With the 2019 NHL draft in the books, a single member of the Ontario Hockey League’s Soo Greyhounds and a Sault native were selected in the two-day event, held in Vancouver this weekend.
Sault native Nicholas Porco, who is coming off his second season with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit, was selected in the fifth round (142nd overall) by the Dallas Stars while defenceman Jacob LeGuerrier was the lone member of the Soo Greyhounds selected in the two-day event.
Porco took a step offensively with the Spirit in 2018-19, scoring 20 goals and 36 points in 67 games and adding three goals and seven points in 16 playoff games.
LeGuerrier, who completed his third season with the Greyhounds in 2018-19, was a fifth round pick (126th overall) by the Montreal Canadiens.
LeGuerrier had six goals and 16 points in 68 games with the Greyhounds.
For the Greyhounds, LeGuerrier’s selection means the team has had at least one player selected in the annual event every year since 2007. That includes 14 players selected since 2015.
A pair of Soo Greyhounds prospects were also selected during the seven-round draft.
The Montreal Canadiens selected high-scoring forward Cole Caufield with pick 15 while the Boston Bruins selected John Beecher 30th overall.
Caufield was selected by the Greyhounds in the 12th round of the 2018 OHL Priority Selection.
Slated to play college hockey at Wisconsin, Caufield played the 2018-19 season with the US National Development Program’s (USNDP) Under-18 team and scored 72 goals and 100 points in 64 games.
Beecher, committed to the University of Michigan, also played with the Under-18 team where he scored 15 goals and 43 points in 63 games.
Considered at least two years from being ready to make the jump to the NHL, Beecher is expected to remain on track to join Michigan in the fall.
It was a memorable day on Friday for Caufield, Beecher and their Under-18 team teammates as eight members of the team were drafted in the opening round. In total, 17 members of the team were selected in the draft.
The New Jersey Devils used the first pick to select American forward Jack Hughes of the USNDP Under-18 team while Finnish forward Kaapo Kaako was selected second by the New York Rangers.