A glimpse of the Sarnia Sting  "war room" waiting to make first selection

 

The Sarnia Sting Staff were busy on Saturday during the 2013 OHL Priority Draft.  Their first pick in the first round 9th overall was right wing Nikita Korostelev from the Jr. Canadiens. Nikita stands 6', weights 176 lbs.  Nikita is a native of Moskva, Russia but now resides in Mississauga.

Scouting report indicates that Nikita is one of the most highly skilled players in the draft this year.  Nikita has one of the top shots in the league. He has release, accuracy and speed from anywhere on the ice.  He can pick up loose pucks and create scoring chances for himself and teammates.
 

"Oh it was the best feeling in my life, It is an honor for me"  Korostelev said in a phone interview. "That's the team I wanted to go to. That's who I was looking to play for."

 

The language will not be a problem for Korostelev but is quite happy to join fellow Russian speaking players Nikolay Goldobin and Danny Nikandrov along with assistant coach Alex Galchenyuk Sr.

"I can speak English but it will be better to have someone from the Motherland that can talk to it will be a great help to me."
 

"He's dynamic offensively,  we know the family we know what kind of game he's going give us, we are very happy." said Head Coach and General Manager Jacque Beaulieu "We went with more size in the draft last year and this year it's our needs we went for and we need more skill and guys that can score goals that's why we went with him. He's ready to play his skating and size is OHL ready and he'll be in our lineup next year for sure."

 

watch scouting video of Nikita in action  http://youtu.be/z2DLCIRegwA

In round two and 33rd overall pick the Sting selected Noah Bushnell another right winger from the Sun County Panthers.  Noah is 6'1" tall weights in at 190 lobs.  Overall stats last season after 58 games played he scored 28 goals and 30 assists, for a total of 58 points.  He also served 174 in penalty minutes.

 

"Bushnall is a player we targeted all the way into the second round that's why one of the reason I made the trade in the second round was to get Noah Bushnall" said Beaulieu  "We wanted to add some depth to our lineup with some skill and some size, that's why we made the trade"

Scouting reports say that he is a big, intimidating, power forward that puts fear into the opposition and can score.

 

Connor Schlichting was the Sting's third round draft pick.  The 6' 2", 187 lb defenceman is from Newmarket, Ontario and played for the York Simcoe Express last season.  After 33 games played Schlichting scored 3 goals, assisted on 12 for a total of 15 points.

 

Scouts reported that Connor is one of the most improved players they have watched this year. Connor has a very hard shot and has the ability to get it off quickly.  He is not afraid of the rough going and does a very good job of battling along the boards and in front of the net.

 

"We had him pegged in the early second round. We gambled and played our poker hand and we lucked out.  He skates really well, first pass, size he's a character kid and a leader on his team he will be a great addition to us."