This pup can’t wait to run with the big ’Dogs
Top Niagara pick Fimis signs standard player agreement
Centre Pano Fimis, the highest draft pick in Niagara IceDogs history, has signed a standard player agreement with the Ontario Hockey League team.
“I am honoured and proud to announce that I have officially signed with the Niagara IceDogs,” the 15-year-old from Richmond Hill said.
Fimis, the second-overall pick in the 15-round online draft April 4, said he can’t wait to meet his new teammates and get on the ice at Meridian Centre in St. Catharines.
“I am super excited to get things started with the IceDogs organization.”
Fimis, who was drafted right after Toronto Jr. Canadiens teammate Ty Nelson, was Niagara’s No. 1 target in the months leading up to the 2020 OHL Priority Selection.
“To be able to draft and sign a player that you had No. 1 on your draft board all year, and to see things come to fruition today is very exciting,” IceDogs general manager Joey Burke said in announcing the signing Tuesday.
Fimis averaged nearly two points a game in his triple-A minor-midget season in the Greater Toronto Hockey League. The five-foot-nine-plus left-hand shot had 41 goals and 63 assists in 59 games.
Fimis, whose style of play is similar to Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews, won 65.2 per cent of his faceoffs.
Despite only tipping the scales at 157 pounds, Fimis isn’t worried he will be undersized competing in a league in which the players are “bigger, faster, stronger.”
“No, the game has changed to speed now, so everything is about speed, speed, speed. I’ve got the skating — I need to keep working on it — and if I get faster and stronger, I can definitely compete.”
Burke said he couldn’t be “more thrilled” about what Fimis will bring to the Niagara lineup.
“He does everything at an elite level, has unbelievable leadership qualities and already embodies an IceDog on and off the ice,” the fourth-year general manager said.
“I can’t wait for fans to see him and our bright young group.”
Fimis was selected for the GTHL’s 2020 Top Prospects Game. He represented Canada at the ’20 Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne, Switzerland, where his team won the bronze medal.
He was named the ’20 GTHL player of the year, joining a list that includes Shane Wright, Jamie Drysdale and Connor McDavid.
Before taking Fimis in the first round with the second pick overall, the IceDogs’ highest choice was in 2017 when centre Phil Tomasino was selected fifth overall.