The North American Hockey League held its annual player draft today with the Rebels having the twenty-second out of twenty-fourth pick in the first round due to the team having the third best winning percentage during the 2017-18 regular season. Overall, the Rebels took ten players broken down by the following positions: one (1) goaltender; three (3) defensemen and six (6) forwards.
“We went into the draft selecting players by need” stated Rebels Director of Scouting Billy Pugliese. We needed to fill gaps and wanted to establish a solid defensive corps and move on out. We felt we accomplished this” stated Pugliese.
“I thought our draft went very well” said Pugliese. “I’m happy with all of our picks, and I’m looking forward to bringing them all together and having them in camp” concluded Pugliese.
The following is a recap of the players selected by the Rebels.
Round 1 – 22nd Pick
Alexandre Roy, defenseman; Andre-Laurendeau; Shoots left; Born 9-21-1998. Hometown: St-Vallier, Que. Height: 5’8”; Weight: 130.
Season Team GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG
’17-18 Season Andre-Laurendeau 36 6 18 24 20 2 0
’16-17 Season Andre-Laurendeau 34 2 9 11 12 1 0
Round 2 – 35th Pick
Noah West, goaltender; Oakland Jr. Grizzlies 18U; Catches left; Born 11-25-2000. Hometown: Pittsboro, IN. Height: 6’0”; Weight: 190.
Season Team GPI Mins GA SO W L T SV% AVG OTL
’17-18 Season Oakland Jr. Grizz. 18 11 457 19 2 6 4 0 0.884 2.12
’16-17 Season Chi. Fury 18 16 849 39 3 5 9 0.913 2.48 1
Round 2 – 46th Pick
Joshua Tripp, forward; Swan Valley; Shoots left; Born 4-29-1998. Hometown: Swan River, MB. Height: 5’6”; Weight: 155.
Season Team GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG
’17-18 Season Swan Valley 38 28 14 42 28 11 4
’17-18 Season Corpus Christi 13 3 6 9 20 2 0
Round 3 – 54th Pick
Brayden Richards, defenseman; Whitecourt Wolverines; Shoots left; Born 8-12-1998. Hometown: Calgary, AB. Height: 6’0”; Weight: 180.
Season Team GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG
’17-18 Season Drayton Valley 28 4 4 8 26 0 0
’17-18 Season Whitecourt 27 1 5 6 2 1 0
Round 3 – 70th Pick
Antonio Venuto, forward; Detroit Compuware 18U; Shoots left; Born 2-26-2000; Hometown: Whitmore Lake, MI. Height: 6’1”. Weight: 195
Season Team GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG
’17-18 Season Det. Compuware 18 20 6 9 15 6 1 0
’17-18 Season Minot 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Round 5 – 118th Pick
Caleb Price, defenseman; Northern Cyclones; Shoots left; Born 4-4-2000. Hometown: Hooksett, NH. Height: 5’7”; Weight: 155.
Season Team GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG
’17-18 Season North. Cyclones 50 6 12 18 27 1 0
18 Playoffs North. Cyclones 3 0 0 0 0 0 0
Round 6 – 142nd Pick
Cannon Green, forward; Detroit Compuware 18U; Shoots left; Born 3-27-2000. Hometown: Birmingham, MI. Height: 5’11”; Weight: 184.
Season Team GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG
’17-18 Season Det. Compuware 18 18 6 4 10 4 0 0
’16-17 Season Oakland Jr. Grizz 18 45 17 30 47 2
Round 7 – 166th Pick
Campbell Balk, forward; Yarmouth Mariners; Shoots right; Born 4-5-1998. Hometown: West Olive, MI. Height: 5’11”. Weight: 176.
Season Team GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG
’17-18 Season Yarmouth 43 2 18 20 48 0 0
18 Playoffs Yarmouth 18 1 5 6 8 0 0
Round 8 – 190th Pick
Seth Benson, forward; Omaha AAA HC 18U; Shoots left; Born: 2-5-1999. Hometown: Moorhead, MN. Height: 6’3”. Weight: 170.
Season Team GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG
’17-18 Season Portage 2 0 0 0 4 0 0
’17-18 Season Omaha AAA 18 9 3 4 7 14 0 0
Round 9 – 214th Pick
Max Johnson, forward; Hearst Lumberjacks; Shoots left; Born: 4-7-1999. Hometown: Maple Grove, MN. Height: 5’11”. Weight: 165.
Season Team GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG
’17-18 Season Hearst 46 20 30 50 76 3 1
18 Playoffs Hearst 3 2 1 3 0 1 0
The draft was available for any amateur player who will be less than 21 years of age on December 31, 2018 and was not listed on an NAHL team roster nor listed on an NAHL team roster but played less than (10) NAHL regular season and/or playoff games during the 2017-18 season and did not accept a tender from an NAHL team prior to the 2018 NAHL Entry Draft were eligible for the draft.