Sports Oakville Beaver A REAL PRIORITY: Damian Bourne, pictured in action for the Mississauga minor midget AAA Rebels, was selected in the first round (11th overall) of last weekend's Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection Draft by the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors. The 16-year-old forward was one of many Oakville residents picked in the draft. PHOTO COURTESY OF OHL IMAGES SPORTS EDITOR:JONKUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2012 29 Development key to novice Venom boys' provincial gold By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR First-round pick also a star in the classroom Damian Bourne's off-ice smarts made him a risky selection for OHL's Majors By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLEBEAVERSTAFF Damian Bourne appears to have everything an Ontario Hockey League team looks for in a player. The 6-foot-4, 185-pound left winger has the size that teams covet. He has a scoring touch that could help any club, having racked up 26 goals and 79 points in 62 games last season with the Mississauga minor midget AAA Rebels. And he knows what it takes to win under pressure, helping the Rebels capture the OHL Cup tournament as dozens of scouts made final evaluations of the players prior to the draft. Yet, Bourne was still a somewhat risky pick. That's because on top of all his on-ice talents, the Grade 10 student at Blyth Academy carries a 92-per-cent average. Days after returning to school after winning the OHL Cup, he aced a Grade 11 biology test, getting 100 per cent. His off-ice smarts made him a prime target for U.S. college programs. Even as a dozen or so family members gathered to follow the OHL draft online Saturday, Bourne still had no idea which path his hockey career would take. "It was stressful," Bourne said. "I barely got any sleep the night before. I was pacing all over the place." He didn't have to wait long. When the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors picked him 11th overall -- making him the third Oakville player chosen by the Majors in the past four years -- a huge cheer erupted at the Bournes' Oakville home. "He's got great size and skill, but what we really liked most about him was his compete level and how he works hard shift to shift," said Majors coach and general manager James Boyd. That assessment showed that Bourne can apply his off-ice lessons to his game. Last year, Bourne got the unique opportunity to participate in the first NHL Players Association Mentorship Camp. The lesson he took away from pros like Jason Spezza, Luke Schenn and Jeff Skinner was to give it your all in every game, in every shift, in every practice, in every workout. "You're always battling for a spot," Bourne said. "You have to compete all the time and practice every chance you get." After meeting with the Majors Saturday and hearing about the educational package available to first-round picks, Bourne will be battling for a spot with Mississauga when training camp opens in the fall. Bourne was the first of eight Oakville players selected in Saturday's draft. Oakville Rangers minor midget captain Stefan LeBlanc was selected in the seventh round by Sudbury. The 5-foot-11 defenceman had three goals and 38 points in 52 games for the Rangers. Four picks later, LeBlanc's teammate Theo Lewis went to the Ottawa 67's. The 6-foot-2 right winger had 14 goals and 29 points in 42 games with the Rangers. Four more Rangers would be selected, with goalie Vito Peragine going to Sault Ste. Marie and defenceman Marcel Fatovic to Barrie in the 11th round, blueliner Eric Luzar to Guelph in the 12th round and Brandon Hughes to Sault Ste. Marie in the 14th round. One interesting selection was Slater Doggett. Overlooked in his minor midget year, the 17-year-old played for the Burlington Cougars of the Ontario Junior Hockey League last season, scoring 17 goals and tallying 15 assists in 47 games. Kingston selected Doggett in the 12th round. -- Herb Garbutt can be followed on Twitter at @Herbgarbutt Provincial gold medals are nice, but Oakville Venom novice boys coach Michael Hatcher is more excited about the process his team went through to earn them. Hatcher and co-coach Dave Wilson's primary focus this basketball season was individual skill development, not implementation of technical systems and structures. And the dividends eventually came. After going 13-9 during the season and averaging approximately 20 points a game, the Venom went 5-0 at the recent under-10 provincial Division 2 championships -- scoring nearly 34 points per contest -- to earn Ontario gold. "I attribute that (improvement) completely to player development," said Hatcher. "We had no new offences. We ran a very simple offensive set that just allowed the kids to play basketball, but the skill level had ramped throughout the season." Oakville won all three of its pool-play games at provincials, then defeated the Guelph Phoenix 31-26 in the semifinals and downed Toronto JCC 39-23 in the goldmedal contest. Previously in the season, the Venom collected bronze medals at tournaments in St. Catharines and Brantford. Last month, the team won the Blessed Sacrament tournament in Hamilton. Hatcher said his philosophy of emphasizing player development over wins was particularly important for a young team -- five of the 12 players on the novice Venom will play novice again next season -- but that he wouldn't have coached a more-experienced team any differently. "I wish more coaches would embrace (skill development) rather than putting in complicated structures and x's and o's," he said. "At this age, that doesn't help make you a better basketball player. What makes you a better basketball player is if your fundamentals improve. "The wins will take care of themselves," he added. "It's delayed gratification. You may not win right away, but you will win in the end." Members of the novice Venom are William Hatcher, Andrei Adam, Noah Lopez, Aidan Wilson, Mateo Mayne, Veeran Mistry, Mickey Griffiths, Jan Gielazewski, Christian Hines, Khelan Dhindsa, Isaiah McRae and Tarun Krishnan. -- A photo of the Oakville Venom novice boys can be found online at www.oakvillebeaver.com