Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Bulls sign Petti and De Sousa

Press Release

BELLEVILLE, ON - Bulls Head Coach and General Manager George Burnett announced on Monday that the club has signed it's top two selections from the 2012 OHL Priority Selection. First round pick Niki Petti and second round selection Daniel De Sousa have both signed contracts with the team.

Petti, a 15 year-old native of Welland comes to Belleville after a successful season with the Southern Tier Admirals Minor Midgets where he scored 40 goals and added 45 assists in 57 games. Described as a fierce competitor and a highly skilled centreman, Petti was the tenth overall selection of the 2012 OHL Priority Selection. Despite suffering an upper body injury in the Bulls' rookie camp last month, Petti is already back on track and is continuing in his preparation for the upcoming season.

"Niki brings great offensive instincts to our hockey club," said Burnett. "He's a guy who plays a great speed game and will most certainly be a big asset to our program."

The Bulls selected defenceman Daniel De Sousa 31st overall this past April from the Toronto Marlboros Minor Midget team. One of six consecutive defencemen to be taken in the second round of the draft, the Bulls were pleased to take De Sousa after he exhibited the ability to play a complete game from the blueline in 2011.

"We were very happy to take Daniel that late in the draft," Burnett added. "We had him slated to go much higher than he did, and we look forward to seeing what he can bring to our team. He's very hard to play against and along with Niki, we're confident that Daniel is ready to make the jump to the Ontario Hockey League this fall."

Both players will be in attendance at the Bulls Training Camp late this August and will both have opportunities to make contributions in the lineup this season.

(Nathan can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)

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