The focus early on has generally been to go with the best player available.
With just three players not returning next season, the Soo Greyhounds feel like they have some options when the 2023 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection gets underway.
The two-day draft, which begins Friday evening with rounds one through three before wrapping up with rounds four through 15 on Saturday, sees the Greyhounds hold the third overall pick on opening day and 14 picks total.
“With so many guys returning, it really gives us an opportunity for best player available,” Greyhounds general manager Kyle Raftis said. “There’s a lot of flexibility that way because there’s not really one spot (to fill). Last year, we wanted to make sure we got a goaltender that’s going to be able to step in a year from then/ This year, I don’t feel like there’s a pressing need, but at the same time, a year from now that’s going to change so we want to make sure we stick with best player available and hopefully they can push some guys.”
On the heels of a season that saw them go 20-33-9-6 and finish ninth in the OHL’s Western Conference, the draft lottery saw the Greyhounds maintain their position and grab the third overall pick.
Raftis said the team is “comfortable” heading into the draft with that pick, which is the second time the team has picked in the top five in the past four drafts. The team picked fourth overall in the 2020 draft, selecting current team captain Bryce McConnell-Barker with the pick.
“We’re pretty comfortable at our first pick who we’re going to end up with in terms of the group of players at the top of that first round,” Raftis said.
Raftis said there’s a group of “about five or six kids that are going to be in that spot” when the Greyhounds step up to select third overall.
“Some parts of it is who is going to be remaining after the first two picks,” Raftis added.
For Raftis, the early stages of Friday’s opening round stands to produce some extremely high-end players.
“It’s a really strong age group,” Raftis said of the draft crop overall. “There’s always arguments of where that drop off starts, but when you’re looking at the top of the first round, there’s going to be some OHL superstars in that group.”
“The Friday night, there’s going to be a lot of great players selected,” Raftis added. “The top half of that first round, you’ll see a lot of OHL superstars down the road coming out of that night.”
Asked about the OHL Cup, which is the final tournament of the season prior to the draft, Raftis agreed that it can be an event that some teams will put more stock into in some cases.
“There can definitely be a recency bias,” Raftis said.
“We try to treat it as you’re still gathering information, but one big tournament doesn’t change the body of work they’ve done for the whole year,” Raftis added.
Raftis added that a late-season tournament like the OHL Cup “is no different than the OHL playoffs.”
“Sometimes you get an injury, sometimes guys just run out of gas,” Raftis said. “You don’t want to put too much into it, but there’s still some adjusting. It’s still got to count for that body of work.”
“The draft is based on what you see in front of you, which is a big part of it, but it’s also that projection part of where they’re going to be in 18 months or whatever it may be,” Raftis said.
On Thursday night, the Erie Otters officially announced that the team would be using the first overall pick to select Matthew Schaefer of the Halton Hurricanes U16 team.
The draft officially gets underway at 7 p.m. Friday evening.