Wolves to Select Two European Players on Wednesday
Published on July 1, 2014 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Sudbury Wolves News Release
The Sudbury Wolves will be looking to add international hockey players to their line-up on Wednesday when they will select two players in the annual CHL Import Draft. The Wolves will have the 26th and 64th overall selections in the CHL Import draft.
The Wolves draft selection is determined by their finish during the regular season. The Wolves will move-up 'five' draft positions in the first round as a result of teams passing-up on their Import selection. CHL teams can carry a maximum of two Import players on their roster.
The CHL Import draft carries an element of risk as identifying and selecting players is just one important element. Top European players have options to play hockey in their own country and/or on professional teams throughout Europe. Many of the top young European players sign contracts that commit them to play junior hockey in certain European countries at just 15 years of age.
The Wolves will be looking to replace the departure of 20-year-old Czech star Radek Faksa and 19-year-old German star Dominik Kahun.
The two Czech-born players have graduated to professional hockey with the NHL and the DEL league in Germany respectively.
"The CHL Import draft is very important to us" notes Wolves' GM Blaine Smith. "We travelled to Finland in April for the U18 World championships and our European Scout Dan Cuomo has scouted players in eastern Europe throughout the year. We are confident that we will select two very skilled players on Wednesday."
The Wolves have not made an Import selection since 2012. Last year, the Wolves passed on the CHL Import draft with the return of 18-year-old forwards Dominik Kubalik and Dominik Kahun.
The Wolves have made a number of Import picks over the past five years including two players from Russia, two players from Czech Republic and one player from Sweden, Austria and Latvia including: five forwards, one defenceman and one goaltender.
2012
Dominik Kubalik - forward - Czech Republic
Dominik Kahun - forward - Germany
2011
Johan Mattsson - goalie - Sweden
Jiri Sekac - forward - Czech Republic
2010
Andrei Kuchin - forward - Russia
Markus Pock - forward - Austria
2009
Stefan Stepanov - defence - Russia
Edij Leitans - forward - Latvia
Ontario Hockey League Stories from July 1, 2014
- Wolves to Select Two European Players on Wednesday - Sudbury Wolves
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