St. Catharines’ Niagara IceDogs start rebuild with defence

The Niagara IceDogs went for a potential blueline cornerstone with their high pick in the OHL priority selection draft.

Defenceman Sam Dickinson, who is listed at 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, was chosen by the IceDogs with the No. 4 overall selection. Dickinson, who played with the Toronto Marlboros under-16 team, was the first of six defencmen taken in the opening round on Friday night.

Only a handful of incoming 16-year-olds can turn around an Ontario Hockey League team immediately. But shoring up the second-last line of defence was doubtlessly imperative for the IceDogs, who allowed an OHL-most 315 goals this season while finishing last overall in the 20-team pro-environment development league.

Prior to the OHL Cup earlier this month, The Hockey News called Dickinson “as close to a complete defenceman as it gets in the draft.”

For the first time, the OHL put the non-playoff teams in a lottery to determine the draft order, instead of using the order of finish. The Saginaw Spirit, who had one more point than the IceDogs, chose exceptional-status forward Michael Misa first overall.

The Erie Otters, Niagara’s interconference rival, selected forward Malcolm Spence, of Burlington. Spence was considered the top 2006-birthdate talent in the player pool. The Sudbury Wolves invested their No. 3 overall choice in forward Nathan Villenueve, who averaged more than two points per game as a 15-year-old in the Eastern Ontario under-18 league.

The Wolves had five more points than the Steelheads.

The IceDogs also invested their early second-round choice (25th overall) in left wing Kevin He, who played with the North York Rangers under-16 team.

London gets a Testa

The first Niagara-area talent to hear his name called was Grimsby’s Luca Testa, who was chosen No. 17 overall by the London Knights. Testa was the South Cental Triple-A Hockey (SCTA) player of the year after leading the circuit in goals, assists and points with the Niagara North Stars. He has also been testing himself against significantly older opponents with the St. Catharines Falcons in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League playoffs.

Bulldogs think forward

The Hamilton Bulldogs looked just down Highway 403 for their first selection at No. 23 overall, taking left wing Marek Vanacker from the Brantford 99ers. Vanacker, who is from the Norfolk County community of Delhi, Ont., helped lead the 99ers to an appearance in the prestigious OHL Cup under-16 tournament. Over 30 games for Brantford, Vanacker tallied 25 goals and 58 points.

The first round was three choices longer than usual due to teams being award compensatory choices. An OHL team is awarded an extra choice if a first-round selection does not report and his playing rights are moved to another team.

Generals add D-man

A mature right-shot defenceman can be hard to find in the OHL, and the Oshawa Generals made a play for one by choosing Ben Danford with their No. 14 overall choice.

Danford was the captain with the Quinte Red Devils under-16 team, which is based in Belleville, and dominated Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) play this season. The Madoc, Ont., native, who is listed at 6-foot and 176 pounds, was the first choice out of the OMHA.

The draft is scheduled to wrap up on Saturday.