Friday, April 30, 2010

Sting Announce Alex Galchenyuk as First Overall Pick in the 2010 OHL Priority Selection

Press Release

Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League in association with the Sarnia Sting hockey club are pleased to announce that Alex Galchenyuk will be the first overall pick in the 2010 OHL Priority Selection. The announcement was made this afternoon at a press conference by Sting General Manager Dave MacQueen. The 2010 OHL Priority Selection is set for Saturday May 1st beginning at 9:00 am.

Alex will be a featured guest on the live 2010 OHL Priority Selection Draft Show presented by State Farm. The draft show along with complete draft coverage is available at www.ontariohockeyleague.com.

Galchenyuk, a 16-year-old from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is the 2010 Jack Ferguson Award winner as the player selected first overall in the OHL Priority Selection. He is the third member of the Sting to receive the award following Jeff Brown in 1994 and Steven Stamkos in 2006. He also becomes just the fourth American player to receive this prestigious distinction following Pat Peake (Detroit 1990), Patrick O’Sullivan (Mississauga 2001), and Robbie Schremp (Mississauga 2002). Previous “Fergie” Award winners include John Tavares (Oshawa 2005), Ryan O’Reilly (Erie 2007), John McFarland (Sudbury 2008), and Daniel Catenacci (Sault Ste. Marie 2009).

Galchenyuk had an incredible season for the Chicago Young Americans Minor Midget AAA Team; helping them win 22 games, leading them to a second place finish overall in the USA Hockey Tier 1 Midget League.

Galchenyuk, one of the top ranked players by OHL Central Scouting, led his league in scoring with 44 goals and 43 assists for 87 points in just 38 games; outscoring the next highest scorer in the league by and outstanding 19 goals and 33 points. Galchenyuk leads all draft eligible players with a point per game average of 2.28.

Sting Head Scout Jim Debenham is impressed by Galchenyuk, saying, “The first time I saw Alexander play I knew he was a special player. He is one of the most dominating players I have seen in this age group. He has great hands and is a natural goal scorer. He's a player that tries to make something happen on every shift. He makes the players around him better. Alexander has the best point per game average of all players in this year’s draft at 2.28 with the next closest being 1.91. He is 1 of 3 players in the entire draft that averaged more than 1 goal per game at 1.16.”

Director of Central Scouting and Player Development for the OHL, Robert Kitamura added, “Alex Galchenyuk has to be considered one of the most gifted, creative and skilled offensive players available in this years draft. He was a dominate force in the U16 level in USA Hockey’s Tier 1 Midget League, and he has the potential to be just as exciting and productive in the Ontario Hockey League. Fans of the Sarnia Sting and the OHL will benefit as Alex continues his development over the next few years.”

Player Bio
Alex Galchenyuk
Born: February 12, 1994 Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Resides: Chicago, Illinois
Ht: 6.01 Wt: 180
Season Team GP G A PTS PIM
2009-10 Chicago Young Americans 38 44 43 87 56

(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)

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