Some Spirit players are looking to hear their names called at the 2014 NHL draft this weekend in Philadelphia, Pa:

Two years ago -while writing the annual Saginaw Spirit pre-season preview story- I asked Spirit head coach Greg Gilbert about the teams top two OHL draft picks in camp that year; forward, Jeremiah Addison (a first round pick, 12 overall) and defenseman, Brandon Prophet (a second round pick, 32 overall).  Of course Gilbert was happy to acquire two high-caliber players such as  Addison and Prophet with their first two picks in the 2012 OHL priority selection draft, but the 14-year NHL veteran couldn't stop talking about the “steal” the Spirit got with their third pick in that draft.  Gilbert was of course referring to Woodbridge, Ontario native, Dylan Sadowy (a second round draft pick, 37 overall). Gilbert was overjoyed to have a player with a high skill-level, hockey I.Q., hard work ethic, and most importantly, a kid with a very high "compete-level" (similar to his new head coach).

 “Dylan Sadowy, our third pick, is a really smart player for such a young kid,” said Gilbert during the Spirit training camp prior to the 2012 season. “He’s a good hard worker with great skill and I think he's going to be a very good player for the Spirit organization for a long time.”

Gilbert saw something in Sadowy early in camp, and last year –in just his second OHL season- Sadowy proved Gilbert a clairvoyant, as he became one of the top Spirit goal scorers with 27-goals, 9-assists, and 36-points.  According to NHLcentralscouting.com (tradionally the go-to sight for NHL draft rankings) Sadowy had skyrocketed from number-89 at the midterm rankings during the 2013-14 OHL season, to number-33 at the final rankings.  Sadowy is predicted as an early-to-mid second round pick, and will likely hear his name called at this weekend’s 2014 NHL draft at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa June, 27-28.

Another Spirit player looking to hear his name called this weekend is left wing, Blake Clarke.  Clarke, an American from Chesterfield, Mo (near St. Louis) played the past couple of years for the Brampton Battalion and the first 21 games the 2013-14 season for the North Bay Battalion (where Brampton had relocated) before joining the Spirit early in the 2013-14 season.  Clarke earned the attention of some NHL scouts at an OHL showcase earlier in the season, and finished the 2013-14 season ranked 134 on the NHLcentralscouting.com website.  Clarke; along with Sadowy, were the only Spirit players invited to the 100-player NHL combine recently. 

Other Spirit names to look for this weekend are Spirit defenseman, Brandon Prophet, who finished the season ranked 174 on NHLcentralscouting.com, and Saginaw’s young Russian backup goal tender, Nikita Serebryakov, who was once ranked as high as number 17 for North American goalies, but finished the season one-spot out of the top 30 rankings. Spirit defenseman, Daniel De Sousa had never been listed on central scouting’s rankings list throughout the 2013-14 OHL season, but showed up at the end of the season ranked 204 on the websites final ranking list.      

Traverse City, Mi native Brandon Halverson, who played his first year of OHL hockey (mostly as a backup goalie) for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in 2013-14 had an incredible showing at the NHL combine, and was rewarded with a final ranking of number 6 on the list of North American goalies on NHLcentralscouting.com.

Local Talent:

Saginaw native, Devin Williams (ranked number 15 on the list of North American Goalies on the recent final rankings on central scouting) of the Erie Otters is looking to become the first local hockey player selected in the NHL draft since Matt Hoffman (of Shields) was taken by the Calgary Flames in the 1991 NHL entry draft after winning the 1990 memorial cup with the Oshawa Generals alongside Eric Lindros.