A trio
of athletes with local roots are about to test there skills
at the next level after being selected in the first round
of the OHL Under-18 Priority Selection Draft last week.
Ryan
Stansel was picked ninth overall by the Owen Sound Attach;
goaltender Felix Schnell was selected 13th by the Guelph
Storm; and Alexandre Frechette, was chosen in the 17th spot
by the Soo Greyhounds.
All three
young men are 16 and from Orléans. They will attend their
respective team's training camps this summer. If they fail
to crack the OHL roster they will return to their CCHL teams
for next season. In Stansel's case that's the Hawkesbury
Hawks. In Schnell's case it's the Ottawa Jr. Senators and
in Frechette's case it's the Navan Grads.
Stansel
scored five goals and added five assists while manning the
blue line for the Hawks Midget AAA team this past season.
The six
foot, 195 lb. defenceman came up through the Cumberland
Minor Hockey Association and played for the Jr. Grads before
graduating to the Eastern Ontario Wild Minor Bantam AAA
team in 2015. In 2017, he was selected in the fourth round
and 34th overall in the CCHL draft by the Hawks.
Schnell
came up through the Orléans Minor Hockey Association and
played at the RepB level until the 2016-2017 season when
he made the Gloucester Rangers Major Bantam AA team as a
backup.
The year
previous he had a 1.59 GAA in 16 games playing for the Gloucester-Orléans
Blues.
In his
first year with the Rangers, he had a 2.12 GAA in 16 games
with two shutouts. In 2017-2018, he had a 2.74 GAA and three
shutouts in 15 games while playing for the Rangers Major
Midget AA team.
After
making the Ottawa Jr. Senators AAA Midget team this past
season, Schnell had a 2.16 GAA in 23 games.
Frechette
came up through the Glouester minor hockey system and played
for the Gloucester Rangers Minor Peewee AA team before graduating
to the Ottawa Jr. 67s Major Peewee AAA team in 2014.
He
remained with the Jr. 67s until he was drafted 55th overall
by the Navan Grads in the 2017 CCHL Protected draft and
placed on their AAA midget squad.
All three
players were passed over in last year's OHL Priority draft.
The Under-18
draft, often referred to as the "second chance� draft, was
established in 2017 to give midget-age players a second
opportunity to move on to the next level in light of the
fact that some players develop later than others.
Frechette
is a perfect example. After scoring just seven goals and
15 assists in minor midget last season, he more than doubled
his production this year with 29 goals and 27 assists.
That level
of offensive output is why the Soo Greyhounds have decided
to take a flyer on him. The Guelph Storm have been scouting
Schnell for the better part of the past season. They picked
the 6-foot-3, 200 lb. netminder based on his size and his
abilities.
All three
players are hoping to beat the odds and turn their "second
chance� into a lengthy stay in the OHL.
(This
story was made possible thanks to the generous support of
our local business partners.)
TAPROOM 260 presents Crooked Creek live from 8-11 p.m. at 260 Centrum Blvd. For more information visit 
MATT LULOFF W/ EDISON RUPERT performing at the Stray Dog Brewing Company, 501 Lacolle Way in the Taylor Creek Business Park. To register your team visit 
OTTAWA CARLETON MALE CHOIR in concert at the Navan-Vars United Church 1129 Smith Rd. in Navan at 2:30 p.m. Tickets $20 at the door.
THE ORLÉANS BREWING CO. presents Oyster Wednesdays every Wednesday. The Orléans Brewing Co. is located at 4380 Innes Rd. near McDonalds.
BLACKBURN HAMLET COMMUNITY GARAGE SALE from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The entire community is invited…rain or shine! Please keep visiting blackburn.ca for more up-to-date information as it becomes available.
