BY SCOTT HUNTER HADOW
Sudbury Wolves head coach and GM Mike Foligno
wasn't looking for posers last Saturday at the 2005 OHL
Priority Draft.
Foligno was looking for eager, gritty players
fit to wear the Wolves' uniform.
When it was all said and done, Foligno got
the young men he was looking for. He believes they will carry
on the pride associated with being part of the Sudbury Wolves
hockey club.
"We did a great job and I am not saying that
just to be positive," said Foligno. "Our staff put a lot of
time into the discussions about the players. We had some real
battles in the sense of our staff really wanting these players
and fighting for these players, and it means a lot. We were
fortunate acquire some of the players we did."
With their first pick, 13th overall, the
Wolves nabbed speedy forward Brett Parnham from Huntsville
Junior 'A'.
At 5-9 and 170 pounds, Parnham doesn't
strike an imposing shadow, but Foligno knows there's more
to Parnum then a small frame.
"With what I have been told, and the fights
that went on about this player, Parnham reminds people of Bryan
Trottier," said Foligno. "A good hard nosed, two-way, skilled
player. He's very good on face offs, and he's gritty.
He's a smaller guy, but full of heart and a big leader.
Parnham encompasses the type of player we want playing here and
he will be an exciting player."
Parnham had 12 goals and 30 points in 49
Junior 'A' games.
With their second pick, 33rd overall, the
Wolves selected Geoff Guimond, a six-foot-one, 180-pound
forward from the Mississauga Senators minor midget squad.
The Wolves followed that selection with
another Senator player, Gerome Giudice, a five-foot-11,
202-pound forward who is 43rd overall.
Both players come advertised as physical, and
love the rough stuff.
"These guys compete," said Foligno. "They are
raw, skilled, hard-working players. They don't give an inch
to anybody. That's the kind combative and physical presence
we were looking for. They fit in with our team spirit. They are
coming to a team that appreciates their style of play."
The Wolves went into hockey bloodlines for
their next pick, choosing Justin Vaive, 53rd overall, who's
the son of former NHLer Rick Vaive.
The younger Vaive is six-foot-three and
weighs 177 pounds. Foligno was happy to land the strapping
Vaive.
"There's a great upside to Vaive," said
Foligno. "He has a great knack around the net and works the
corners well. He's still filling out and his skating needs
work, but we feel that will come in time. If he wants to play
in the OHL, we're here for him and we will develop
him."
There are rumblings that Vaive will join the
USA under-17 team, who Nick Foligno played for before joining
the Wolves.
If anyone can bring Vaive to Sudbury it will
be Foligno, as he once played with Rick in the NHL and still
talks to him.
"I still talked to Rick," said Foligno. "It
will depend on the circumstances with our team and what Justin
wants to do. For different players, there's different
needs. We will take our time to work out the right deal...we
would love to have him here."
Overall, the Wolves made 16 selections,
including two local players, defenceman Chris Pontes in the
sixth round, who played for the North Bay Skyhawks Junior
'A' team and Matt Golanski in the 14th round from
Sudbury 'AA' midget.
"There was some really good talent
available," said Foligno. "We felt with the local talent
eligible, we wanted to give some kids an opportunity. Overall,
we had some good picks and there's a lot of possibilities.
We have to see how things play out when training camp rolls
around."
