It was 10 years between North Bay players taken in the NHL Entry Draft, as Colton Point broke the decade long drought when he was selected in the fifth round of the NHL Entry Draft earlier this summer at the Draft in Buffalo on June 25th.
The good news is next year we may see local players taken in consecutive drafts.
Battalion defenceman and North Bay native Brady Lyle has been listed on the NHL Futures list; a preliminary ranking of players eligible to be taken in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft which will take place in Chicago next June.
Lyle, the Battalion’s top pick in the 2015 OHL Priority Selection, is currently in Calgary attempting to find a spot on Team Canada’s Under-18 team which will compete at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Last summer Battalion Head Coach Stan Butler guided that Team Canada team to a gold medal.
Lyle registered one goal along with nine assists for 10 points in 44 games with the Battalion last season.
Adam Thilander, the Battalion’s first pick in the CHL Import Draft, who has not yet signed with the Troops for the upcoming season, was also listed.
The Futures List is made up of 148 North American players and 142 international players who NHL scouts will watching closely heading into the 2016-17 season.
