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The waiting over, Serron Noel can’t wait to play for Florida Panthers after being drafted

23 Saturday Jun 2018

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DALLAS – Oshawa Generals forward Serron Noel could relate to the old  Tom Petty & TheHeartbreakers hit “The Waiting.” 

The waiting was the hardest part as Noel, projected to be a first-round pick at the 2018 NHL Draft, sat and sat and sat through the opening round and left Dallas’ AmericanAirlines Center Friday. He left the arena without hearing his name called.

He didn’t have to wait long Saturday as the Florida Panthers – a team in the late Petty’s beloved home state – chose Noel in the second round with the 34th overall pick.

Oshawa Generals forward Serron Noel was projected as a first-round draft pick but slipped into the second round (Photo/Aaron Bell/OHL Images).

“Definitely a little frustrating just waiting through the whole process, thinking you’re going to go,” a relieved-looking Noel said. “But you come in today hoping you go pretty early. I’m just so excited to be picked by the Florida Panthers.”

He said he’s looking forward to “being an ambassador or role model” to the Miami-area’s diverse community.

“Someone who can reach out to the young children and just kind of inspire,” Noel added. “Because it is a new age, and hockey’s becoming more diverse, and I want to be someone like P.K. Subban, someone who can kind of be a role model in the game.”

NHL Central Scouting ranked Noel as the 10th-best North American skater available in the draft.

The 6-foot-5, 205-pounder from Guelph, Ontario, was the Generals’ second-leading goal scorer with 28. He was fifth overall on the team in scoring with 28 goals and 25 assists for 53 points in 62 regular season games.

He had an assist in five OHL playoff games and chipped in 2 goals and 4 assists in five games for Canada at the 2018 U18 world juniors.

Dennis MacInnis, director of scouting for ISS Hockey called Noel an “intriguing package of size and skill.”

“Skating has improved slightly (but) still needs to improve speed,” MacInnis wrote in his assessment of Noel. “Hard on the forecheck. Load to handle in front of the net and down below the goal lines for defenders.”

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Karl Stewart, who evaluates OHL talent for NHL Central Scouting, told NHL.com that “it’s scary to think about the player he’ll be when he’s fully developed.”

“His skating is as close to NHL ready when he wants to skate,” Stewart said. “He can drive you wide and get around you, and he’s got quick acceleration to separate himself from anyone.”

Noel said he’s been working to  get even better on his blades and hopes to showcase his skating skills at the Panthers’ development camp next week.

Noel, 17, is the son of Dean Noel, a former Canadian Football League wide receiver. He steered Serron toward hockey because of concerns about the rate of  concussions in football.

“Growing up, I was never really exposed to football,” Serron said. “A bunch of kids on my street were out playing road hockey all the time. I joined them and had a lot of fun, so I think hockey has just always been the right sport for me.”

Erica L. Ayala contributed to this report. Follow her @elindsay08.

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. And download the Color of Hockey podcast from iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.

Players of color anxiously await the call at 2018 NHL Draft in Dallas

19 Tuesday Jun 2018

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Niagara IceDogs right wing Akil Thomas is traveling from hometown Toronto to Dallas, Texas, in a rented RV with his family just so he can sit, wait, and wonder when he arrives.

Thomas hopes the wait to be picked by a team in the 2018 NHL Draft won’t be as long as the drive to Texas – a journey that exceeds 1,400 miles and 21 hours.

The waiting is the hardest part for Akil Thomas and other players at 2018 NHL Draft (Photo/Niagara IceDogs).

“I’m pretty nervous now,” Thomas told me recently. “I’m going to be sitting in a chair waiting for my name to be called. It’s going to change my life, obviously. I don’t know who’s going to pick me, I really don’t know what to expect. For everyone, it’s kind of nerve-racking. It’s kind of your first experience of the NHL.”

Thomas is one of a least eight players of color who could be selected by one of the league’s 31 teams during the two-day draft that begins Friday inside Dallas’ American Airlines Center.

Cable’s NBCSN airs the first round in the United States at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time. NHL Network picks up Rounds 2-7 on Saturday starting at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time. In Canada, Sportsnet and TVA Sports broadcasts the draft both days.

Here’s a look at some of the potential picks:

AKIL THOMAS, right wing, Niagara IceDogs, Ontario Hockey League: NHL Central Scouting ranks Thomas as the 15th-best North American skater in the draft. The 5-foot-11, 171-pound forward notched 22 goals and 59 assists in 68 games and served as an assistant captain for the IceDogs.

He had 5 goals and 6 assists in 10 OHL playoff games last season.  Thomas also played for Canada in the 2018 International Ice Hockey Federation U18 World Junior Championship, tallying a goal and an assist in four games.

Niagara IceDogs right wing Akil Thomas was his team’s  second-leading scorer last season with 22 goals and 59 assists in 68 OHL games (Photo/Terry Wilson/OHL Images)

Thomas comes from a hockey family. His father, Khalil Thomas, was a career minor league player. Ditto his uncle, Leo Thomas, who was recently named head coach of the Macon Mayhem of the Southern Professional Hockey League. He’s currently North America’s only black professional hockey head coach.

Akil Thomas’ father and mother, Akilah Thomas, are owners of the Oshawa RiverKings of Canada’s Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League.

“I love hockey so much because I’ve been around it because of my uncle and dad,” Akil Thomas told me. “I don’t get tired of working on my shot in my back yard, I don’t get tired of going to the gym because I don’t see it as hard work. I see it as fun.”

Thomas is all business off the ice as well. Though still a teenager, he has his own clothing line.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “Can play center or wing and plays with a balance of skill, will and a very strong sense of what needs to be done at any time” – TSN hockey analyst Craig Button, who ranks Thomas as a top-six play-making forward. TNS rank him 28th on its Top 93 draft list.

SERRON NOEL, right wing, Oshawa Generals:  Central Scouting ranks Noel as the 10th-best North American skater.

The 6-foot-5, 205-pounder from Guelph, Ontario, had 28 goals and 25 assists in 62 regular season games for the Generals. He had an assist in five OHL playoff games and chipped in 2 goals and 4 assists in five games for Canada at the 2018 U18 world juniors.

Oshawa Generals right wing Serron Noel finished second in goals on his team last season with 28 (Photo/Terry Wilson/OHL Images)

Noel, 17, is the son of Dean Noel, a former Canadian Football League wide receiver. He steered Serron toward hockey because of concerns about the rate of  concussions in football.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “He’s 6-foot-5 and one of the youngest players in the draft. He has the upside to become one of the premier power forwards in this league” – The Hockey Writers.

K’ANDRE MILLER, defense, USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program:  Miller,18, is a smooth-skating defender who has moved up Central Scouting’s chart. The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder from Minnetonka, Minnesota, jumped to 23rd-best North American skater from 31st at mid-term.

K’Andre Miller helped anchor the defense for the United States at the IIHF U18 World Championship (Photo/USA Hockey)

Miller had 7 goals and 17 assists in 50 games. Not bad for a player who switched to defense from forward two seasons ago. He skated for the U.S. at the 2018 IIHF U18 world juniors, scoring a goal and 2 assists in seven games.

Any NHL team that takes Miller could have to wait a few years for him. He begins playing for the University of Wisconsin Badgers and Head Coach Tony Granato this fall.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “Strong skating, puck carrying defenseman who can quickly get the play moving forward. Athletic with excellent potential” – TSN’s Button, who projects Miller to become a Top 4 defenseman. Miller is ranked 24th on TSN’s Top 93.

Jett Woo, Moose Jaw Warriors (Photo/Marc Smith/DiscoverMooseJaw).

JETT WOO, defense, Moose Jaw Warriors, Western Hockey League. Woo is hoping to make history and become the first player of Chinese descent to be chosen in the first round of the NHL Draft.

Defenseman Andong Song became the first Chinese-born player drafted when the New York Islanders chose him in the sixth round in 2015.

Woo may achieve his goal, even though his stock dipped with Central Scouting. The 17-year-old from Winnipeg is ranked the 28th-best North American skater, down from 20th at mid-term.

Rugged Moose Jaw Warriors defenseman Jett Woo wants to be the first player of Chinese descent to be selected in the NHL Draft’s first round (Photo/Marc Smith/DiscoverMooseJaw).

Named after Chinese action film star Jet Li, the 5-foot-11, 205-pound Woo had 9 goals and 16 assists in 44 games last season for Moose Jaw. He scored 2 goals and 1 assist in 14 WHL playoff games last season. He also contributed a goal and an assist for Team Canada at the IIHF U18 world juniors.

“I’m not exactly sure if my dad is a big fan of Jet Li…he might be,” Woo told NHL.com. “I know that’s where my name came from. I know my grandparents liked the name.”

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “Poised defender with above-average speed and a strong understanding of the game” – The Sporting News, which had Woo 56th in its April rankings.

JERMAINE LOEWEN, left wing, Kamloops Blazers, WHL: Loewen, 20, aspires to be the NHL’s second Jamaican-born player. Graeme Townshend – a forward who played for the Boston Bruins, New York Islanders, and Ottawa Senators – was the first.

Kamloops Blazers forward is what most NHL teams covet in a player: size and hands soft enough to score 36 goals last season (Photo/Kamloops Blazers).

Loewen is ranked as the 160th-best North American skater and is projected as a potential late-round pick.  At 6-foot-four, 221-pounds, Loewen was the Blazers’ leading scorer last season with 36 goals and 28 assists in 66 regular season games.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “A raw player player with a huge frame. Plays a very impressive game with good on ice smarts, He can be heavy on his feet, but there is no denying his ability to get the job done. Loewen could turn into a Wayne Simmonds-type player” – ISS Hockey.

Forward Austin Wong hopes to follow his brother, Tyler, into pro hockey.

AUSTIN WONG, center/right wing, Okotoks Oilers, Alberta Junior Hockey League:  Ranked 174th among North American skaters by Central Scouting, Wong was the Oilers fourth-leading scorer last season with 25 goals and 29 assists in 55 AJHL games.

The 5-foot-10, 189-pound 17-year-old from Cochrane, Alberta, Canada, is committed to play Ivy League hockey for Harvard University starting in the 2019-20 season.

Wong’s older brother, right wing Tyler Wong,  played last season for the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League and the Quad City Mallards of the ECHL.

He was an NHL preseason and training camp sensation for the Vegas Golden Knights last September. Tyler Wong scored the first goal in Golden Knights history in an exhibition game against the Vancouver Canucks. He finished the game with a hat trick – three goals.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “A pitbull of a power forward who combines skill and truculence…He gets in on the forecheck and is able to make quick reaction plays that lead to scoring chances around the net,” Steve Kournianos, The Draft Analyst.

ISAAC NURSE, right wing, Hamilton Bulldogs, OHL:  Yep, another Nurse looking to make it big in hockey. Ranked the 180th-best North American skater, Nurse notched 17 goals and 13 assists in 68 games for Hamilton last season. He added 7 goals and 4 assists in 21 OHL post-season contests.

Unlike cousin Darnell Nurse, a defenseman drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the first round of the 2013 NHL Draft, Issac Nurse is taking the long road to the NHL. The 19-year-old Hamilton native was initially cut by the Bulldogs and played Canadian Junior B hockey in 2015-16 before rejoining the hometown Bulldogs the next season.

Hamilton Bulldogs forward Isaac Nurse has taken the long path in hockey, a route that he hopes will lead to the NHL (Photo/Aaron Bell/OHL Images).

At 5-foot-10, 174-pounds, Nurse comes from one of Canada’s most competitive athletic families. Sister Sarah Nurse starred at the University of Wisconsin and played for Canada’s women’s hockey team at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Cousin Kia Nurse, Darnell’s sister, is a point guard for the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team and played for Canada at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janerio.

Isaac’s father, Roger Nurse, was a star lacrosse player. His uncle, Richard Nurse, was a wide receiver for the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats. An aunt, Cathy Nurse, was a hoops star at Canada’s McMaster University. And former NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb is a relative by marriage.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “He’s hard to play against and he fits into how we want to play…He’s a big part of why this team is where it’s at right now” – Hamilton Bulldogs Head Coach John Gruden.

Kamloops Blazers defenseman Montana Onyebuchi.

MONTANA ONYEBUCHI, defense, Kamloops Blazers, WHL: A physical 6-foot-3, 209-pound blue-liner, Onyebuchi  dropped off Central Scouting’s list after being ranked the 216th-best North American skater at mid-term.

About the name: Onyebuchi’s father hails from Nigeria and moved to Canada following high school.

Onyebuchi, 18, had 4 goals and 13 assists in 62 games for the Blazers and the WHL’s  Everett Silvertips. The Dugald, Manitoba, Canada, native also accumulated a whopping 109 penalty minutes between the two teams. Think 2015 sixth-round draftee Bokondji Imama.

Defenseman Montana Onyebuchi, left, split his last season between the Kamloops Blazers and Everett Silvertips (Photo/Kamloops Blazers).

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “Onyebuchi is a bit of a wild man who is fearless, yet feared by others. He can definitely fight and be a physical presence, but Onyebuchi is also a powerful skater with a raw skill-set that suggests he has a pro upside” – The Hockey Writers.

Some lower-ranked players may not get their names called in Dallas on Friday or Saturday, but that doesn’t mean NHL teams won’t come calling.

They could be invited to NHL rookie and prospect camps teams hold shortly after the draft. The camps, tryouts of sorts, can lead to NHL or minor league opportunities down the road.

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. And download the Color of Hockey podcast from iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.

 

Noel and Woo join Akil Thomas as potential NHL first-round draft picks

19 Sunday Nov 2017

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Two players of color have been upgraded to potential first-round picks in the 2018 National Hockey League Draft in June by NHL Central Scouting.

Serron Noel, a forward for the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League, and defensman Jett Woo of the Western Hockey League’s Moose Jaw Warriors were elevated to “A” ratings from “B” ratings last week by Central Scouting.

NHL Central Scouting has elevated Oshawa Generals forward Serron Noel to an “A” rating, meaning he’s considered as a potential first-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft (Photo/Aaron Bell/OHL Images).

An A rating designates players as potential first-round candidates. A B rating indicates a player is a likely second or third-round pick in the June 22-23 draft at Dallas’ American Airlines Center.

Noel, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound right wing and son of a former Canadian Football League player, has 10 goals 4 assists and 20 penalty minutes in 18 games for Oshawa.

“Noel is a power forward who is a strong skater with deceptive outside speed to separate himself from checking and quickness by pulling away on the rush,” NHL Central Scouting Director Dave Marr told NHL.com. “He works hard on the forecheck, forcing turnovers and finishing hits.”

Woo, a 6-foot, 200-pound blue liner, has 6 goals, 11 assists and 20 penalty minutes in 18 games for the Warriors.

“He’s a point-a-game player now, runs the first power-play unit and plays with a lot more poise and patience with the puck,” Central Scouting’s John Williams told NHL.com. “He’s not likely a power play guy in the NHL, but more of a two-way guy who can bring a physical element with enough skill to contribute.”

Moose Jaw Warriors defenseman Jett Woo has played for Team Canada and is now projected as a potential first-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft (Photo/ Matthew Murnaghan/Hockey Canada Images).

He also owns one of the coolest first names in hockey, though he has no idea why his father chose it.

“I know he’s a fan of (Chinese actor/producer) Jet Li, but I don’t know if that’s why I got the name. I like my name, though,” Woo told the International Ice Hockey Federation’s Andrew Podnieks in April.

Niagara IceDogs forward Akil Thomas began the 2017-18 season as a prospective first-round selection in the 2018 NHL Draft (Photo/Terry Wilson/OHL Images).

Noel and Woo join Akil Thomas, a forward for the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs as minority players who could hear NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman call their name in the first round of the Dallas draft.

A 5-foot-11, 170-pound right wing, Thomas has 5 goals, 16 assists and 8 penalty minutes in 20 games for the IceDogs. He tallied 21 goals and 27 assists in 61 games in his rookie season with Niagara.

The three 17-year-olds  played for Canada’s gold medal-winning team at the 2017 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup tournament last August in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Thomas tallied 2 goals and 4 assists in five tournament games while Noel had a goal in five contests. Woo, an assistant captain on the team, went scoreless.

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. And download the Color of Hockey podcast from iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.

From Detroit to the Desert? Arizona Coyotes sign Jalen Smereck

11 Tuesday Oct 2016

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Not taken in the 2016 National Hockey League Draft? Not a problem for Jalen Smereck.

When his name wasn’t called at June’s draft in Buffalo, the 19-year-old Flint Firebirds defenseman did what he always does – he went back to work and he impressed.

Smereck turned an Arizona Coyotes’ rookie camp appearance over the summer into an invite to the NHL team’s training camp last month into a three-year entry level contract with the team that he signed last week.

“This is a surreal moment for my family and I,” Smereck said of the signing. “This is an opportunity that I don’t take lightly and am very thankful to the entire Arizona Coyotes organization. There is still a lot of work to be done but I guarantee that I will work my hardest to get better everyday.”

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The Detroit native appeared in one preseason game for Arizona last month, registering two hits and two penalty minutes while logging 13:44 minutes of ice time.

The Coyotes shipped the 6-foot, 195-pound defender back to Flint, where he’s an alternate captain on the Firebirds.

He has no goals and 6 assists in four OHL games this season. Smereck tallied 5 goals and 20 assists  in 63 games for the OHL’s  Oshawa Generals last season. He was acquired by Flint over the summer.

“This is an awesome day for Jalen and his family,” said Firebirds General Manager George Burnett of Smereck’s NHL signing. “This is another great example of determination and perseverance by a young man who was a late draft selection into our league and was not picked in the NHL Entry Draft.”

Jalen Smereck starred on the blue line last season for the Oshawa Generals (Photo/Terry Wilson/OHL Images).

Jalen Smereck starred on the blue line last season for the Oshawa Generals (Photo/Terry Wilson/OHL Images).

The Generals chose Smereck with the 299th overall pick in the 2013 OHL draft. Before joining Oshawa, he skated for the Bloomington Thunder  of the United States Hockey League after the Tier I junior  team selected him with the 18th overall pick in the 2014 Phase II Draft. He also played two games for the Odessa Jackalopes of the North American Hockey League.

Smereck hails from a hockey family that had him on skates by the time he was two years old.

“My dad coached my two older brothers and I was just one of the younger kids around the rink watching,” Smereck told The Detroit Free Press recently. I always took my brother’s stick and played in the hallway. My dad thought I was ready and took me on the ice.”

Despite Detroit’s black hockey history – the Detroit Hockey Association has produced players who’ve gone on to stellar collegiate and minor league careers– it wasn’t always easy being a black kid  playing in the Motor City, Smereck said.

“Everyone else is playing basketball or football and you’re playing hockey,” he told The Detroit Free Press recently. “I kind of got teased a bit for playing that sport. I still played basketball and baseball, but they looked down on me for playing hockey.”

These days, Smereck works to make sure that young kids of color in Flint and back home in Detroit learn that hockey is indeed for everyone.

“I definitely look to get out in the community here in Flint and open up the eyes of some of the young kids in the inner city,” he told the Free Press. “Even back home in Detroit, I’ve done a few talks with kids and just tried to show them. It’s amazing when you show them what a hockey puck is and they just can’t take their eyes off it.”

 

 

 

 

 

Diversity abounds in 2016 NHL Draft class, from top to bottom

15 Sunday May 2016

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You don’t have to look very hard to gauge the depth of diversity in the 2016 National Hockey League Draft.

Players of color populate NHL Central Scouting’s  list of talented skaters eligible for the June 24-25 draft at the First Niagara Center, home of the Buffalo Sabres, from top to bottom.

Let’s start at the top with forward Auston Matthews, the draft’s presumptive  first overall pick – unless the Toronto Maple Leafs shock the hockey world.

Auston Matthews is poised to go from Arizona to Zurich to the NHL Number One draft pick.

Auston Matthews is poised to go from Arizona to Zurich to the NHL Number One draft pick.

Matthews embodies hockey’s  growing diversity – both racially and geographically. His mother, Ema, is from Mexico, and his father, Brian, from California.

Born and raised in Arizona, Matthews  got hooked on hockey watching the NHL Arizona Coyotes play. He hails from a non-traditional market and will reach the NHL via an unconventional route for a North American teenager.

After playing two seasons for the  USA Hockey National Team Development Program, Matthews skated for the ZSC Lions in Switzerland’s professional National League A in the 2015-16 season, reportedly earning $400,000.

He scored 24 goals and 22 assists in 46 regular season games for the Lions and tallied 3 assists for the Zurich-based team in four playoff games.

Matthews also suited up for United States at the International Ice Hockey Federation 2016 World Junior Championship in Helsinki, Finland in December and January. He tied for the tournament lead in goals with 7 and finished fourth overall in points with 11 in powering the U.S.to a Bronze Medal.

He’s currently playing for the U.S. at the IIHF World Championship in Russia and has 3 goals and 3 assists in seven games.

The 6-foot-2, 194-pound Matthews is a “trailblazer, in all forms of the word,” his agent, Pat Brisson, told USA Hockey Magazine. “He’s an 18-year-old who’s ready to play in the NHL.”

California-born and Arizona-raised, Auston Matthews represented the U.S. twice this season in international tournaments.

California-born and Arizona-raised, Auston Matthews represented the U.S. twice this season in international tournaments.

Givani Smith, a right wing for the Ontario Hockey League’s Guelph Storm, is ranked as the 54th-best North American skater by Central Scouting. He’s hoping to follow in the skates of his older brother, center Gemel Smith, who was drafted by the Dallas Stars in 2012 in the fourth round with the 104th overall pick.

Givani  tallied 23 goals, 19 assists, and 146 penalty minutes in 65 games for Guelph in 2015-16. Gemel had 13 goals, 13 assists, and 24 penalty minutes in 65 games for the Texas Stars, Dallas’ American Hockey League farm team.

Big brother Gemel has offered some sage advice to Givani ahead of June’s draft: “Don’t believe the hype – good or bad.”

Guelph Storm forward Givani Smith looks to join older brother Gemel Smith in the pros (Photo/Terry Wilson/OHL Images).

Guelph Storm forward Givani Smith looks to join older brother Gemel Smith in the pros (Photo/Terry Wilson/OHL Images).

“Most of his advice has been ‘Don’t go on social media and read what people are writing about you,'” Givani told the website Hockey’s Future. “Play your game; and if you play a good game, you’ll be rewarded in the end…I have a Twitter account and I know what’s going on, but I try not to pay too much attention to it.”

Fans at OHL London Knights home playoff games weren’t showering a player with boos. They were chanting of “Puuu,” paying homage to Knights forward Cliff Pu, ranked the 75th-best North American skater by Central Scouting.

“At first, I didn’t know they were doing it,” Pu said of the special cheer to The Hockey News. “It’s pretty funny – and it’s better than them booing, so it’s all fun and games.”

The 6-foot-1, 188-pound Pu notched 12 goals, 19 assists, and 24 penalty minutes in 63 regular season games for the Knights. He became a beast in the OHL playoffs, tallying 8 goals and 5 assists in 18 games.

Size, speed, and desire are keys to London Knights' Cliff Pu's game - and path to the NHL (Photo/Aaron Bell/OHL Images).

Size, speed, and desire are keys to London Knights’ Cliff Pu’s game – and path to the NHL (Photo/Aaron Bell/OHL Images).

“I like to use my speed and find my teammates,” Pu told The Hockey News. “But it’s all about the team and whatever I need to do, I’m down for it.”

Pu , whose parents came to Canada from China, gained a lot of attention in January by celebrating a goal in an unusual fashion in today’s game – with a handshake.

Peterborough Petes center Jonathan Ang is North America’s 95th-best skater, according to Central Scouting, up from 137 in the mid-term rankings. A  Canadian of Malaysian descent, he finished fourth on the Petes in scoring in 2015-16 with 21 goals and 28 assists in 68 games.

Jonathan Ang of the Peterborough Petes (Photo/ Aaron Bell/OHL Images).

Jonathan Ang of the Peterborough Petes (Photo/ Aaron Bell/OHL Images).

Ang led the Petes in playoff scoring, tallying 3 goals and 6 assists in seven games with one playoff  game-winning goal. In an OHL coach’s poll in March, Ang tied for second as the league’s best skater.

Like Ang,  defenseman James “J.D.” Greenway has moved up in the draft rankings – from 128 at mid-term to 121 in Central Scouting’s final report.

A member of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program Under-18 squad that competes against United States Hockey League, collegiate, and international teams, Greenway scored 5 goals and 23 assists in 64 games.

J.D. Greenway wants to play in the NHL - after college.

J.D. Greenway wants to play in the NHL – after college.

The Potsdam, N.Y., native is hoping to continue the family draft tradition. His brother, Boston University left wing Jordan Greenway, was chosen by the Minnesota Wild last year in the second round with the 50th overall pick.

Like his brother, J.D. is going the NCAA Division I route before turning pro. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound D-man recently committed to play for the University of Wisconsin.

It looks like Yushiro Hirano’s decision last year to pay his own way to travel from hometown Sapporo, Japan to Youngstown, Ohio, is paying off. Hirano, a 20-year-old right wing for the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms is ranked as the 184th-best draft-eligible player in North America.

Hirano – whose first name is sometimes spelled Yushiroh – came to the U.S.to catch the eyes of professional scouts. The 6-foot, 200-pound winger scored  24 goals and 22 assists 54 regular season games in 2015-16.

“I hope to grow the game in Japan and make everybody proud,” Hirano told me last year in an email exchange. “I also want to play well enough to get to the professional ranks here in the United States.”

Yushiro Hirano's decision to relocate from Japan to Ohio to play hockey might pay off at June's NHL Draft (Photo/Bill Paterson).

Yushiro Hirano’s decision to relocate from Japan to Ohio to play hockey might pay off at June’s NHL Draft (Photo/Bill Paterson).

Right wing Daniel Muzito-Bagenda is another import, from the land of Volvos and Saabs. The Swedish Muzito-Bagenda is a high-scoring forward for the OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads and the 205th-ranked player in North America available for the draft.

He had 20 goals and 17 assists in 63 regular season games for the Steelheads and 6 goals and 4 assists in seven OHL playoff games.

A product of Sweden's storied Modo hockey program, Mississauga Steelheads' Daniel Muzito-Bagenda hopes to hear his name called at the NHL Draft (Photo/Aaron Bell/OHL Images).

A product of Sweden’s storied Modo hockey program, Mississauga Steelheads’ Daniel Muzito-Bagenda hopes to hear his name called at the NHL Draft (Photo/Aaron Bell/OHL Images).

One player who didn’t make Central Scouting’s cut but still could draw interest in later rounds is defenseman Jalen Smereck of the OHL’s Oshawa Generals. Born in Detroit, Smereck  was the 299th overall pick of the 2013 OHL draft.

He signed with Oshawa in summer 2015 and was pressed into heavy minutes on the Generals’ blue line throughout the 2015-16 season. He responded by scoring 5 goals and 20 assists in 63 regular season games and 1 goal and 4 assists in five playoff contests.

“For a team that was certainly rebuilding, he was a stalwart on defense,” hockey blogger and researcher Margann Laurissa told me recently. “Jalen played in all situations for the Gennies and there is no reason why the Detroit native should not get consideration.”

Oshawa's Jalen Smereck isn't ranked by Central Scouting but some hockey folks think he has the skills to crash the NHL draft party Photo/(Ian Goodall/Goodall Media Inc.)

Oshawa’s Jalen Smereck isn’t ranked by Central Scouting but some hockey folks think he has the skills to crash the NHL draft party Photo/(Ian Goodall/Goodall Media Inc.)

The hockey blog OHL Prospects wrote that Smereck made a pretty seamless transition into Oshawa’s Top 4 defense rotation.

“With his average size, the development of his offensive game will be key to him becoming a serious NHL prospect,” according to the blog which concludes that “he could be worth a look.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hockey sends Jalen Smereck from one Motown to another

05 Sunday Jul 2015

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Jalen Smereck hopes to move from one Motor City to another.

The Detroit native has committed to the defending Memorial Cup champion Oshawa Generals this coming season. A left-shooting defenseman, Smereck was drafted by the Ontario Hockey League Generals in 2013 with the 299th overall pick.

He played for the Bloomington Thunder after that team selected him in the first round with the 18th overall pick of the 2014 United States Hockey League Phase II Draft. He scored three goals and 15 assists in 51 games for the Thunder in 2014-15. He also played two games for the Odessa Jackalopes of the North American Hockey League and tallied one assist.

“Jalen was a draft pick of ours a couple of years ago and he has continued to develop as a player over the past couple of years,” Oshawa General Manager Ron Hunt said. “Mike Kelly (the Generals’ director of hockey operations) and I watched him play for the Bloomington Thunder this past year and feel he is ready to make the jump to the OHL.”

Jalen Smereck hopes to crack the Oshawa Generals lineup in 2015-16.

Jalen Smereck hopes to crack the Oshawa Generals lineup in 2015-16.

Smereck reports to Oshawa’s training camp at Oshawa’s General Motors Centre at the end of the summer. If his makes the roster, he will move 260 miles from America’s Motor City to the self-proclaimed automotive capital of Canada.

Smereck, 18, is an alum of the Detroit Hockey Association, a program affiliated with the National Hockey League’s “Hockey is for Everyone” initiative which provides kids of all backgrounds the opportunity to learn and play hockey at little or no cost. In return, program participants must stay in school and maintain good grades.

The DHA has produced several hockey players of color who’ve gone on to play in college and professional leagues.

Tarasai Karega, one of the first black women to win an NCAA hockey championship, and Cameron Burt, a defenseman for the ECHL’s Florida Everblades and former Rochester Institute of Technology star, are among the program’s graduates.