Yarmouth prepares for 2012 Draft

Press Release

As June 16th approaches, the Yarmouth Mariners are preparing for the first ever MHL Draft and Annual General meeting in Yarmouth. The Mariners are hosting the event for the first time in the franchise's 10 year history and the hopes of the organization are to provide a first-rate experience for the 11 visiting teams, players and MHL fans who will be on hand on Saturday to take in the event.

"Plans are moving along well for both the Annual General Meeting and the Draft", said Mariners General Manager Laurie Barron. "We're excited to host the draft here in Yarmouth for a number of reasons. On one hand it allows us to show the league our capacity for hosting as we lead up to the World Jr. A Challenge taking place here in November. Also, the upcoming season marks our tenth anniversary as a franchise in Yarmouth so it makes holding this event a bit more special for us. And finally, Yarmouth is still abuzz after the tremendous season we just finished and generally excited about the MHL given the success of Woodstock at the Fred Page Cup and the Royal bank Cup. It's a summer event, but people in Yarmouth still have Junior A fever".

The Annual General Meeting will take place on Friday June 15th at the Rodd Grand Hotel, followed by the Jed Ritcey Annual Golf Challenge that afternoon with the draft on Saturday at the Burridge Campus of the Nova Scotia Community College.

"We're hoping to get as many of our fans out on Draft day as possible", adds Barron. "Fans in Yarmouth have seen many sides of Junior A hockey over the years, but this is a unique opportunity to see how a hockey draft unfolds. It's also exciting in early rounds when players are on hand to put on the jersey of the team that just selected them. it's always a thrill to see the smile on their face after they are picked."

The Draft is open to the public and begins at 1:15pm on Saturday.

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