Jeff Gard was joined on his Sports Spotlight show this week on Northumberland 89.7 FM by three local hockey players who now all have a connection to the OHL’s North Bay Battalion.
Port Hope’s Dalyn Wakely, a current player for the Battalion, joined two of the club’s new draft picks for the interview. Goaltender Mike McIvor of Warkworth was drafted to North Bay in the fourth round (83rd overall) in last week’s OHL Priority Selection while Beckett Ewart of Cobourg was taken in the 10th round (201st overall).
Both players were members of the Quinte Red Devils U16 AAA team as was Wakely when he was a second-round pick by the Battalion in 2020.
Wakely and the Battalion are coming off a four-game sweep over the Ottawa 67’s in the first round of OHL playoffs and now face the Kingston Frontenacs in the second round.
Northumberland’s other two OHL players continue on in the playoffs as well as Port Hope’s Owen Beck and the Mississauga Steelheads face the Hamilton Bulldogs and Cobourg’s Ethan Miedema and the Windsor Spitfires take on the Kitchener Rangers.
Sports Spotlight airs Thursdays at 4 p.m. on Northumberland 89.7 and video interviews are recorded for Today’s Northumberland.