OHL Draft Watch: Sudbury Wolves MM Report
TSR Features | 25 Mar 2011
While the majority of the OHL scouting eyes are looking at those playing in the OHL cup, I had the chance to take in three games from the Sudbury Wolves Minor Midget program over the past couple weeks. All three of these games came during the NDMHL playoffs, one in the first round against the Valley East and two in the second round against the Rayside Balfour Tigers. The team was a surprise omission from the OHL cup and some of its players could have likely benefited from the extra exposure. With that being said, here’s a recap of my thoughts on some of the top draft eligible players from the team.
Marco Lizotte | W/D | 6’1” | 185lbs | 5/26/95
All three games that I’ve had a chance to see Marco he’s played up front on the wing. Marco is definitely a player who likes to play with an edge to his game throwing his body around and is not afraid to get into the dirty areas. He could likely be criticized for being overaggressive, as in the two games I got to see him in the line-up he ended up being tossed from the game for fighting in both games and was suspended for the second fight when I saw the Wolves the following game.
While he does have a mean streak he can also contribute in other facets of the game. He shows good skating ability as well as an extremely hard and heavy shot. He seems to generally be very vocal on the ice both in aiding the play with his team as well as trying to get under the oppositions skin. While Lizotte likely won’t hear his name called early in the draft, I could easily see a team nabbing him with a late pick as he is a player who could very likely be a solid bottom 6 guy as a long-term projection.
Tyler Bertuzzi | C/W | 5’10” | 150lbs | 2/24/95
Tyler is a player who plays much bigger than he is, and plays with no fear in his game. He plays an extremely aggressive brand of hockey and is often seen flying into traffic at full speed. For his size he’s also reasonably strong on the puck all the while using his body to shield the puck from the opposition. Tyler shows good vision making some great passes down low a few of which lead to goals for his team. He’s also good at handling the puck and likes to go hard to the net with it.
He needs to work on keeping his head up; over the course of three games there were more than a few instances where he got hit hard with his head down. He will definitely have to add size before he can make the jump to the OHL; if he does add height and weight, he has the potential to be a good power forward type prospect. I’d likely expect to see Tyler get drafted by a team in the fourth or fifth round, however due to his potential I would not be surprised if a team stepped up and drafted him earlier.
Charlie Venedam | W | 6’0” | 180lbs | 2/24/95
Charlie is a player who over the course of three games was at times one of the better players on the ice and at other times almost invisible. While he does bring good size to the table, which combined with his great shot and good skating ability make him an intriguing prospect, his lack of consistency will likely be called into question. Charlie is a player who excels when the puck is on his stick; he uses size in order to protect the puck near the boards and down low and has a great wristshot with a quick release. As previously mentioned the consistency is just not there. He will likely be drafted in the front half of the draft due to his skillsets however his consistency and work rate will have to improve if he wants a shot at making an OHL line-up.
Ryan Erickson | C/W | 6’1” | 165lbs | 6/17/95
When you see Ryan Erickson on the ice, nothing initially sticks out about him; he seems to be a player with no true strengths. As you focus in on him you start to notice that he thinks the game on a great level. He seems to always be where he needs to be both offensive and defensively. He has extremely good vision and uses it to slow the play down to where he can make some great plays. Defensively he looked great on the penalty kill blocking shots and intercepting passes to clear the zone. While it’s hard to say where in the draft Erickson might go due to the lack of a wow-factor but given his solid all-around game it would not surprise me if he found himself in an OHL line-up within a few years.
Jacob Smith | C | 5’11” | 150lbs | 1/30/95
Jacob Smith seemed to get better each game that I saw him in. He showed great play along the boards and behind the net. He seemed fairly hard to knock off the puck as well. His puck handling skills are extremely good and lead to him scoring a handful of goals over the three games. While his hands are quite good, he was guilty of over-handing the puck which led to a few giveaways. Overall, Smith’s offensive game is extremely well rounded he’s equally adept at passing the puck as he is at putting it on net. Defensively, he has a great active stick and is great at picking off passes in the defensive end.
Brandon Langella | W | 5’10” | 150lbs | 2/13/95
The first thing you’re likely to notice about Langella is his skating ability he’s both a quick and agile skater. Langella has a fairly accurate shot which he’s great at putting on net on the rush. Langella competes fairly hard and wins a lot of battles for the puck despite his lack of size. While he does need to add size, he also needs to put a bit of work into his defensive game. Regardless he’ll likely be drafted on the basis of his skills with the puck.
Ryan Kujawinski | W | 6’2” | 185lbs | 3/30/95
Ryan Kujawinski is likely the most notable player on the Sudbury Wolves Minor Midget team and will also likely be the highest drafted. At this point in time the consensus is that Kujawinski will be select sometime between the mid to late first round. He brings an imposing size to the ice which he could definitely benefit from utilizing more often. His skating ability is top notch especially once you factor in his size.
He has a decent shot and loves to shoot the puck; however he can sometimes hold the puck on his stick for too long. His offensive instincts might also be an issue while he gets the majority of his goals from simply taking shots on net off of the wing; his creativity has yet to be seen. While he is not the most well rounded prospect the skills he does have are definitely top notch. It’s hard to gauge his impact at the next level, but give his skillset it will definitely be interesting to see.
Given the amount of talent on this team, and the lack of exposure from missing the OHL Cup it’s extremely hard to say how many players off of this team will get taken in the OHL Priority Selection. However a few other names to keep an eye on off of this team are goaltender Joel Horodziejczyk, forwards Josh Moore and Michael Laidley, as well as defensemen Shane Snow.
If you’ve seen this team I’d love to see more discussion about it in the comments below.
Tags: 2011 OHL Draft, 2011 OHL Draft prospects, 2011 OHL Priority Selection, Brandon Langella, Charlie Venedam, Jacob Smith, Marco Lizotte, Ryan Erickson, Ryan Kujawinski, Tyler Bertuzzi
Great review. I think Kujawinsky obviously is a first rounder. Bertuzzi and Smith may go as high as the 3rd. The upside to these two is I wouldn’t be surprised if they are both over 6″ by the fall. Bertuzzi is a phenomenal playmaker who is also very strong on the penalty kill. Smith has unbelievable skill and his shot will improve as he adds muscle. Snow is very underated. I watched him play as a call up for the nickel Caps against the sault and he was the best defenseman without question.
Hey Scott, just thought i’d tell you, great job on the report!, cant agree more. It is noticeable that the height/weight are a little bumped up on some of these players. I’d also like to ask you if you think the Sudbury Wolves will take a grab at Kujawinski with the 6th overall pick? kind of out of the way to get him, but he’s skilled, regardless, and it would definatley help them with the “hometown boy” kind of promotion.
Hey Perry71,
It’s funny some guy I felt their height and weight was bumped up a bit, although others such as Jacob Smith and a few others looked bigger than their listed height. Although at this age they likely grew during the season and their website was just never adjusted.
As far as the wolves drafting Kujawinski, it would not surprise me, but I think it would be a mistake. To start, he’s not a true “hometown boy”. He’s from Iroquois Falls, the same town as wolves forward Brody Silk, and no one is calling him a hometown boy.
While he is extremely skilled I’d be weary of taking him in the top 10 picks. He’s not as all around as some of the guys down south such as Jordan Maletta who will likely be available at the wolves pick. If multiple players play the NCAA card the wolves could end up taking Kujawinski however at this point I would not expect it.
Oh, alright, was unaware he was from Iroquois Falls, just seen some talk about it on the HFBoards forum for the draft. Also, I have some other questions, hope you don’t mind, but, where in the 1st round do you expect him to go?, and do you think he has ANY interest in NCAA?
Two teams where I think he would fit in well would be Guelph or Niagara. I could see him going anywhere from 10th-25th realistically. In my opinion the only team in the top 10 who might consider him is Sudbury if all the other options up front are gone.
He will be drafted in the top 10 players. Take it to the bank!
Great Article and nice to see Ryan ended up drafted 4th overall and 5 others drafted off this team. 6 from one team from the north is a positive change from the usual 2 or 3 sudbury kids taken in late rounds. There could have been more as most years the sudbury wolves draft local kids in late rounds. They had no 14th or 15th round picks, but I think the wolves for some reason boycotted picking some of these kids after the 10th. However, still positive. Nice to see the 2 north bay boys drafted in the 2nd and 3rd rounds.