OHL North Bay Battalion

Paul, Wood Nominated to Super Series

Published on October 24, 2014 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
North Bay Battalion News Release


NORTH BAY, Ont. - Nick Paul and Kyle Wood of the North Bay Battalion have been chosen to play in the Ontario Hockey League segment of the Canada-Russia Super Series, it was announced Tuesday.

Left winger Paul and defenceman Wood are two of 33 OHL players named to participate in the two-game segment. Paul will skate in the first game, at Peterborough on Nov. 13, while Wood will play in the second, at Kingston on Nov. 17.

The games are part of a six-game series that forms part of Hockey Canada's selection process for the Canadian entry in the World Junior Championship, to be held Dec. 26 to Jan. 5 at Montreal and Toronto.

Paul, 19, attended the Canadian national junior team's summer development camp at three Quebec centres in August. A fifth-round pick in the 2012 OHL Priority Selection, Paul leads the Battalion in goals and points this season with eight and 11 respectively.

The six-foot-three, 221-pound Mississauga resident, who has scored five goals over the last three games, was chosen by the Dallas Stars in the fourth round of the National Hockey League Draft in 2013 before his rights traded to the Ottawa Senators last July 1.

"I knew coming into this season that I needed to start off strong if I wanted to have a chance to make the Canadian team," said Paul. "I'm happy with how things are going so far, but there's a lot more work to do.

"I learned from the summer camp that you need to have the mindset that you'll be the best player on the ice, and that's how I'll approach this game and I can show them I'm a dominant player who belongs on the team."

Wood, 18, has four goals in eight games, tied with Jordan Subban of the Belleville Bulls for the most among OHL blueliners. The Waterloo, Ont., resident, chosen in the third round of the 2012 OHL Priority Selection, was tabbed by the Colorado Avalanche in the third round of the NHL Draft in June.

Battalion coach Stan Butler, who twice has served as bench boss of the Canadian junior team, has been involved in a number of Super Series as an assistant coach or a member of the roster selection committee.

"It's a really important evaluation tool for Hockey Canada," he noted. "In Nick's case, they'll be looking at him to see if he'll be playing on that team at Christmas. In Kyle's case, they probably want to get a feel for him, since he hasn't been in the program before. They might be looking at him as a potential candidate for next year. If you don't get on their radar, they don't know where you are."

The OHL team will be guided by Scott Walker, coach of the Guelph Storm and a member of the national junior team's coaching staff.

The Western Hockey League segment of the Super Series opens Nov. 10 at Saskatoon and ends the following night at Brandon, Man. Bathurst, N.B., and Rimouski, Que., are the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League host centres starting Nov. 18.

This is the first time that the Super Series starts in the WHL and moves east through the OHL and QMJHL. All others have opened in the QMJHL and proceeded through the OHL and WHL.

All games are to be telecast live on Rogers Sportsnet.

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from October 24, 2014


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