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OHL Brantford Bulldogs

Vanacker Makes Bulldogs History; Protz Heads to Habs in 2024 NHL Draft

June 29, 2024 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Brantford Bulldogs News Release


Bulldogs history was made just before 10:30pm on Friday night, June 28th when Marek Vanacker was announced by the Chicago Blackhawks as the 27th overall selection in the 1st round of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. Vanacker's selection bests the previous Bulldogs high mark of 33rd overall held by Arthur Kaliyev when the Los Angeles Kings selected the Bulldogs scoring record holder in the 2019 NHL Draft, and becomes the first Bulldog to be selected in the 1st Round of the NHL Entry Draft.

Coming off of a brilliant season, Vanacker was highly touted heading into the NHL Draft at The Sphere in Las Vegas but the question remained, which team would step up for the Delhi product? After leading the Bulldogs in scoring with 36 goals & 46 assists for 82 points while appearing in all 68 games, Vanacker continued right along in the playoffs posting 3 goals & 4 assists for 7 points in 6 games, finishing behind only, now Chicago draft-mate, Nick Lardis. Vanacker finished his 2023-24 winning a U18 World Championship Gold Medal on his way to the selection by the Chicago Blackhawks.

Vanacker becomes the 4th Bulldog to enter the Blackhawks organization, following 2018 OHL Champions MacKenzie Entwistle (Bulldogs' 2nd captain) & Riley Stillman along with Nick Lardis.

In the 4th round with the 102nd overall selection the Montreal Canadiens added Bulldogs defenseman Owen Protz to one of the most historic franchises in all of sports. After arriving in a mid-season trade from the Sudbury Wolves, the Ottawa native skated in 30 games for the Bulldogs in the regular season, becoming an instant fan favourite. The 6'2 ‚¬Â³, 207lbs left shot rearguard quickly built a reputation as one of the OHL's most punishing physical players while adding an underrated offensive element to his game, posting 2 goals and 10 assists over the 30 regular season contests.

In the absence of Tomas Hamara due to injury, down the stretch it was Protz who stepped up, as a rookie, to the Bulldogs top defensive pair alongside the veteran Daniil Sobolev and looked a veteran himself. Handling the toughest minutes at even strength and on the penalty kill Protz became as trusted as anyone along the Bulldogs bench and his meteoric rise up the draft boards shows the effect.

Protz becomes the 5th Bulldogs to enter the Montreal Canadiens organization, following Will Bitten, Jan Mysak & Arber & Florian Xhekaj.

Congratulations to both Marek & Owen on this fantastic accomplishment and we can't wait for the next chapter of their journeys between Chicago, Montreal and right back home in Brantford.

*Draft Notes: Both of the Bulldogs 2023 CHL Import Draft selections were also taken in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft with Adam Jiricek (19th overall in the CHL Import Draft) going 16th to the St. Louis Blues, while Dominik Badinka (79th overall in the CHL Import Draft) was selected 34th by the Carolina Hurricanes.

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from June 29, 2024


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