The Sarnia Sting kick off their offseason by drafting for their future.
The OHL's annual Priority Selection was held Saturday. The Sting had 16 picks in this year's draft.
The team's number-one draft pick, selected ninth overall, is Jamieson Rees, a centre with the Mississauga Minor Midget Reps. The five-foot-nine, 160 pound native of Woodbridge, Ont. had 24 goals for 40 points this season for the Reps.
Sting GM Nick Sinclair says they were pleasantly surprised to be able to take Rees.
"He was a guy that we had right at the top of our list all season long," says Sinclair. "To be honest, we were a little shocked that he was still around when we picked at nine but we're super excited about it. He plays the game the right way, plays a 200 foot game with a lot of energy and plays hard. He's a skilled player that's going to put up points in this league. From a character standpoint, he's a tremendous kid who was the captain of the Mississauga Reps team this year that ended up winning the OHL Cup and we're just really excited we were able to get him. He'll be a big part of this organization for the next four years."
Sinclair says defenceman Alexandre Hogue, taken 37th overall, is a highly skilled and offensive-minded player.
"He's got really mobile feet, he can skate. He's a puck-moving guy, we see him coming in and being a contributor right away on this team. He'll be a guy that will be really important for us from an offensive standpoint going forward and a kid that can run a powerplay. We think he's going to bring something that we need here big time right now."
The Sting took Sarnia native Nolan DeGurse from the Lambton Jr. Sting in the 13th round.
The Sting were eliminated by the Erie Otters in the OHL Western Conference quarterfinals by a four game sweep.
The rest of the Sting's draft picks are as follows, in the order they were drafted:
- Alexandre Hogue, defenceman, 37th overall (second round from the Windsor Spitfires), from Embrun, Ont.
- Brayden Guy, left winger, 45th overall (third round from the Niagara IceDogs), from Brampton, Ont.
- Justin McCombs, centre, 48th overall (third round), from Kitchener, Ont.
- Colton Kammerer, defenceman, 52nd overall (third round from the Kitchener Rangers), from Whitby, Ont.
- Mitchell Miller, defenceman, 62nd overall (fourth round from the Guelph Storm), from Sylvania, Ohio
- Ashton Reeser, defenceman, 88th overall (fifth round), from Stouffville, Ont.
- Josh Nodler, centre, 103rd overall (sixth round), from Oak Park, Michigan
- Ethan Langevin, goalie, 115th overall (sixth round from the Peterborough Petes), from Brooklin, Ont.
- Cole Craft, right winger, 148th overall (eighth round), from North Bay, Ont.
- Case McCarthy, defenceman, 168th overall (ninth round), from Buffalo, N.Y.
- Matthew Cameron, right winger, 208th overall (11th round), from Berwyn, Pennsylvania
- Will Redick, centre, 228th overall (12th round), from Stayner, Ont.
- Nolan DeGurse, centre, 248th overall (13th round), from Sarnia
- Justin Nolet, defenceman, 268th overall (14th round), from Mississauga
- Joshua Booker, defenceman, 288th overall (15th round), from Brampton, Ont.