North Bay Battalion forward Michael Amadio was taken 90th overall by the Los Angeles Kings at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. PHOTO BY DENIS DUBOIS.
Two North Bay Battalion players heard their named called Saturday morning in the 3rd round of the NHL Entry Draft in Philadelphia.
North Bay Battalion defenceman Kyle Wood has been drafted in the 3rd round, 84th overall by the Colorado Avalanche.
Wood, missed the first half of the season due to injury but put up 2 goals and 10 assists in 33 regular season games with the Battalion this season.
Wood jumped up the scouting rankings as he was not rated at the midterm point of the season by Central Scouting, and was rated 191st in the final rankings.
Wood credits the team's playoff success for helping him get noticed by NHL scouts.
"I missed the first half of the season with an injury but going deep in the playoffs really helped my draft stock for sure," said Wood in a NHL.com interview about the Avalanche.
He's looking forward to learning from Battalion alumnus and Avalanche star Matt Duchene when he heads to Avalanche training camp.
"Obviously I wil go there and he will show me the ropes and kind of know what Stan was expecting of me and kind of know what to do when I get there," he said to the media scrum.
Hockeyprospect.com's draft book stated the 6'4, 225 pound defenceman got better as the year progressed.
"Wood stepped up even more in the postseason. He played regularly during 5-on-5, and took regular shifts on the powerplay and penalty kill. He’s positionally sound in the defensive zone, and anticipates the play well. Wood uses his long reach to disrupt plays, and get in the passing or shooting lanes. He uses his big size to separate players from the puck, and is good defending in 1-on-1 situations," stated Hockeyprospect.com
"Wood reads the play well and, though he doesn’t do it often, knows when to jump into the play and help create offense. He’s big, but skating would be our concern for the NHL level. While he looked fine in a straight line, his mobility slipped when he had to move laterally or make quick direction changes."
Meantime, Michael Amadio was taken 90th overall by the Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings.
The Sault Ste. Marie product was rated 68th for North American Skaters in NHL Central Scouting’s final draft report.
Amadio, who recorded 12 goals and 26 assists totalling 38 points in 64 regular season games in 2013-14. One of his key stats that showed his strong two-way play was his +15.
The Hockeyguys.net scouting report spelled that out.
"Michael Amadio is one of the most defensively responsible players in this draft class. He’s a very smart player with a high hockey IQ, and he always understands where to be on the ice,” said the hockeyguys.net scouting report.
“His positioning defensively is excellent, and he’s always strong on the back check. He often takes on tough assignments and plays against opposing team’s best offensive players, and he does a good job of holding his own and shadowing them. With the puck, he keeps things simple and doesn’t force a play if it isn’t there. He’s very smart with the puck and goes through his progress,” was added in the report which also compared Amadio to Minnesota Wild forward Mikko Koivu.
Amadio, speaking with KIngsvision after the Kings pick, says getting drafted is an unbelievable feeling.
"I can't even put it into words," he told reporter Kingsvision reporter Daryl Evans.
"I just like to thank everyone for supporting me, it just feels good to finally be here. It was definitely nerve wracking, I didn't know where or when I was going so it was definitely a waiting process up there in the stands."
Meantime, other Battalion goalie Jake Smith, and forwards Zach Bratina (ranked 186th by NHL Central Scouting) and Alex Henriksson did not see their name called in the 210 player, 7-round Entry Draft.
North Bay area players, including Oshawa Generals goaltender Kenny Appleby and Sarnia Sting forward Brett Hargrave also were not drafted this weekend. The last North Bay area player drafted was Matt Marquardt, who was taken in the 7th round by the Columbus Blue Jackets back in 2006.
Here's a Kingsvision post draft interview with Michael Amadio.
Here's the Post Draft interview with Avalanche draft pick Kyle Wood courtesy NHL.com:
