Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver...are all names that come to mind when thinking of places in Canada.
Sault St. Marie isn't one of them. Located about six hours from the hockey hotbed of London, Ontario, the
OHL Arena Guide notes "For a city as isolated as Sault Ste. Marie, visiting fans are a seldom-seen rarity."
However, it hasn't stopped the locals from packing the home town building to watch their Greyhounds. Through the years the team has featured a who's who of hockey - Ron Francis, Phil Esposito, Tony Esposito, Paul Coffey, John Vanbiesbrouck, Marty Turco...and that
Wayne Gretzky guy.
For the last seven years the organization has been run by
Dave Torrie, a man with his own impressive resume - he owned, coached and managed the Chatham Maroons (a successful junior B franchise) for 10 years and previously served as a scout and player personnel director for the 'Hounds. Thus, the man knows hockey, especially at the junior level.
In an article a few days ago he offered up his opinions on several Kings prospects that have spent time in the Soo. Today, he's back for more - with insight into the world of junior hockey, the art of drafting players and thoughts about a very interesting road trip they'll be taking this coming weekend as part of their training camp.
Enjoy!
MM: Earlier this summer the Kings drafted Tyler Toffoli out of the OHL. As a player born in 1992 he was part of the 2008 OHL draft, which has become one of more controversial drafts of late. Several top players taken in the first round that year were accused of manipulating the draft by saying they were going to college instead. Is this a common occurrence in junior hockey?
