Jr. Senators select 15 players in 2021 CCHL Bantam Protect Draft

Ottawa, ON – Over the past week, the CCHL held its annual Bantam Protect Draft, this time virtually. The Ottawa Jr. Senators selected a total of 15 players over the two-day draft; seven forwards, six defencemen, and one goaltender.

“The staff was extremely happy with the results of this week’s draft,” said Jr. Senators Associate Coach Jamie Mayo. “We feel that we added some highly skilled players whose style of play strengthens our team depth.”

In recent years, the CCHL Bantam Protect Draft has consisted of 11 rounds, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, visibility of the 2006 age was difficult with no season, the draft was raised to 16 rounds. The CCHL, in collaboration with HEO U18 AAA, elected to conduct a skills camp over the last two weekends, for the players to display their skills in front of CCHL team personnel.

The Ottawa Jr. Senators U18 program went 33-7-5 during the 2019-2020 season, good enough for top spot in the league under Head Coach Steve Mallette. In recent years the program has seen many highly touted graduates including Merrick Rippon and Cedrick Andree (Belleville Senators), Ranvir Gill-Shane (Ottawa 67’s), Sean McGurn (London Knights), Kyle MacDonald (Windsor Spitfires), Adrien Bisson (Maine), Gabriel Carriere (Vermont), Brendan Bays (Quebec Remparts), and current Jr. A members Curtis Fabbro, Thomas Freel, Tyler Vezina, Liam Kelleher, Felix Schnell, and Mark MacPhee.

2021 Ottawa Jr. Senators Bantam Protect Draft Picks

Forwards

Round 1, Pick 8: Antoine Gauthier, Ottawa Jr. 67’s

Round 2, Pick 20: Lucas Leblanc, Myers AAA

Round 4, Pick 33: William Nicholl, Myers AAA

Our first three selections Antoine Gauthier, Lucas Leblanc, and William Nicholl are forwards who play with tremendous pace and have a high compete level,” added Mayo. They will be huge parts of our U18 program next season.”

Round 9, Pick 93: Kealan Flores, Ottawa Sting

Round 10, Pick 105: Nathan Ferguson, Upper Canada Cyclones

Round 12, Pick 129: Alexis Methot, Eastern Ontario Cobras

Round 13, Pick 141: Brandon Gauthier, Eastern Ontario Cobras

Round 14, Pick 153: Jesse Gauthier, Eastern Ontario Cobras

Defence

Round 5, Pick 45: Owen Protz, Ottawa Jr. 67’s

Round 6, Pick 57: Dawson Coleman, Upper Canada Cyclones

Round 8, Pick 81: Thomas Barney, Ottawa Jr. 67’s

“On the first day we addressed filling some holes on the blueline,” indicated Mayo. “With the selections of Owen Protz, Dawson Coleman, and Thomas Barney who we feel will step in and play significant roles on the back end for our U18 team.”

Round 11, Pick 117: Benjamin Baird, Gloucester Rangers

Round 15, Pick 165: Vincent Viau, Eastern Ontario Cobras

Round 16, Pick 177: Jayson Ross, Ottawa Sting

Goalie

Round 7, Pick 69: David Egorov, Myers AAA

“We were ecstatic to be able to grab goaltender David Egorov from Myers Automotive AAA in the 7th round,” highlighted Mayo. “Our scouts saw him as the #1 goaltender for the age group and to win you need solid goaltending and we feel we have that with David.”

The Ottawa Jr. Senators are pleased to welcome all 15 members of the 2021 draft class to the organization!

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Graphic: Giordano Petti

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