Combine gives advance look at OHL draft prospects
Mateo Nicastro of the Whitby Wildcats was one of five local players invited to the OHL Combine that ran at the General Motors Centre from April 1 to 3. The weekend saw 96 of the OHL’s top prospects tested on their speed, endurance and skill in anticipation of the upcoming draft.
By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express
The General Motors Centre may have seen a future Oshawa General take to the ice for the very first time as the annual Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Combine took over the arena.
The gruelling weekend for young prospects, now in its seventh year, sees OHL prospects put through a gauntlet that tests their speed, strength, stamina and skill through on- and off-ice drills. The results of the tests are forwarded on to all OHL teams for reference in the upcoming draft, currently set for April 9.
Four local players were among the 96 invited to the combine, including goalie Tyler Masternak with the Oshawa Junior Generals, and four Whitby Wildcats in Mateo Nicastro, Jacob Roach, Sean Blimkie and James Waldron.
In total, 48 forwards, 32 defencemen and 16 goaltenders were invited.
The combine was in a convenient location for Roger Hunt, the general manager for the Oshawa Generals, who, along with his top scouts, attended over the weekend to get a first hand look.
In an interview with The Oshawa Express, Hunt says the club will have a few priorities in mind for the players up in the draft.
With their first round pick, Hunt says that obviously the club will be looking to acquire the most skilled player they can at the point.
“Beyond that, we want to get big again,” he says, noting that if size and skill come down to a 50/50 split in a players assessment, size will win out.
The Generals organization are in good shape for the upcoming draft, having restocked their draft picks this season through big trades, including former captain Michael Dal Colle and Whitby local Matt Mistele.
“As much as we said it was hard to get rid of some of those players, we had to restock our draft cupboard,” Hunt says.
Last season, the organization cleaned house of their draft picks in an effort to acquire talent at the trade deadline in their push for the Memorial Cup, a move that paid clearly paid off.
“I think you’re all in or you’re all out, you can’t half-buy and you can’t half-sell,” Hunt says.
For Saturday’s draft, the Generals are looking at one first rounder, two second rounders, a third, fourth and two fifth rounders, a seventh, eighth and ninth rounder, and picks in each of the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th rounds.