IceDogs prospects showcase their skills
39 draft picks and free agents play intrasquad games at orientation camp
A Niagara IceDogs orientation camp held Saturday in St. Catharines was all about making a first impression, one good enough to last until the Ontario Hockey League team’s training camp in late summer.
If the goal of two intrasquad games played at Seymour-Hannah Sports and Entertainment Centre was to turn heads and get them to nod approvingly, then centres Braidy Wassilyn and Maximus Crete, Niagara’s top two picks in this year’s draft, didn’t disappoint.
Wassilyn, selected in the first round with the fourth overall pick, scored a goal and collected three assists for a camp-high four points, while Crete, a second-round pick, 30th overall, led all players with three goals.
“You can see why he’s a fourthoverall draft pick. He does everything at a high pace of play,” head coach Ben Boudreau said in praising the play of Wassilyn, who helped lead Team Black to a 2-0 record.
Boudreau, at his first orientation camp since taking over as IceDogs bench boss, likewise was impressed with Crete.
“He looked like an absolute steal out there but, more so than his ability to make plays, he’s got a great shot,” Boudreau said.
“Little intangibles” in Crete’s games that stood out to Boudreau included comporting himself as a “player that you want to be around.”
“You’re naturally attracted by the way he speaks and carries and conducts himself,” Boudreau said. “I think that’s as equally important as all his intangibles on the ice.”
Crete’s small stature — the Ottawa native is five-foot-nine and weighs 165 pounds — isn’t a big problem as far as the IceDogs head coach is concerned.
“When you look at some of the players in the league who are the most dynamic, players like Luca Misa find a way to make an impact, and that’s what Maximus did out there regardless of his size,” Boudreau said. “It doesn’t matter if you can’t touch him, you can’t grab him.
“Speed will trump size. Elusiveness and being able to out-think a lot of the guys, and I think he’s got it in spades.”
Boudreau said that auditioning at an orientation camp isn’t the same as competing against playing against bigger, faster, stronger players in the OHL.
“This is not the OHL; it’s not anywhere close to the OHL. You are playing against players who are the same age as you are,” he said. “Wait until you get a 20-year-old breathing down your neck as a (Daniil) Sobelev down in Brantford. When you try to gauge, you try to judge where that talent level is going.”
Maasilan Etchart (eighth round, 143rd overall, 2023 draft) and Brady Real (eighth round, 159th, this year’s draft) were among the defencemen Boudreau was impressed by.
“He wins battles. He stood out in all the right ways,” Boudreau said of the six-foot, 170-pound Etchart. “I really think he can be an OHL defenceman with how big he is and his ability to compete.
“It’s something that really stood out.”
Boudreau described Real — sixfoot-one, 181 pounds — as a “shutdown guy.”
Crete came into orientation camp with the goal of “playing my game, be pumping it, and be the player I am.”
He hopes to open the 2024-25 season on the OHL team’s roster and intends to spend the summer working on getting stronger.
“I’ve always been on the smaller side. I just let it take care of itself. I like to play big and I’m a little bit of a heavier guy, as well,” Crete said. “I like to use my weight because I like to work out in the gym and just try to get stronger. I’m hard to get off the puck. I’ve always battled the size thing but it’s not too big of an issue for me.”
He wasn’t too nervous about making a good first impression at a camp attended by 39 prospects, including draft picks and free agents.
“No, I don’t like to worry about that too much. I don’t want to get too much into my head so I just like to keep it simple and get the distractions out of my head and just play my game,” he said.
Crete emulates New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes but also likes to watch Montreal Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher “back in his prime.”
“He’s a smaller guy as well but he’s not afraid to get in the corners and drive the net and get under people’s skins, but also Jack Hughes because of his elite playmaking,” he said. “His skill set is really elite so I like him.”
Matthew Humphries, a goaltender selected in the third round with the 44th overall pick, said he felt a “little bit of pressure” at orientation camp.
“But I do feel that I am good at making first impressions,” he said. “I am coming into this positive, not really nervous.”
How did he find playing against what essentially was a AAA under-16 all-star team?
“It was definitely quicker than the regular season. A lot of great players out here. The shots were harder, more accurate, and the passes were crisper,” Humphries answered.
Humphries said the No. 1 thing he is going to work on between now and the start of training camp is getting faster.
“Definitely my speed, my agility, and building more strength overall.”