The annual OHL Cup Minor Midget Hockey Showcase Tournament begins tomorrow at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga and runs through Sunday.
The Hershey Centre is fondly known as the ” Bayshore South “, based on last year’s epic OHL Championship Series & Memorial Cup when Attack fans flocked to Mississauga and packed the place.
The Attack enjoyed major success on the ice last year at the Hershey Centre and General Manager Dale DeGray and his scouting staff are hoping for similar success this week in identifying and attracting key players for next year and beyond.
In conversation with DeGray, he trots out the cliche as it pertains to the upcoming OHL Priority Selection; saying Owen Sound will select the best player available, and picking in the early teens this year, I tend to believe him.
The top forwards showcased this week, players who likely will be snapped up before DeGray chooses for Owen Sound, have names like Joshua Ho-Sang, Connor McDavid and Michael Cramarossa.
If it’s a defender the Attack seek, and there have been persistent rumbles throughout the season that Owen Sound’s priority will be a defenceman come April 7th, the prime time names ( alphabetically ) are Daniel DeSousa, Roland McKeown and Jacob Middleton.
The existing Attack roster is pretty much homegrown; only Catenacci, Childerley, Gilbert & Hope have been acquired via trade, the rest of the roster either drafted or recruited which, based on the success over the last two years, is a nice testimonial to the efforts and acumen of the scouting department.
Can they be equally successful in finding the next group of Attack players this week at the Bayshore South ?
I’m Fred Wallace