IceDog hoping for early night at NHL Draft
Akil Thomas 15th among North American skaters in final rankings
Three Niagara IceDogs are projected to be selected in the 2018 NHL Draft, including one who could be taken in the first round.
The draft gets underway tonight in Dallas with centre Akil Thomas ranked 15th among North American skaters in the final NHL Central Scouting rankings.
Forward Andrew Bruder, ranked 114th; and defenceman Justin MacPherson, 171st, also made the list of must-see prospects.
Barrie Colts forward Andrei Svechnikov tops the North American rankings, but it’s almost a foregone conclusion that the Buffalo Sabres will take Swedish defenceman Rasmus Dahlin with the first overall pick in this year’s draft.
The 5-foot-11, 177-pound Thomas recorded a 33-point improvement in his second in the Ontario Hockey League. Though he scored only more, 22 to 21, he excelled as a playmaker increasing his assist total to 59 from 27.
In the playoffs the son of career minor league professional player Khalil Thomas netted five goals and collected six assists in 10 games as the IceDogs defeated the Oshawa General in five games before losing in five to the eventual OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs.
Thomas, a native of Brandon, Fla., near Tampa, was taken by Niagara in the first round of the 2017 OHL Draft with the 12th overall pick. He was named an alternate captain in his sophomore season with the team.
Thomas suited up for Canada at the 2018 International Ice Hockey Federation Under-18 World Junior Championship. He netted a goal and added an assist in four games.
Bruder scored four goals and added seven assists in 52 games in his first season with the IceDogs. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound free agent acquisition from Woodstock scored a goal and collected an assist in six playoff games.
MacPherson, 6-foot-1, 171 pounds, appeared in 66 games in his second season in Niagara collecting 17 assists. He scored two goals in 10 playoff games.
Last year two IceDogs were taken in the NHL Draft and both have since signed to entry-level contracts with the teams that picked them: forward Kirill Maksimov, fifth round, 146th overall, Edmonton Oilers; centre Ben Jones, seventh round, 189th, Vegas Golden Knights.
’Dog Biscuits: Niagara’s top two picks in the OHL draft – Lleyton Moore, D; Stephen Halliday, F – have been invited to Hockey Canada’s under-17 development camp getting underway July 21 in Calgary … The IceDogs are scheduled to open their 12th season in Niagara with a 7 p.m. faceoff Friday, Sept. 28, at Meridian Centre versus the Kingston Frontenacs.