Battalion add depth and more local content in Day 2 of OHL Draft

The North Bay Battalion continued to mold their future today with day two of the OHL Priority Selection. 

The Troops selected two on the opening night in forward Ryder Carey and defenceman Kent Greer on Friday night and they proceeded to select another 14 players on Saturday.  

In total Dennis and his staff selected nine forwards, six defenceman and one goaltender. 

"The more we do this the more we dial in exactly what we need, what we are looking for, and what works for us," said Battalion GM Adam Dennis. 

"I think in this draft day one we were very happy and day two much the same," he added. 

"I know that is a broken record but everybody has a different list but we got a lot of the guys that we wanted that were high on our list so I think that means a lot. We added a lot of depth to our organizational list and a lot of guys that could have gone earlier and there was a lot of uncertainty in this draft specifically so we are done, now the next step is getting to know everybody and starting to work on development plans. 

"We are happy now as the work really just begins."  

The Battalion got things going on Saturday morning by selecting forward Quinn Klipfer with the 90th pick. 

Kipfer was named the captain of his Huron Perth Lakers U16AAA squad last season where he netted 15 goals and 24 assists for 39 points in 30 games in Alliance U16 AAA this season. 

The 5'9", and 168-pound centre from Milverton, Ontario told 519 Sports Online he was honoured to be considered a leader on his team.  

"On the ice, I want to be that guy who makes big plays and be a guy my team can trust," Kipfer told 519 Sports Online early in the 2023-24 season.  

"He is a captain, he is a 200-foot guy, he is a worker bee and he does things the right way," said Adam Dennis about Klipfer. 

"Coachability and competitiveness are two things we really value and I think he brings both in spades."

Local content

The Battalion used three of its last four selections to choose local players in defenceman Sam Rivet, who played for the Halton Hurricanes U16 AAA's this season and a pair of U18 AAA Trappers teammates in Aydin Beharie and Cameron Lockhart. 

"You have to take advantage of any advantage you have in this draft, and when we have players that grew up in North Bay and there are six degrees of separation from you and you can get a lot of information on them it is important to take advantage of that and the three guys that we got we have known for some time. We followed them and got the information we are comfortable with," explained Dennis. 

"We feel good that they are being drafted not because they are local but because they are good players and fit into our mold.

"We feel we got better value than others that would not know them as much so we are thrilled to have all three of those and I think it is a credit to the program." 

OHL Draft pick details

In the 6th round, 118th overall the Battalion took another forward in the form of Barrie product Kam Hodgson.  

The 5'11", 168-pound right shot centre played last year with Culver Academy Prep School located in Culver, Indiana. 

In 43 games he netted 13 goals and 20 assists for 33 points with the US Prep School. 

Only a few selections later at 121, the Troops took defenceman Devran Brown. 

The 6'1", 170-pound left-hand shot defender had 4 goals and 12 assists for 16 points in 21 games with the Ottawa Myers HEO U16 AAA's.  

The Troops added another forward with their 7th round selection, 138th overall in Austin Brekelmans. 

The 6'0', 188-pound left winger played for the Elgin-Middlesex Canucks U16 AAA program where he put up 9 goals and 10 assists for 19 points in 27 games with the Canucks this season. 

In the 8th round, 158th overall, the Troops selected a player with a familiar last name as they took Lucas Van Steensel, a 5'10", 142-pound forward from the Elgin-Middlesex Canucks U16 AAA's. 

The brother of Battalion forward Owen Van Steensel put up 8 goals and 14 assists for 22 points in 30 games with the Canucks this season. 

In the 9th round, 172nd overall the Battalion took a small skilled forward in Jack Foley from the Kingston Gaels U16 AAA's. 

The 5'7", 149-pound left-hand shot centre netted 18 goals and 37 assists for 55 points in 34 games last season. 

A few picks later at 178, the Battalion claimed a right-hand shot defender in Jackson Webster from the Fox Motors 15U's.  

The 6'1", 163-pound blueliner from Portage, Michigan, had 1 goal and 10 assists for 11 points in 16 regular season games in 2023-24. 

Then in the 10th round, 198th overall, the Troops took goaltender Jacob Ceranic from the Oakville Rangers U16 AAA's.  

The 6'0", 150-pound goalie had a stingy 1.84 goals against average in 18 games in the OMHA with the Rangers. 

At 218th, the Battalion stayed close to home taking defenceman Sam Rivet, who grew up in North Bay but played U16 AAA with the Halton Hurricanes this season. 

The 5'11", 196-pound left shot defenceman, who played as an underage with the North Bay U16 AAA Trappers in 2022-23, netted 6 goals and 11 assists for 17 points in 20 games with the Hurricanes in 2023-24. 

In the 12th round, at 235, the Battalion selected Toronto Jr. Canadiens forward Javian Nei. The 5'10", 167-pound forward had 22 goals and 21 assists for 43 points in 35 games this season. 

A few picks later at 238, the Troops took forward Max Wetherup from the Whitby Wildcats U16 AAA's. The 5'11", 181-pounder had 16 goals and 9 assists for 25 points in 35 games with the Wildcats this season. 

The Battalion then went west to Sault Ste. Marie to pluck small puck-moving defenceman Liam Watson. The 5'6", 156-pound defenceman played for the Soo U18 AAA Greyhounds where he had 5 goals and 12 assists for 17 points in 36 games this season.  

In the 14th round, the Troops selected another local defender in U18 AAA Trappers defender Aydin Beharie. The 6'0", 175-pound blueliner had 9 assists in 36 games with the Trappers and also was selected as a member of Team NOHA which competed in the OHL Cup. 

In the final round, the Troops took another Trapper in power forward Cameron Lockhart. The 6'1", 178 pound forward had 13 goals and 18 assists for 31 points in 33 games this season. Lockhart was also selected to play on Team NOHA.  

All of the Battalion prospects will congregate in North Bay on April 26 and 27 for the Battalion Orientation Camp at Memorial Gardens.