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4 7 | Thursday June 29, 2 0 1 7 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insidehalton.com Kevin Nagel, Oakville Beaver Sports Editor, knagel@burlingtonpost.com Sports regard this season. He arrived in Peterborough as the fifth overall pick in the OHL draft and while he may not have produced the eye-pop ping offensive numbers of some of the other top picks, he was always a consistent point producer. He had also been a key player on successful teams, winning the Ontario Hock ey Federation bantam AAA championship with Toronto Young Nats in 2014 and Canada Games gold with Ontario in 2015. But in the OHL, Gallant was held to just four assists in 51 games in his rookie season. He hoped the Christmas break would provide an opportunity to reset and start anew, but in stead he broke his foot in his first game back. "It was really tough. I battled through a lot," he said. "You're playing with better guys and you're playing a lesser role," he said. "You try not to think about it. You just try to find consistency, find a basis for the coach to trust you and try to help the team win on nightly basis." Gallant didn't have to wait long for his first OHL goal this season, scoring in the Petes' second game. He had surpassed his rookie totals before the season was a month old. Then in December, Gallant really took off. He had seven goals and 15 points, earning OHL player-of-the-month honours as the Petes rattled off 10 straight wins. Gallant said building his strength prior to the season was the biggest difference in his sophomore campaign. And if his play during the season didn't prove the strides he made in that regard, he drove it home at the draft combine. Among the 103 prospects invited, he finished in the top 10 in four of nine tests. It was at the combine that Gallant met with the Wings, who selected his friend and Petes' teammate Cole Fraser two rounds later. "Connected to your Community " Red Wings choose Oakville native in third round of NHL draft By Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver staff As the second round of the NHL draft came to a close, Zach Gallant wondered if this might be his time. Most pre-draft rankings had him slotted in the third round and Gallant couldn't help but notice that the Detroit Red Wings would pick four times. He had a great meeting with the team at the draft combine and left with a good feeling. Still, when the Wings announced the 83rd pick of the draft Saturday at the United Cen ter in Chicago, Gallant couldn't help but be a little surprised. "It was a feeling like no other. You dream of a moment like that. I can't even put it into words," Gallant said. "I was so excited, I couldn't keep a smile off my face for 20 or 30 minutes." Gallant East's top defensive player, faceoff man The Oakville native had bounced back from a trying rookie season with the On tario Hockey League's Peterborough Petes to establish himself as a solid NHL prospect. He finished fifth on the Petes with 21 goals while putting up 47 points in 60 games. On top of that he was recognized in the annual coaches' poll as the top defensive player and top faceoff man in the East Conference. He also finished third in the voting for the most improved player. "I put a lot of hard work into all facets of my game," Gallant said. "I don't like to be just a defensive guy. I'd like to improve my play offensively, be a better, more wellrounded player." Gallant made a huge leap forward in that Oakville's Zach Gallant was drafted in the third round of last Saturday's NHL draft by the Detroit Red Wings. Gallant had a strong second OHL season with the Peterborough Petes with 21 goals and 47 points in 60 games. | Terry Wilson - OHL Images They will report to Traverse City next week for the team's development camp. Gal lant is looking forward to his first chance to skate with his new team, which has a strong track record of producing NHL players with its mid-round picks. "Detroit has such a rich history and their ability to develop players is really exciting," Gallant said. Also selected Saturday was the Oakville Blades' Bryce Misley, who was taken in the fourth round by the Minnesota Wild. The 17-year-old centre finished third in scoring for the Blades with 26 goals and 62 points in 46 games and added 14 more points in 16 playoff games. "It's exciting, it's nerve-wracking, it's a bunch of emotions," Misley said on the Wild's website, "but I'm really happy it turned out this way." "He's a kid we will need to be patient with but he's got a good skill set, good hands, can see the ice," Minnesota's senior VP of hockey operations Brent Flahr said on the team's website. "Physically he'll need time to devel op but he's going to a college program where he's going to get that opportunity." Bound for the University of Vermont, Misley also represented Canada East at the World Junior A Challenge. One of two On tario Junior Hockey League players selected in the draft, Misley said he hopes to be in Minnesota in four years. "I know it's a great hockey city," he said. "I watched the playoffs and seeing how wild it was in the arena, there's definitely a bunch of hockey fans all over the place, for all levels from high school to college and all the way up, so I'm definitely excited about how crazy they are about hockey and the passion they have." Heritage Cup in Hamilton to feature Canada vs. U.S. in `not-friendl/ lacrosse clash By Steve Milton Hamilton Spectator Dan Dawson says international matches in box lacrosse are not like those in other sports. "They call their games against other countries `friendlies,'" the Oakville minor lacrosse product and captain of Team Canada said as plans for the Heritage Cup be tween Canada and the U.S. on Oct. 21, at FirstOntario Centre, were unveiled last month. "There are no friendlies in la crosse. They're `not-friendlies.'" OK, there's your overall tone: the heated, natural rivalry is al ready in place. Now, how are they going to sell it in a town that has resisted pay ing to see live lacrosse as if it were a member of the hepatitis family? And that's not been just for the junior A and B teams, which have generally struggled at the gate, but for the best in the world: hardly anybody went to see the Hamilton Nationals pro field lacrosse team in Major League Lacrosse when it played at McMaster from 2011-13; and the Ontario Raiders of the pro fessional National Lacrosse League lasted only a single year in Copps Coliseum before leaving for To ronto after the 1998 season, look ing for somebody, anybody, to love them. As the Rock, they've found thousands who do. "For us, for this game, we need to make sure we have that social media presence," says Dawson, who played for the Nationals. "As a player, your job is not only to play the sport but to be a great am bassador for the sport," said the Bur lington resident. "Every time you do an appearance at a clinic or a tourna ment, we mention this game." Representatives of the Canadian Lacrosse Association, which cel ebrated its 150th anniversary last month, have a marketing plan that starts with an overarching theme: affordability. All tickets for the game cost $20, but certain groups will be eligible for $17 tickets. The opening thrust will be toward all minor lacrosse associations. There'll be a Heritage Cup presence at tournaments and other lacrosse events this summer. The second step will involve the three professional (National Lacrosse League) box lacrosse teams within driving distance. Season-ticket hold ers of the Rock, the Buffalo Bandits and Rochester Knighthawks, num bering around 25,000, are also eli gible for the $17 tickets, as is anyone who buys them in groups through the CLA, the Ontario Lacrosse Asso ciation and U.S. Lacrosse. Ticket details are available at wwwlacrosse.ca.