Battalion add three more
The North Bay Battalion made goaltender Carter Nadon of the Sudbury Wolves U18s its first-round pick Wednesday night in the Ontario Hockey League Under-18 Priority Selection.
North Bay took centre Michael Piao of the Don Mills Flyers U18s in the second round and right winger Jake Salvatore of the Southern Tier Admirals U18s in the third and final round.
Nadon, selected 16th overall, played 35 regular-season games in 2023-24 with a 2.10 goals-against average with three shutouts. In six playoff games, he had a GAA of 3.40 with one shutout. A six-foot, 164-pound Aurora, Ont., resident, Nadon turns 17 on Sept. 2.
“Carter is a goalie we had watched closely last season, and we were able to catch even more of him this year in Sudbury,” said general manager Adam Dennis.
“He’s technically sound and plays with a good awareness of his net. He’ll add important depth to the goaltending position.”
Piao scored six goals and added 10 assists for 16 points in 31 regular-season games with Don Mills. The 36th overall pick played in 2022-23 with the Central Ontario Wolves U16s, scoring 11 goals and earning 22 assists for 33 points in 37 regular-season games.
Piao, who measures six-foot-two and 197 pounds, is a Richmond Hill, Ont., resident who turns 17 next Tuesday.
In 34 regular-season games, Salvatore, chosen 53rd overall, scored 34 goals and added 18 assists for 52 points, then had three goals and three assists for six points in eight playoff games. In 2022-23, he amassed 27 goals and 18 assists for 45 points in 37 regular-season games with the Southern Tier U16s.
Salvatore, a Niagara Falls, Ont., resident who stands six feet and weighs 181 pounds, turned 17 on Jan. 29.
“Michael and Jake are both forwards with similar pedigrees: big, strong and difficult to play against,” said Dennis.
“All three players were standouts in their minor midget seasons last year but fell just short of the draft.”
The 20 clubs, connected to the OHL office in Toronto, made their selections via the Internet. Picks were made in inverse order of the overall standings from the 2023-24 season, with the four non-playoff participants exercising their first choices in keeping with the weighted lottery that determined the selection order for the first four choices in the Priority Selection conducted in the same fashion last Friday night and Saturday.
The Windsor Spitfires held the No. 1 pick and named goaltender Michael Newlove of the Halton Hurricanes U18s.
Clubs were obligated to make picks through two rounds, with any team choosing a goaltender having the option to make a third selection, who had to be a skater. A total of 40 skaters and 15 goaltenders were selected.
All U18 players not on a Canadian Hockey League team’s protected list who were carded with an Ontario-based AAA hockey club or an accredited Hockey Canada sport school within the Ontario Hockey Federation, Hockey Northwestern Ontario or Hockey Eastern Ontario in 2023-24 were eligible for selection.
