Lucas Punkari
The next steps in the hockey careers of Fort Frances natives Jordan Larson and Colton Spicer began Saturday afternoon when both were selected in the 2011 edition of the OHL draft.
Larson, who played forward for the Thunder Bay Kings this past season, was picked in the 12th round by the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds while Muskie forward Colton Spicer went a round later to the Sudbury Wolves.
“It was kind of shocking, actually, and I still don’t really know what to say,” said Spicer, whose weekend began with him getting his wisdom teeth removed on Friday.
“They [Sudbury] had actually called me about a week before the draft saying they were looking at drafting me, but nothing was for certain,” he added.
“I was watching the draft online when I got the call from the head coach [Trent Cull], who congratulated me on getting selected and also said that I needed to start getting to work,” Spicer smiled.
The 6’2”, 185-pound 16-year old, who acknowledge the Kitchener Rangers also had expressed interest, was first noticed by the Wolves at an U16 camp in Kitchener last August.
“That was when he really caught our eye,” said Wolves’ head scout Norm Robert.
“We like his aggressive style of play, he skates fairly well, and he’s a competitor, so we felt that he was a player that can certainly fit into our team,” Robert added.
What’s unique about Spicer’s selection, the first Muskie to be drafted since Joe Basaraba was picked by the Erie Otters in the second round of the 2008 OHL draft, was that he was taken from a high school team as opposed to a much-bigger named program.
“It’s something you don’t see very often, especially for Ontario high school kids,” noted Robert, who previously was the head scout for the Peterborough Petes before joining the Wolves’ organization.
“There’s maybe been a handful of players who have been drafted that have come from an Ontario high school, but it’s much more prominent in the United States because it’s more common for the top prospects to be playing on a high school team,” he explained.
With the Wolves’ training camp taking place at the end of the summer, and a camp with the Fort Frances Lakers also on the horizon, Spicer has a number of options for what he can do next winter.
“Before the draft, I was kind of thinking about playing for either the Lakers or the Kenora Thistles, but nothing had really been decided yet,” Spicer said.
“Sudbury is obviously the main goal now, but it’s probably not the most realistic one, as well,” he
reasoned.
Still, the thought of lacing up in the Nickel City at some point in his career is one that Spicer already is excited about.
“That would be insane,” he enthused. “It’s crazy just to even think about playing for an organization like that, especially one that’s in the Ontario Hockey League.”
For Larson, meanwhile, a 5’10”, 170-pounder who will celebrate his 16th birthday this Friday, he was taken by an organization in the Greyhounds who were surprised he was still available in the 12th round.
“We began discussing taking Jordan during the ninth round,” said newly-minted Greyhounds’ general manager Kyle Dubas.
“Our Northwestern scout [Joe Muli] really went to bat for him, and he firmly believes in him, and that’s huge for a player when they know that they have someone in their backyard that is really pushing for them,” Dubas added.
With Larson leading the Kings in scoring with 43 goals and 43 assists this past season, Dubas hopes his offensive attack can continue to grow.
“When talking with Joe, he really believes that Jordan can be an impact player in this league,” stressed Dubas, who will be welcoming this year’s draft class to a development camp at the end of May.
“Obviously, Jordan had some tremendous numbers this past season, and it seems that he has a number of options to play and develop next season, with the Lakers seeming like the likely route at this point,” Dubas added.
“So we’re pretty excited about that for him.”
One of the things that Dubas, who took charge of the Greyhounds’ organization in April at just 25 years of age, will be emphasizing to Larson and the other late-round draft picks in this year’s camp is that they’ll have an equal chance to make it to the big leagues.
“We have two pretty good examples over the years in Andrew Desjardins [San Jose Sharks] and Andrew Campbell [L.A. Kings] of what can happen even if you go late in a draft,” he noted.
“It’s all down to a person’s character, their work ethic, and their drive. And if you have that, you can be able to pass by guys that were selected nearly 300 picks ahead of you.
“I don’t look at Jordan any differently than I do [first-round selection] Darnell Nurse,” Dubas stressed. “I want them all to be impact players on our team.”
