OHL North Bay Battalion

Troops Tab Schlueting off Top

Published on April 7, 2018 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
North Bay Battalion News Release


NORTH BAY, Ont. - The North Bay Battalion made left-shot defenceman Pacey Schlueting of the North Bay Trappers minor midgets the first of the club's 15 picks in the Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection on Saturday.

A North Bay resident, the six-foot-one, 176-pound Schlueting was taken with the ninth overall pick. He scored 13 goals and earned 21 assists for 34 points in 24 games and added four points, including two goals, in four games at the OHL Cup in March. Schlueting, who turned 16 on Jan. 2, is the seventh defencemen the Battalion has chosen with a first-round pick.

The Troops had two picks in the second round and exercised the first, 29th overall, on left-shot centre Cameron Peters from the Toronto Marlboros minor midgets. Two picks later, using a choice that originally belonged to the Oshawa Generals, the Battalion tabbed goaltender Joe Vrbetic of the Don Mills Flyers minor midgets.

Peters, six-foot-one, 177 pounds, recorded 27 goals and 33 assists for 60 points in 59 games and earned three assists in six games at the OHL Cup. A Toronto resident who turns 16 on July 9, Peters also appeared in one game for the junior A St. Michael's Buzzers.

"It's a cool experience", Peters said of being chosen. "I can bring my speed and size. I can use my size to push opponents out of the way. My shot will be a good asset. Over the summer I'll be working out and look to head into camp to do my best."

Vrbetic was the second goaltender chosen in the process. A six-foot-four, 164-pound resident of Dunvegan, Ont., 80 kilometres east of Ottawa, he made two appearances at the OHL Cup. Vrbetic, who turns 16 on Oct. 24, is the first goaltender tabbed by the Battalion as high as the second round since Brad Topping went 27th overall from the Lambton bantams in 2000.

"I'm truly honoured to be selected," said Vrbetic. "I can't wait to get started."

In the third round, 49th overall, the Troops looked to left-shot centre Kyle Jackson of the Toronto Red Wings minor midgets. Jackson, six feet and 154 pounds, had 20 goals and 22 assists for 42 points in 51 games. The Ottawa resident turns 16 on Oct. 17.

"It's been a dream of mine all of my life to have the chance to play in the OHL," Jackson said via Twitter. "I'm very lucky to be drafted to the North Bay Battalion and I can't wait for the future with this organization.

"I bring a team a complete hockey game, strong defensively who takes cares of their own zone first and doesn't cheat any part of the game. Offensively I bring strong vision and can make players around me better. I'm more of a playmaker and can create lots of offensive scoring chances."

The Battalion turned to another local product in the fourth round, 69th overall, choosing Schlueting's teammate, left winger David Campbell of adjacent Callander. Campbell scored 24 goals and added 12 assists for 36 points in 24 games for the Trappers and had four points, including two goals, at the OHL Cup. He appeared in five games for the Blind River Beavers of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League, producing three points, including one goal. Campbell, six feet and 167 pounds, turns 16 on April 12.

North Bay's fifth-round choice, 89th overall, was left-shot blueliner James Mayotte from the under-16 program at Shattuck-St. Mary's, a private school at Faribault, Minn. A resident of Mallorytown, Ont., Mayotte produced four goals and 13 assists for 17 points in 47 games. The six-foot-one 165-pounder turned 16 on March 4.

The club's sixth-round pick, 109th overall, was a teammate of Vrbetic, left winger Joshua Currie, who had 21 goals and 25 assists for 46 points in 63 games for Don Mills. He added one goal in four OHL Cup games. A six-foot-two, 158-pound resident of Pickering, Ont., Currie turns 16 on July 1.

Without a pick in the seventh round, the Troops selected right-shot defenceman Thomas Gangl of the Huron Perth Lakers minor midgets in the eighth round, 149th overall. A six-foot-one, 162-pound resident of Wingham, Ont., Gangl had three goals and eight assists for 11 points in 31 games. He turned 16 on Jan. 8.

The Battalion tabbed another North Bay player in the ninth round, choosing right winger Jesse Kirkby with the 169th selection. Kirkby, six feet and 149 pounds, registered 10 goals and 15 assists for 25 points in 24 games for the Trappers minor midgets and earned two assists in four games at the OHL Cup. He turned 16 on Jan. 4.

In the 10th round, 189th overall, the Troops chose left-shot defenceman Ryan Hall of the Vaughan Kings minor midgets. A six-foot-one, 210-pound resident of Minden, Ont., Hall, who turns 16 on May 22, produced 17 points, including one goal, in 64 games. He added two assists in seven games at the OHL Cup.

The Sudbury Wolves owned the first overall pick in the 15-round process, which was conducted over the Internet, and announced Friday the selection of centre Quinton Byfield of the York Simcoe Express minor midgets.

Check out the North Bay Battalion Statistics

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