SPITFIRES PHILOSOPHICAL ABOUT PRE-DRAFT RANKINGS
Vilardi, DiPietro, Boka, Purboo all just looking for a chance with NHL team
When you’re not No. 1, you’re always looking for more.
Four members of the Windsor Spitfires made the NHL Central Scouting Bureau’s final rankings list on Tuesday leading up to June’s NHL Draft, but each was hoping for more.
Gabriel Vilardi sits at No. 4 among North American skaters in the final rankings. Listed as a centre, the six-foot-three, 201-pound Vilardi has played out of position most of the season, but wasn’t worried about dropping a spot in the final rankings from the midterm ratings.
“It doesn’t really matter,” said Vilardi, who led the Spitfires with 29 goals and finished with 61 points in 49 games. “I just need one team to like me and draft me. The work starts after the draft.”
Goalie Mikey DiPietro moved up three spots to No. 4 on the North American list for goaltenders.
“Take them for what they are,” DiPietro said of the rankings. “Take them with a grain of salt. It’s another person’s opinion.”
DiPietro’s 2.35 goals-against average was second best in the Ontario Hockey League and tied the club record set by Andrew Engelage in 2008-09. He was third in the league with a .917 save percentage, while his six shutouts tied for the OHL lead and also set a modern-era club record.
“I’m really proud of the season I had individually, especially at (age) 17,” DiPietro said. “I know what I can do.
“In June, if I get picked, I just want to go to a team that believes in me. I know I can be the best. I want to be the best and hope to find a team that believes in me as much as I believe in myself.”
On a team deep with talent already signed to pro deals, second-year forward Luke Boka and rookie Cole Purboo didn’t see as much playing time as some draft-eligible players on weaker teams.
Purboo moved up a few more spots from the midterm rankings and sits at No. 189, while Boka also climbed in the final rankings to No. 201.
“I’m obviously a little disappointed about it, but there’s nothing I can do to change it,” Boka said.
Boka didn’t miss a game this season. He scored 13 goals and finished with 28 points while playing a key role in helping the Spitfires finish with the OHL’s best penalty kill in history at 88.5 per cent.
“I thought I had a pretty good season,” the six-foot, 191-pound Boka said. “Playing on a very talented team here, I still found a way to put up numbers and was a big part of the penalty kill.”
Purboo was also hoping to finish higher, but after making the Spitfires as a ninth-round draft pick two years ago, he’s not worried about numbers.
“I was hoping a little higher, but it’s all right,” said the sixfoot-three, 205-pound Purboo, who counted 11 goals and 17 points in 68 games. “It’s just people making a list.
“The same thing happened with the OHL Draft. I don’t pay much attention to them. The numbers game doesn’t phase me much. The Memorial Cup will hopefully help me with the scouting and hopefully they see me a little bit more and that gives me an edge on some of these guys.”
Tecumseh’s Jack Studnicka, who plays for the Oshawa Generals, fell to No. 120 in the final rankings. The six-foot-one, 171-pound Studnicka, who was a first-round pick in the OHL, had 18 goals and 52 points in 64 games.