Spitfires draft recap

by Mitchell Brandner

The Windsor Spitfires made the best of a bad situation.

Without a first round pick in the Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection draft, Windsor Spitfires general manager Warren Rychel was still able to draft a player they had ranked in the first round.  American forward Ryan Moore was selected in the second round by the Spitfires. Listed at five feet eght inches, 150 pounds, Moore put up 48 points in 36 games for Detroit Belle Tire.

“He’s so fast,” said Rychel. “The way our league is it’s all about skating and hockey sense and I think if he does come he’ll be able to out-smart guys with size. His skating and hockey sense is real good.”

After selecting Moore the Spits followed up by drafting two defencemen. Liam Murray put up 31 points in 45 games for Eastern Ontario Wild while Andrew Burns had 50 points in 69 games for the Oakville Rangers. Assistant general manager Terry Doran said he liked their first three picks in the draft.

“I believe 100 per cent that all three could play on this team right now,” said Doran. “It’s up to them to come to training camp and prove worthy. I’m not worried about whether or not their skillset is ready to play and I’m not worried about their compete level.”

The Spitfires added another defenceman in the sixth round. Ryan Markovic played for the Toronto Red Wings and had 12 points in 32 games. Markovic possesses size as he’s listed at six feet two inches and Rychel said he was happy with the first three defencemen the Spits selected.

“We’re really excited about the three defenceman,” said Rychel. “They’re exciting players. They’re all real good hockey players.”

In the ninth round Windsor selected Chatham forward Drew Marlatt. Marlatt had 22 points in 27 games this season and Rychel said he was happy they could grab him so late.

“We thought we were going to miss out on him,” said Rychel. “He’s a good hard-working, two-way winger from Chatham. He’s a real good player that has a chance to play. I’m excited we got him. I thought he would’ve went earlier but sometimes you get lucky. I think we did.”

With plenty of holes on the roster for next season, the Spitfires are hoping some of these players can step up and help the team rebound from a disappointing season.