The early portion of the first round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft played out in Owen Sound over the weekend.
The Attack played host to the Kingston Frontenacs on Saturday night and then the Erie Otters yesterday afternoon.
The Frontenacs feature Lawson Crouse who is rated # 4 in the CSB Mid-Term rankings.
And the Otters of course, feature the consensus # 1 choice, Connor McDavid, plus Dylan Strome who holds down the # 5 spot in the rankings.
For their part, the Attack have 7 players on the roster who made the NHL Midterm list- in alphabetical order; Jack Flinn, Tyler MacArthur, Michael McNiven, Jarrett Meyer, Petrus Palmu, Thomas Schemitsch & Ethan Szypula
What’s interesting to me, is 2 other Attack prospects made the list; centre Brent Gates at # 74 and defender Joseph Masonius sitting at 201.
Looking forward, could Gates and/or Masonius be convinced to join the Attack ?
At this juncture, it seems unlikely.
In the opinion of the Attack brass, Masonius would be a 3-4-5 defender among the current group of defenders and the belief is the cost to the organization to entice him would be too steep to justify.
As for Gates, a good skating, 6 foot plus skater, he’s switched school commitments from Notre Dame to the University of Minnesota and while there will be future talks, the Attack aren’t sure what to make of the educational location alteration.
I’m Fred Wallace