Major midgets get second chance with new OHL draft Wednesday
Had Creed Jones gone to an OHL training camp last fall he says he wouldn’t have been ready for that level of competition. But he feels ready now. The Peterborough native could be one of those late-bloomers to benefit from the new OHL Under-18 Priority Selection that will debut Wednesday night. The four-round draft can be followed online at www.ontariohockeyleague.com starting at 7 p.m.
The draft is open to all players born in 1999 or 2000 who played major midget AAA hockey in Ontario this season and are not on an OHL team’s protected list. The idea was inspired by the success of players like Anthony Cirelli and Andrew Mangiapane who excelled in the OHL as free agents after being passed over in the minor midget draft. It’s also an attempt by Ontario’s minor hockey bodies to keep more players playing major midget.
“There are a lot of players playing at the higher level or pro level who got overlooked because of size, skill or whatever it might be,” Jones said.
“I felt like this year I took my game to a whole other level; the game slowing down and being able to see shots a lot easier and reading releases. I had a lot more fun this year. I was winning and winning is a big part of fun. I didn’t do a lot of that last year.”
Jones, a St. Peter Secondary School student, played eight years in the Minor Petes AAA system before switching this year to the Central Ontario Wolves.
“The minor midget year was disappointing for me, personally. I didn’t play my best and it’s the reason I didn’t go in last year’s draft,” Jones said. “This year I felt like I needed a fresh start.”
He tried out unsuccessfully for the OJHL’s Cobourg Cougars and returned to major midget. It was better hockey than he expected.
“I had a different perspective on major midget hockey from watching it last year. The Peterborough team wasn’t too strong so I thought it was not as good as it turned out to be. In the first game I played we played Clarington and it was one of the fastest paced and entertaining games I’d ever been a part of,” he said.
The Wolves excelled and so did Jones who lost just one regular season game in 21 appearances while posting a 1.40 goalsagainst-average. Add in his sixfoot-two frame and Jones began to catch the attention of scouts.
Going into the season, he had no idea the OHL was planning this new draft but rumours began to circulate in December. The OHL announced it officially in January.
“I was excited, it was kind of a second chance which is what I felt this year was going in. Just another shot to prove what I can do in a new situation.
“I don’t think it changed how I played very much. I still tried to just go out and show what I can do every night, but it definitely added another kind of intensity to the league with guys seeing it was still possible to play at a high level.”
He says it would mean a lot to be selected even if it’s a year later than originally hoped.
“Growing up in Peterborough and watching the Petes it was always a goal of mine to play at that level but when you’re a little kid they’re all so big and all so fast. I felt like every year I played AAA it was closer and more attainable,” he said.
One OHL scout told The Examiner many teams feel goaltending is the toughest position to evaluate and more mistakes are made with high picks at that position and more dark horses emerge from later rounds. Jones understands why that might be.
“There have definitely been a lot more flops in the draft, kind of like quarterbacks in the NFL where guys picked high are just not able to play at the level they did in college or wherever they played before,” Jones said.
“With goalie it’s definitely a trial and error thing .... It is substantially faster than minor or major midget or junior A. Some guys just can’t make the jump. They can’t keep up with the speed.”