…with the 49th pick…from the Saskatoon Blades…
Curtis Hamilton
6’2″ – 211lbs. Central Scouting Rank: 42nd among North American skaters.
2010 prospects: WHL top 15 draft-eligibles – Hockey’s Future
The tale of the tape confirms he is physically NHL-ready at 18 years of age. In 58 games during the 2008-09 season, Hamilton scored 20 goals and 28 assists while compiling a plus-28 rating. In limited action this past season, Hamilton tallied nine times and added 10 assists in 31 games. If intangibles are considered, Hamilton’s bloodlines cannot be overlooked. His father Bruce, the owner of the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets, was a tenacious forward selected in the 1977 NHL Draft by the St. Louis Blues. While he did not embark on a lengthy NHL career as a player, his work ethic and hockey business acumen have translated into junior hockey success for much of the past two decades.
Next up…with the 59th pick (from Philadelphia) …from Mississauga St. Michaels…
Gregg Sutch
6’2″ – 193lbs. Central Scouting Rank: 101st among North American skaters.
I love this kid. I will root for him no matter where he ends up. He is a crash and bang power forward, a blue-paint kind of player of character, the kind Lombardi loves. Kings fans have all heard Lombardi preach building character through adversity. In this regard, Sutch is the gold standard.
When silence is golden | DeafTimes
This has all the makings of a feel-good story. A real tearjerker. The type of true-life tale that gets turned into a movie and inspires a generation of filmgoers. It stars a small-town boy who is born with a severe hearing impairment. He is practically deaf. Sleeps through thunderstorms. Fails to flinch when a whistle is blown inches away from his ears. But his parents refuse to raise him differently and tell him there is nothing in life that he cannot do. What he wants to do, he says, is be like every other Canadian kid and play hockey. At first, his mother is worried. Her son cannot hear the coach call out instructions, cannot hear his teammates call for a pass, cannot even hear the roar of the crowd. Won’t he get hurt? It turns out he’s a natural. It’s as if his other senses are making up for the one that he lacks. He leads his midget AAA team in scoring. He is drafted 11th overall into the Ontario Hockey League. He represents his country at the world under-18 championship. And then, just when everything is going as well as it can, adversity strikes. [read the rest: When silence is golden | DeafTimes]
Hearing impairment helps hone OHLer’s desire – thestar.com
Gregg Sutch of the Sarnia Sting, who is hearing impaired, listens as assistant coach Tim Bacik talks to the forward on the bench. He wears aids in his ears. Here the forward is seen in a game against St Mike’s in Mississauga. His linemates call for a pass. From the bench, his coach yells for a line change. He takes his opponent crashing into the boards for one of his big hits, the crowd erupts and music blasts over the PA. Hockey is a game of sounds. But not for Gregg Sutch.
Sutch, the Sarnia Sting’s rookie wrecking ball, was born with what doctors term “severe to profound” hearing loss. He uses a hearing aid in each ear to help amplify sound, but finds that once he’s on the ice his biggest asset is his finely honed hockey sense. “I’ve learned to be a better hockey player,” says the affable 16-year-old. “To play this game you have to keep your head up and know what’s going on at all times. Because of my hearing impairment I’m not able to rely on the people who are around me. I’ve got to know myself where they are (on ice).”