2020,” Papineau said.

“He was always a prolific goal scorer and found a way to get the puck to the net. He’s a smaller, very fast hockey player who plays a much bigger game. He’s one of those players you can put anywhere in your line-up, and he can make it work, so he is a great piece to add to our depth. Devin is also a guy that is really passionate and very excited to become a Sudbury Wolf.”

Djibil Touré

Touré is from Dorval, Québec, is a 6’7, 196 lbs, 19-year-old defenceman who during the 2021-22 campaign with the CArleton Place Canadians and the Hawkesbury Hawks of the CCHL registered two goals, 12 assists through 45 games played.

“With Djibril, he was a free agent invite and he’s a guy that came in and made his presence felt right away,” Papineau said.

“I think anyone that was in the arena during any of the scrimmages was able to identify him very quickly. He’s a 6’7, right-shot defenceman with a very strong physical element to his game. He skates extremely well and shoots the puck very hard. He was one of the top defenceman in the CCHL last season and had a really good playoff run in Hawkesbury. Our Assistant Coach Rick Dorval knows Djibril very well and we were excited to bring him into camp and even more excited to sign him.”

Owen Protz

Protz was selected in the fifth round (86 overall) of the 2022 OHL priority selection and spent most of his 2021-22 season with the Ottawa Senators U18 AAA team, where he registered 17 points through 38 games.

He is a 6’, 195lbs left-shot defenceman that has “a lethal shot combined with the ability to get

pucks through from the point,” according to the Wolves’ media release.

“We are very excited to have Owen commit to the team,” Papineau said.

“He came into camp and from start to finish he was very steady, very consistent and had great gaps. He is very strong for a guy as a 16-year-old and for him to commit to our program and be part of our future is something we are happy to accomplish this week. We look forward to watching him in a couple pre-season games over the next few weeks. Right now, the plan with Owen will be for him to play in the CCHL and we look forward to working with him in and out of our line-up throughout this season.”

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The Sudbury Wolves have a pre-season roster of 29 players consisting of three goaltenders, 10 defencement and 16 forwards.

Their pre-season game took place Saturday against the Greyhounds in Sault Ste. Marie.

Their 2022-23 regular season opener will take place at the Sudbury Community Arena on Sept. 30, when they host the Barrie Colts.

More information on season memberships and tickets can be found online at sudburywolves.com.