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V is it in s ide ha lton .com fo r m o re coverage Oakville Rangers dominate OHL draft day Tolnai heads record class o f 14 players HERB GARBUTT hgarbutt@metroland.com Cameron Tolnai had been working toward this goal for a long time. So when he got off the phone af­ ter speaking to the Ottawa 67s, who selected him sixth overall in the Ontario Hockey League draft, there were hugs and handshakes. But the Ontario Minor Hockey As­ sociation minor midget player of the year didn't take a long to cele­ brate. Instead, he went back to monitoring the draft online, hop­ ing to see where his Oakville Ranger teammates were headed. Over the next few hours, OHL teams would select 14 Rangers, topping the organization's previ­ ous record of 12 in 2013 when Oak­ ville won the OHL Cup. And Tolnai didn't have to wait long to see his teammates' names appear. Before the first round was over Jake Murray (13th overall to Kingston) and Luke Evangelista (14th overall to London) were drafted while Zack Terry (36th overall to Guelph) was taken in the second. With 13 of the Rangers hailing from Oakville and five more local players taken from Greater To­ ronto Hockey League teams, led by the Vaughan Kings' Eric Rus­ sell (third round to Barrie), there were nearly enough Oakville play­ ers to ice their own OHL team next year. "More than winning, our goal was to give our players an oppor­ tunity to play at the next level," said Ranger coach Gord Hynes. "We wanted to get every kid draft­ ed. You set an audacious goal and you hope to get there." Tolnai, a skilled playmaker, said despite the extra attention this year, he just tried to play his game rather than trying to im­ press the scouts. He finished the year with 31 goals and 53 assists in 38 games. "I'm excited to get this opportu­ nity," he said. "I want to go to Otta­ wa and win a Memorial Cup." Tolnai is one of six Ranger play­ ers - Luke Evangelista (first round, London), Nathan Ribau (fourth round, Sudbury), Owen Luik (ninth round, Ottawa), Cam­ eron Garvey (14th round, Guelph) and brother Davis Tolnai (15th round, Ottawa) - that have played together since tyke. The team won four OMHA ti­ tles in five years. "As we continued to get older, we wanted the chance to play at the OHL Cup," Tolnai said of the annual minor midget showcase, where Oakville went 2-3. "With our success, we saw how we could match up against the top teams." • See DEFENCEMAN, page 55 I O a k v ille R ange rs p h o to A a ro n _ B e ll CHL Im a g e s Top: Oakville's Cameron Tolnai was selected sixth overall by the Ottawa 67s in the Ontario Hockey League draft. Tolnai was the first of 14 players drafted from the Oakville Rangers minor midget team. That surpassed the Oakville Rangers record of 12 from its 2013 team. Bottom, from left: Jake Murray was the first of the Oakville Rangers' five defencemen selected in the OHL draft when Kingston took him in the first round, 13th overall; Luke Evangelista was one of three Oakville Rangers selected in the first round of the draft, going 14th overall to the London Knights; The Guelph Storm picked the Oakville Rangers defenceman Zack Terry in the second round of the OHL draft. Small business. Big dreams Small Business Loans. • Loan from $5,000 to $300,000. • Rates starting at 7.99%. • Flexible payment schedules. • Free, no obligation quote within 24 hours. For details visit us at: 2460 Neyagawa Blvd 905-257-1917 198 Speers Rd. 905-338-6000 Cheque Cashing. • Tax deductible fees. • Any cheque, any amount - postdated, foreign, personal. • No holds, no hassles. www.moneymart.ca M o n e y We can help Mart® 53 Steeles Ave. E. Milton, ON j 905.876.7671 5? | O akville B eaver | Th u rsd ay, A pril 19, 2018 in sid eh alto n .co m mailto:hgarbutt@metroland.com http://www.moneymart.ca