With 454 eligible players available for the 2006 OHL
Priority Draft on Saturday, the Sudbury Wolves are ready to
harvest a handsome crop of prospects from a large field.
The Wolves pick 11th overall in the first round and have at
least one pick in every round except the 10th and 11th round.
Sudbury also has two picks in the eighth and 14th rounds.
As always, head coach and GM Mike Foligno will be looking
for the top players that best suit the Wolves organization and
current focus.
"We're looking for guys with desire, come to play every
night, have a great effort in their play all the time and show
a willingness to learn and improve," said the bench boss.
"We're also looking for players with good upside and potential.
Look at Gerome Giudice and how he developed over the year. He
stayed with it and really helped us down the stretch and in the
playoffs. He held his own against anyone and we didn't have to
worry about him. We need players like Gerome who show the
desire and determination to develop."
With holes to fill at every position from forwards to
defence to goaltending, the Wolves will keep it simple.
"We're going out to get the best player available at the
time," said Foligno.
The 2006 draft is considered to be one of the strongest
drafts in recent years with plenty of quality talent through
the first five to six rounds.
"It's going to be a deeper draft than last year," said
Foligno. "There's a lot of quality players available and,
hopefully, we'll get the better of the group. We have had a
number of meetings with our scouting staff all season to
finalize top players. We're meeting one last time to finalize
our order. Based on those meetings, we come up with a list of
players that are recommended for the Wolves."
Sudbury is well aware it's a strong draft class for local
talent and prospects from Northern Ontario. (See corresponding
story on local talent.)
"There is a lot more talent from the north this year for
sure, and they're in a lot of different positions" said
Foligno. "We always take a long look at the local talent. We
want to draw from the north. We can't ignore the fact there's
good players from other areas in Ontario as well. We look at
everyone."
History dictates Foligno and the Wolves have an eye on the
north. In Foligno's first two drafts at the helm (2004, 2005),
they have selected 12 players from the north. This includes six
players from the Sudbury area.
Foligno has some sage advice to young hopefuls who might
experience a bump in their dreams of playing OHL hockey after
being drafted.
"Just because a kid may not make it into the lineup in their
first year, doesn't mean their future in the OHL is over," said
the GM. "A lot of players don't make it in their first year. It
just means they have to keep the work ethic going and the dream
alive. That's huge for these guys."
Some of the Wolves' draft picks over the last two years are ready and primed to jump into the uniform for the 2006-07 season.
