Six IceDogs taking part in NHL development camps
Players will work with organizations that selected them
Newly appointed captain Ben Jones and second-year alternate Akil Thomas are among six Niagara IceDogs players taking part in NHL development camps this week.
Jones, Vegas Golden Knights, 2017 draft, seventh round, 189th overall; and Thomas, Los Angeles Kings, 2018 draft, second round, 51st overall; are working out with the organizations that selected them.
Also invited to development camp are Ivan Lodnia, Minnesota Wild, 2017 draft, third round, 85th; forward Kirill Maksimov, Edmonton Oilers, 2017 draft, fifth round, 146th; and defenceman Daniel Bukac, Boston Bruins, 2017 draft, seventh round, 204th.
Goaltender Stephen Dhillon and defenceman Drew Hunter were invited by the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs, respectively, as undrafted players.
Hunter will be unable to take part.
In an off-ice move, the IceDogs have named Brandon Currie as
assistant general manager.
Currie, who studied sport management at Brock University, spent the past two seasons working in various roles, including as the team’s director of analytics and midget scouting.
He oversaw the Ontario Hockey League under-18 priority selection while assisting general manager Joey Burke and the scouting staff with the main draft.
Burke said in a news release Currie’s “tireless work ethic” and knowledge made him a great addition to the team.
“He is very deserving of this promotion,” Burke said.
“He is a guy who will take on any task assigned to him, and constantly strives to better himself and organization.
“It is a true testament to what a big help he has been since arriving from Brock two years ago, and he has a bright future in this game.”