Stan Butler speaks to the media on Wednesday afternoon at Memorial Gardens. PHOTO BY CHRIS DAWSON.
Stan Butler got up bright an early Thursday morning to travel to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for unexpected Hockey Canada meetings.
On Monday, Hockey Canada President Tom Renney called Butler to ask him to be the head coach of Hockey Canada’s Under-18 team which will play in the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup
Butler comes in representing a nation that has won the tournament seven years in a row. The Under-18 event takes place in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in early to mid August.
Import Draft Connection
While Stan insists he is wearing his Team Canada hat first when he’s working for Hockey Canada, he admits having an all-expense paid trip to Florida during the NHL Draft will have its benefits for the Battalion too.
The CHL Import Draft takes place online next Tuesday. Many of the high profile European players and their agents will be at the NHL Draft so Butler believes being able to see them and meet them face to face will give him an advantage heading into an Import Draft where he’s expected next Tuesday to grab one experienced forward and a young forward he hopes can grow with the team.
“Instead of talking to people on the phone I will be able to see them and talk to some of the guys that way,” said Butler.
The Battalion pick 38th and 108th in the CHL Import Draft.
Where do they go?
It will be a nervous time for a pair of Battalion players along with a Memorial Cup winning local goaltender this weekend at the Draft.
Brett McKenzie, is rated by some to be taken as high as 75th overall by some and others have him slotted to go around 120th.
See Liam Berti's Draft feature on McKenzie here: http://www.baytoday.ca/content/sports/details.asp?c=80369
Defenceman Riley Bruce was rated 210 by North America Central Scouting.
However, the most intriguing player to watch is North Bay native and Oshawa Generals goaltender Ken Appleby. Overlooked in last year’s draft, Appleby is hoping his first full year as an OHL starter that included an OHL title and Memorial Cup championship, will convince NHL teams to take a long look at him on day 2 of the draft (Saturday).
Some optimists like Ken’s father Brian, believe he will go in the second round while his agent anticipated the former North Bay Midget AAA Trappers goalie will hear his name called in the fourth round.
Appleby attended a pair of prospects camps, one with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the other with the Chicago Blackhawks, shortly after his Memorial Cup win. He also attended prospects camps for the Blackhawks and the Arizona Coyotes in the summer of 2014.
Generational Player
Most of the North Bay connected action will likely take place on Saturday, but on Friday night much of the talk will be about the “Next One” Connor McDavid, who no doubt will be selected first overall Friday night by the Edmonton Oilers.
The first round will take place on Friday night and the second to seventh rounds will resume on Saturday morning.
Battalion fans got to see Connor McDavid grace the Memorial Gardens ice twice in the past two seasons.
Here’s a review of what he looked like back in March here in North Bay as the Otters edged the Battalion 5-3 and McDavid was credited with a pair of assists.
He’s a special player who we will likely never see again on Memorial Gardens ice.
Connor McDavid Isolation video vs North Bay March 8th, 2015 from Chris Dawson on Vimeo.
