A total of 15 young prospects, including a small handful with local ties, were selected by the Sudbury Wolves on Friday/Saturday as the OHL hosted the annual Entry Draft.

With the ninth overall pick, GM Rob Papineau decided to add possibly the best pure shooter in the draft, ticketing Mississauga U16AAA Senators forward Caden Taylor for northern Ontario.

Moving to the blueline in round two, the Wolves tapped Barrie U16AAA Jr Colts' defenceman Nolan Jackson with their second choice, the 6'2" team captain bringing both size and some offensive upside (7G-22A) to the mix in the fall.

Staying in the north and adding an air of familiarity, the Wolves targeted Soo U18 AAA Jr Greyhounds' sparklug Hudson Chitaroni, the 5'10" 167 pound forward looking to follow in the footsteps of his father, former Sudbury Wolf Terry Chitaroni.

On day two, the team went a calling for a goalie in round five, looking State-side with Bjorn Bronas (Chicago U15 Mission), scooped up long-time SMHAer Grant Booth in the eighth round after the teen suited up with the Phoenix Jr Coyotes last year and selected Rory Savage (13th rd - Detroit Honeybaked) on the off-chance that the youngest son of Brian Savage opts not to see NCAA through at some point in time.

From a local perspective, skilled defenceman Alex Valade was the first to go, as expected, nabbed in the fourth round by the Mississauga Steelheads, the GTA crew recognizing all of the raw talent the grade 10 student at ES Macdonald-Carier possesses, thugh he would miss parts of this past year with injuries.

more with Alex Valade - interview - to come tomorrow

Teammates joining Valade in seeing their names appear on the OHL website were forward Cole Dubowsky (7th rd - Barrie Colts) and forward Max Campbell (12th rd - Erie Otters).

Following is the complete list of Sudbury Wolves entry draft picks for 2023:

1st rd - Caden Taylor - C - Mississauga Senators
2nd rd - Nolan Jackson - LD - Barrie Jr Colts
3rd rd - Hudson Chitaroni - C - Soo Jr Greyhounds
4th rd - Jayden Connors - RD - Mississauga Senators
5th rd - Bjorn Bronas - G - Chicago Mission
7th rd - Brady Cleveland - LD - USA U18
7th rd - Blake Clayton - C - Burlington Eagles
8th rd - Grant Booth - C - Phoenix Jr Coyotes
9th rd - Owen Knight - RW - Lambton Jr Sting
11th rd - Owen Traynor - RD - Smith Falls Bears
12th rd - Harrison McLean - LD - Toronto Jr Canadiens
13th rd - Rory Savage - LD - Detroit Honeybaked
14th rd - Colton Rheaume - G - Hawksbury Hawks
14th rd - Hudson Martin - LD - North Central Predators
15th rd - William Derbyshire - C - Halton Hurricanes