2020 OHL PRIORITY DRAFT

[modaymorninggm]

I agree Blacksox but you are assuming they even knew about these players. How much scouting is done in the USA. The scouting staff is not a large one and it would be interesting to see how many games they actually saw south of the border. Recruiting takes time , effort and money. I have been told by those close to the organization how good a recruiter Roger MacLeod is. Are they allowing him to use that skill?

[maddog]

Originally Posted by modaymorninggm

I agree Blacksox but you are assuming they even knew about these players. How much scouting is done in the USA. The scouting staff is not a large one and it would be interesting to see how many games they actually saw south of the border. Recruiting takes time , effort and money. I have been told by those close to the organization how good a recruiter Roger MacLeod is. Are they allowing him to use that skill?

Well, if you are saying they didnt know about him, then someone should be fired ASAP.
Its obvious you have not been following Blacksox detailed scouting reports of players eligible for the draft.
Go back to page 1 of this thread and you will see Filak name as a high end 1st or 2nd round talent, per Blacksox.
Note: Blacksox is not a scout nor getting paid so you're reason really doesn't make sense?
How does Blacksox know about these Americans and scouts getting paid by the team dont?

[Blacksox]

Originally Posted by modaymorninggm

I agree Blacksox but you are assuming they even knew about these players. How much scouting is done in the USA. The scouting staff is not a large one and it would be interesting to see how many games they actually saw south of the border. Recruiting takes time , effort and money. I have been told by those close to the organization how good a recruiter Roger MacLeod is. Are they allowing him to use that skill?

You're right! The IceDogs don't have any US scouts listed on their Hockey Operation pages. A few years ago they had 2 or 3 US scouts listed. Head of US scouting maybe a perfect fit for Mike Pelino - he can do a lot of his work from home . Almost all these players games' can be viewed online and in many cases these US players can be viewed at tournaments (in the US and Canada) with their club teams or during international competition. If I can view these players play, the IceDogs must be able to do the same. I would hope.

Just for fun

No complaints with the IceDogs selections Round 1-6. There are never any guarantees and hind-sight will often prove OHL teams wrong with some selections, but the IceDogs selected 6 players with upside – so can’t complain about that.

However, using my draft board (selecting the “best available player”) these would have been my selections in round 7-15.

Honestly, hope the IceDogs are right. I would love nothing more than to be wrong!


MY PICKS:
7 Zach Filiak F (6.01) NCAA Univ Michigan State
8 Harrison Ballard F (6.00 / 170) OMHA – ETA or Tucker Shedd D (6.00 / 181)
9 Vinny Borgesi D (5.10 / 150) 2020 USA Youth Olympic / NCAA Northeastern Univ.
10 NO PICK
11 Owen Melhenbacher F (6.02 / 175) Muskegon Lumberjacks USHL or Patrick Czarnecki F (5.10 / 170) NCAA UMass Amherst
12 Devin Kaplan F NTDP (6.03 / 200) NCAA Boston University or Chase Pietila D (6.02 / 150) Lincoln Stars USHL
13 NO PICK
14 *Greg Spitznagel F (6.02 / 200) Didn’t know about him prior to the draft, but what I’ve read I like. This could be a sneaky good pick.
15 Seamus Powell D NTDP (5.11/ 150)


ICEDOGS PICKS Round:
7 Kailin Chen F (5.08 / 161)
8 Ryan Conmy F (5.09 / 171)
9 Stivie Li F (5.06 / 185)
10 NO PICK
11 Illia Chmelevski F (5.08 / 150)
12 Lucas Littlejohn D (5.10 / 154)
13 NO PICK
14 Greg Spitznagel F (6.02 / 200)
15 William Godfrey D (5.10 / 171)


***

[modaymorninggm]

I have been following Blacksox and you just repeated my exact point. The Ice Dogs do not have a US Scout at this time. Therein might lie the problem. As far as firing someone .. who do you fire .. the GM (can't owners son), the coach (can't owners son), the Director of Scouting (can't close friend of the owner). Perhaps the answer is to hire Blacksox. He seems all knowledgeable on all players on both sides of the border and Europe as well. He is likely a retired NHL scout by the sounds of it so perhaps this is the answer for the Ice Dogs. He sounds like a big fan of the team and he has all this information that the Ice Dogs did not have to pay for. Maybe they could draft off of this Fan Forum

[123 G!]

Originally Posted by modaymorninggm

I have been following Blacksox and you just repeated my exact point. The Ice Dogs do not have a US Scout at this time. Therein might lie the problem. As far as firing someone .. who do you fire .. the GM (can't owners son), the coach (can't owners son), the Director of Scouting (can't close friend of the owner). Perhaps the answer is to hire Blacksox. He seems all knowledgeable on all players on both sides of the border and Europe as well. He is likely a retired NHL scout by the sounds of it so perhaps this is the answer for the Ice Dogs. He sounds like a big fan of the team and he has all this information that the Ice Dogs did not have to pay for. Maybe they could draft off of this Fan Forum

Like the idea, but who is Blacksox?

[retired/sectionJ]

Originally Posted by 123 G!

Like the idea, but who is Blacksox?

Now,,, that is a great question

[NachoLou]

Originally Posted by Blacksox

I’d like to agree with you but we are talking about a team whose GM left and a coach that is terrible but yet Sarnia are able to recruit Zach Filak. This kids could have been recruited. IceDogs missed an opportunity for a big time talent. It’s unbelievable! They take no chances. Joey, trust what you have to offer.

I wish I could have made selections 7-15 for the IceDogs.

Wasn't Halliday taking a chance?

[Blacksox]

Originally Posted by NachoLou

Wasn't Halliday taking a chance?

Halliday is not really a good example of “taking a chance”. Halliday was not a late round pick, he was playing in the GTHL and at the time had no NCAA commitment - and in his own words was thrilled to be drafted by the IceDogs.
St.Catharines Standard (2018) He (Stephen Halliday) was thrilled to hear his name called by the IceDogs in a draft that was being conducted online. "I wanted to go to a really good organization," he said. "I'm very happy that Niagara picked me, they're an unreal organization. "I'm glad to be a part of it."

As for as taking a chance - referring more so to players primarily US born or playing in the US, with NCAA commitments, who don’t tip their hand as to where they might be willing to play. Without looking through their past drafts, a few better examples of taking a swing were players such as Josh Norris, Blake Seibenalar and to a lesser extent Anthony Difruscia or maybe even Anthony Agostinelli.

[NiceDawg]

Originally Posted by Blacksox

Halliday is not really a good example of “taking a chance”. Halliday was not a late round pick, he was playing in the GTHL and at the time had no NCAA commitment - and in his own words was thrilled to be drafted by the IceDogs.
St.Catharines Standard (2018) He (Stephen Halliday) was thrilled to hear his name called by the IceDogs in a draft that was being conducted online. "I wanted to go to a really good organization," he said. "I'm very happy that Niagara picked me, they're an unreal organization. "I'm glad to be a part of it."

The hope for Halliday and the fantasy for Fantilli, yet neither came this way. At least with Fantilli it wasn't a wasted pick but if any team was poised to take him this year, the Cinderella story should have been Niagara not Saginaw, late in the first round.

[Blacksox]

Originally Posted by NiceDawg

The hope for Halliday and the fantasy for Fantilli, yet neither came this way. At least with Fantilli it wasn't a wasted pick but if any team was poised to take him this year, the Cinderella story should have been Niagara not Saginaw, late in the first round.

Obviously, we would have loved to see Fantilli become an IceDog, but with the conditions and risks attached to selecting him it was a wise move to select Pano Fimis and not take any chances with #2 pick overall. Fimis is high-end talent who can be an IceDogs for the next 4 maybe 5 years and be someone who could have a career similar to Andrew Agozzino. I think IceDog fans would gladly take that over the uncertainty of Fantilli.