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Jon Kuiperij Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports HALTON TRANSMISSION "Connected to your Community" 559 SPEERS RD., #UNIT 3 905-842-0725 www.haltontransmission.com 47 | Thursday, January 22, 2015 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Jamie Dawick (left) and Josh Sanderson have new positions with the Oakville Rock Major Series Lacrosse team. | photo submitted Oakville Rock names new GM, director of lacrosse ops Josh Sanderson is the new general manager of the Oakville Rock, the Major Series Lacrosse Club announced Wednesday. Sanderson is the son of the late lacrosse legend Terry Sanderson, who served as GM of both the Oakville Rock and the National Lacrosse League's Toronto Rock before passing away in November. The Oakville Rock also announced the appointment of Toronto Rock owner and Oakville resident Jamie Dawick as the team's new director of lacrosse operations, effective immediately. "Jamie was working alongside Terry Sanderson with the Oakville Rock last season and prior to Terry's sudden passing," Oakville Rock owner Rob Roche said. "I feel that, given their relationship in Toronto at the NLL, it should be a smooth transition for all the staff and players on the Oakville Rock." Dawick said discussions to have Josh Sanderson assume his father's former role with the Oakville Rock began a couple of months ago. "Josh was really the first person who came to mind," Dawick said. "I asked him to think about it and, given the circumstances, I expected him to take some time. But he acknowledged right away that it was something he wanted to do." This isn't Sanderson's first venture into the off-floor managing of a lacrosse team. He was involved with the Orangeville Northmen Jr. B team in 2010, but he expects MSL to be a little different. "Obviously, I don't have a ton of experience, but I played in this league for a long time and I talked to my dad about the Oakville team a lot," said Sanderson. "I saw him getting into it more and more each year and I want to finish what he started here." The Oakville Rock has improved significantly over the past two years after re-locating from Ajax following the 2012 season. During the summer of 2013, the team went 2-17 to finish last in the MSL standings and garner the first overall pick, which it used to select goal scorer Rob Hellyer. In 2014, after a number of off-season moves, the Rock improved to 6-12 but still missed the playoffs. "We've made strides to get better, but we still need to add a couple of more pieces to put us in the conversation with the top teams," added Sanderson. "We need to take the next step and hopefully we can make noise in this league." The next step for Sanderson will be this weekend's MSL draft, where the Rock will have its first pick in the second round (seventh overall). Oakville will also pick eighth, 14th, 20th and 23rd overall in the six-round draft. Callum Fryer (centre) clears the puck for Team East during Tuesday's CJHL Top Prospects Game at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex. The Oakville resident, a defenceman for the Aurora Tigers, was the only Ontario Junior Hockey League player included in NHL Central Scouting's midterm rankings of 2015 NHL draft-eligible players announced Tuesday. | photo by Michael Ivanin -- Special to the Beaver Local OJHLer ranked as NHL prospect Oakville trio was thrilled to suit up in CJHL showcase event at Sixteen Mile by Jon Kuiperij Beaver Sports Editor Callum Fryer often felt overlooked as a minor hockey player, but he's getting noticed now. The 18-year-old Oakville resident was the only Ontario Junior Hockey League player included in NHL Central Scouting's midterm rankings of 2015 NHL draft-eligible players, which were announced Tuesday. "I didn't actually see that coming. It was a pleasant surprise, actually," Fryer, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound defenceman with the Aurora Tigers, said Tuesday night after participating in the CJHL (Canadian Junior Hockey League) Top Prospects Game at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex. Fryer said he ended up in the OJHL mostly because he did not receive much interest from Ontario Hockey League clubs. In Fryer's midget year with the Halton Hurricanes, a scout from Aurora invited him to attend Tigers practices and Fryer ended up becoming an affiliate player. He made the team the following fall. "I've always had my speed and agility, but maybe I'm a bit of a late bloomer," the White Oaks high school student said. Tuesday's CJHL Top Prospects Game showcased 40 of the top young junior A players in Canada to NHL and university scouts. Eight of those players were listed in NHL Central Scouting's rankings of the top 210 North American skaters, including three from the British Columbia Hockey League, two from Alberta, one from Manitoba and one from the Central Canada Hockey League. Oakville forwards Jackson Bales (Oakville Blades) and Alex Riche (Cobourg Cougars) also participated in the game, joining Fryer on Team East. Team West won the hotly-contested game 3-2, with Penticton Vees (B.C.) defenceman Jarod Hilderman scoring the winner -- his second goal of the night -- with 7.4 seconds remaining in regulation. "It was one of the biggest games of my life. Having said that, I realized one game won't make or break anything," said Bales, who skated on a line with Riche in the third period. "I tried to treat it like just another game. We were in Oakville, in (the Blades') home rink, so that was pretty nice for me." Riche was also thrilled to be invited to play in the game and had to keep his emotions in check. "It's up there (for top hockey moments). Maybe not No. 1, but definitely not far from it either," Riche said. "I just tried to play my game but at the same time keep it simple and make sure I wasn't turning pucks over. When you're playing with new guys, it's best not to make the riskiest plays." A crowd of 1,232 attended Tuesday's game, including scouts from all 30 NHL teams. Winnipeg Blues forward Jackson Keane -- son of former NHLer Mike Keane -- was named the top player for Team West, with Trenton Golden Hawks goaltender Justin Kapelmaster earning the same honours for Team East. Oakville Blades head coach Mike Tarantino was on the Team East coaching staff, assisting Aurora coach James Richmond, and the Blades' training staff of Craig Clayton and Dr. Ben Fryer also worked the game. Oakville resident Jeff Campbell was one of the referees. -- Four former Oakville minor midget AAA Rangers on NHL Central Scouting list: Page 48