Sports
December 04, 2008 07:54 PM
McEachen picked for prospect game
Mike Hayakawa
The Stouffville Spirit hasn’t had much to cheer about this season.
But Spirit defenceman Patrick McEachen had good reason to be smiling Friday.
Receiving a telephone call from Spirit co-owner Zeev Werek, the 17-year-old Stouffville native was informed he would be making a trip to Summerside, P.E.I. Dec. 16 and 17 to take part in the 2008 Canadian Junior Hockey League Prospects Game.
Playing on the Team East squad, the six-foot, one-inch, 187-pound McEachen was the lone Spirit player chosen for the game and one of 11 players representing the Ontario Junior Hockey League to be nominated by the National Hockey League’s Central Scouting and CJHL representatives for the game.
up for 2009 nhl draft“I’m really excited to be going, it’s a big honour to be playing in the game,” McEachen said. “It’s not just the hockey part, but to go out east as well.”
He has accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Maine next fall where he will play for their men’s varsity hockey team.
McEachen said he talked with former Spirit players who took part in the game last year including good friend Ethan Werek, James McIntosh and Corey Trivino.
All said they had a great time.
“But it was also a big game for Corey (Trivino) because I think it helped him with his drafting position,” he added.
Because of that, McEachen intends to take somewhat of a business approach to the game as he hopes to hear his name called by some NHL club when next year’s amateur draft takes place.
“It will definitely be an important game and I don’t think there’ll be any floating in this type of a game,” he said.
Spirit head coach Mark Joslin felt McEachen’s selection was a “no brainer”.
“He’s on the NHL watch now and he definitely deserves it. He competes hard and his work ethic never changes even though we’re going through some hard times right now.
“If he was playing with elite players in our league he would do well and excel. He’s definitely a cornerstone to our team,” Joslin said of McEachen, who compiled three goals and 18 assists in 29 regular season tilts this season.
confident in burrowsThe Grade 12 Brother Andre Catholic High School student hopes his good news might be the start of a turn-around for the last-place Spirit.
He’s happy the team brought Ken Burrows back and thinks the general manager can bring respectability back to the club and make it competitive in the playoffs.
“We started the year as a very young squad and lost about a dozen one-goal games. That’s just bad luck and inexperience and things weren’t going our way,” he said.
“I’ve known Kenny for most of my life and I have a lot of faith in him. I know he will turn things around,” the Stouffville resident said.