Eight Niagara North Stars taken in draft
Coach Jason Glenney credits OHL Cup for putting players on the recruiting radar
The Niagara North Stars lived up to their nickname at the Ontario Hockey League draft this year.
Eight players from the under-16 AAA team were selected in the 15round draft, including captain Patrick Babin, who was selected in the second round by the Brantford Bulldogs with the 23rd overall pick.
“He was one of the top defenceman in the draft. I think he went right where he should have,” North Stars head coach Jason Glenney said. “It was good for him to go as high as he did.”
The right-hand shot and Niagara Falls native served under Glenney as captain for three years.
“Great player, very high hockey IQ, loves the game,” Glenney said.
The coach said he wouldn’t be surprised if Babin opens the 2024-25 season on the Bulldogs roster.
“I think Brantford has all the intentions for him to make the team when they pick him that high,” Glenney said. “He works hard. He’ll definitely have a good opportunity to do that.”
Niagara North had a record of 3829-2 record this season, finishing third in their division and were ranked 16th among U16 AAA teams in Ontario as well as nationally. The Stars defeated the York-Simcoe Express, 3-2, in a must-win game at the Ontario Minor Association (OMHA) championship and avenged three losses to Halton by blanking the Hurricanes, 1-0, to advance to the OHL Cup as a wildcard entry.
Niagara went into the season intending to compete in the OHL Cup. “That was definitely our goal. That’s the farthest a team can go in U16,” said Glenney, whose team went 1-3 at the well-scouted tournament.
Besides achieving a goal set at the outset of the season, advancing to the OHL Cup raised the team’s recruiting profile heading into the draft. Glenney suggested that, without the tournament, the number of players selected from the triple-A organization’s under-16 team wouldn’t have been as high.
“All the OHL teams have coaches, general managers and scouts at the OHL Cup,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for all the kids who are fortunate enough to make the tournament to showcase themselves. Every (OHL) team is well-represented at those games.”
The tourney also attracts recruiters from post-secondary programs.
Maksim Corovic, one of two Niagara North goalies taken in this year’s draft, was picked 84th in the fifth round, also by Brantford.
“We were very fortunate to have two extremely competitive and good goalies,” Glenney said. “Maks played the must-win game in the OMHAs, to beat York-Simcoe, and Liam (Edgecumbe) played the must-win game against Halton in the OHL Cup.
‘‘ We were very fortunate to have two extremely competitive and good goalies.
JASON GLENNEY NORTH STARS HEAD COACH
“We were able to throw either goalie in on any given night. The team was confident with both.”
Edgecumbe went to the Flint Firebirds in the eighth round, 148th overall, after Mississauga selected left-wing Ty Daniels in the seventh round with the 135th pick.
Right-wing Nicholas Gilby and left-wing Reece Matier were taken 169th overall and 181st overall by the Owen Sound Attack and Niagara IceDogs, respectively, in the ninth round.
Stars left-shooting defenceman Marcus Sulug went to the Peterborough Petes in the 10th round with the 185th pick, and left-wing Easton Poirier went to Brantford in the 13th round, 256th overall.
Triple-A under-16 programs don’t enter a season with a set number of eventual draft picks in mind.
“Obviously, as a coach, you want every player on your team drafted,” Glenney said. “The kids’ goals individually are to hear their name called, but we all know how hard it is to get drafted. So there really is no set number that the association wants.”
How hard is it to coach when the players are focused on making a good impression to OHL teams, Glenney was asked.
“I would say at the start of the year that was more of an issue, their first year seeing people in the stands with clipboards, so we started off a little slow on the season,” he answered.
“But, as the season went on, they understood that working as a team, having that team-first mentality, is how we were going to get to the OHL Cup,” he added.
“When it mattered, they weren’t looking in the crowd. They were just playing the game.”