Sudbury Wolves prospects impress at orientation camp
Article content
Brayden Bennett came as advertised with a combination of skill, speed and competitiveness.
Article content
Kingston Harris turned heads with his fleet feet and puck prowess in a high-scoring performance.
Article content
Caleb Deanovich displayed smooth skill and high-level hockey IQ.
Article content
Ethan Dean and Henry Doucet looked exactly as hoped — faster, stronger and seemingly ready for bigger roles at the OHL level.
Article content
Article content
Eager for a glimpse at their newest crop of prospects, Sudbury Wolves staff and fans got an eyeful during a two-day prospect orientation camp this past weekend, with many youngsters meeting or even surpassing expectations over two days of practices, scrimmages and off-ice testing at Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex.
Article content
Article content
'It's very nice here,' smiled Deanovich, the 16-year-old defenceman from Fond du Lac, Wisc. who was the Wolves' fifth-round choice in the 2025 OHL Priority Selection.
Article content
'The coaches are very good, Scott Barney is an amazing coach and I like the city a lot.'
Article content
A right-shooting six-foot, 170-pounder who starred for the Chicago Reapers 15U AAA squad this season, Deanovich was among several U.S.-based standouts who helped to make up a roster of 35 players who converged on the Nickel City.
Article content
Most members of the 2025 and 2024 draft classes, a sprinkling of 2023 picks and a handful of free agents took part the camp, which included Blue and White games on Saturday night and Sunday morning.
Article content
Article content
'I wanted to see what the OHL is like, especially Sudbury,' Deanovich said. 'I never really got to experience it before, but the college portals have opened up now, so it's good to be here. It's definitely nice to see.'
Article content
Asked to described his game, he pointed to his speed, offensive skill and ability to see the ice as some of his best qualities.
Article content
'I want to show my speed, my vision of the ice — and hopefully, we'll put the puck in a little bit.'
Article content
That they did, with Deanovich's Team White edged 6-5 on Saturday, then bouncing back with a 6-5 win over the Blue side the next morning.
Article content
Also a first-round pick in the recent United States Hockey League Futures Draft, Deanovich will have no shortage of options for the next phase of his hockey development, but NCAA rule changes will allow him to explore the OHL route without jeopardizing his Division I eligibility — an intriguing possibility for the youngster.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
a day ago
- CTV News
Kitchener Rangers sign Adam Valentini to the team
Adam Valentini signs on with the Kitchener Rangers on May 5, 2025. The Kitchener Rangers have added a new player to their roster. Adam Valentini, a 17-year-old forward from the Toronto area, officially signed with the team on Thursday. He just finished a season with the Chicago Steel, part of the United States Hockey League (USHL). Valentini also played with Canada White at the U17 World Hockey Championships where he racked up four goals and five assists in nine games. 'With his skill, hockey sense and offensive creativity we expect him to make an immediate impact with our team,' Mike McKenzie, general manager for the Rangers, said in a media release. 'He has always been a top tier player in his age group and when his rights became available last summer, we knew we had to do our best to acquire him and try to get him to Kitchener.' The Rangers acquired those rights after a trade last September with the Brampton Steelheads. The deal was sealed thanks to a recent rule change. Players with the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) are eligible, as of Aug. 1, to take part in NCAA hockey programs. 'That definitely opened up more options for me,' Valentini told CTV News. 'Kitchener is such a first-class organization. I think it's what suited me best. I want to play here and can't wait to get things going.' He said he was in the crowd when the Rangers took on the Windsor Spitfires in the OHL playoffs, and is looking forward to donning the red, blue and white. Valentini will be wearing number 92 when he reports to training camp in August.
Ottawa Citizen
a day ago
- Ottawa Citizen
‘Man, I want to play here,' Brown says after joining Spitfires
Article content Defenceman Jonathan Brown quickly fell in love with the Windsor Spitfires. Article content A Scarsdale, N.Y. native, Brown is verbally committed to Yale University, but started exploring his options before university when the NCAA relaxed rules on accepting players from junior hockey. Article content 'I never really considered the OHL,' the 18-year-old Brown said. 'I always wanted to play college hockey. I didn't put any effort into trying to play in OHL. Once they changed that rule, it became intriguing.' Article content Brown played last season for the powerhouse Shattuck-St. Mary's prep program in Minnesota and one of his first junior stops was Windsor when general manager Bill Bowler invited to attend a game. Article content Article content 'It was a great atmosphere,' the six-foot-two, 201-pound Brown said. 'Honestly, the rink, the atmosphere and the fans. I think it was against Kingston (a 7-1 win on March 6) and the rink was packed. There was a fight and everyone was into it and it was like, 'Man, I want to play here.'' Article content On Friday, Brown officially signed on with the Spitfires. Article content 'We think this is a great signing for our club,' Spitfires' general manager Bill Bowler said. 'He's a steady defender, a real good skater and I think there's some offence that's untapped. Article content 'He's headed to the Ivy League, so you know he has a brain, and it's kids like this that you want to be part of your program. We're fortunate he chose the Windsor Spitfires.' Article content Article content Brown's father is an American, his mother is from France and the couple met in London, England, which is where he was born. The family moved to the U.S. when he was six. Article content Article content 'Definitely not just the same path as every other player,' Brown said. 'My dad's actually form Detroit. That's another reason for Windsor is that there's a ton of family close.' Article content Brown had plenty of junior hockey options before choosing Windsor. He was drafted in 2024 by Youngstown in the United States Hockey League and in 2023 by Connecticut in the National Collegiate Development Conference. Article content 'I could have played in the USHL, but I started thinking about my options,' said Brown, who appeared in two games for Youngstown this past season. 'The OHL is an unbelievable league with great players and produces the most players to the NHL.' Article content Brown helped Shattuck-St. Mary's win the USA Hockey Youth Tier I 18U National Championship in April. Brown scored a goal in the final that saw Shattuck-St. Mary's beat the Boston Jr. Eagles 8-1.
Vancouver Sun
3 days ago
- Vancouver Sun
After former Leafs and Blue Jays players, CRA now goes after ex-Raptors star Norman Powell
OTTAWA — On Feb. 4, 2022, former Toronto Raptors star guard Norman Powell received two pieces of news that would have a major impact on his life. The first was from his agent telling him that he was part of a blockbuster trade that sent him from the Portland Trail Blazers to the Los Angeles Clippers. The second was from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) claiming over $1.2 million in additional income tax on 'inducements' paid by the Raptors in 2019 and 2020 to attract the star two-way guard to the surging Toronto team. Powell, who was part of the Raptors' 2019 championship team, is now appealing the CRA's decision in the Tax Court of Canada. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Powell's faceoff with the tax agency is over the same issue as ex-Toronto Maple Leafs Patrick Marleau and John Tavares , namely that his nearly $7 million in signing inducements should be taxed at only 15 per cent and not at the top income tax bracket (over 50 per cent). A key question for the court to determine is if the inducement offered by the Raptors Powell's contract to entice him to Toronto fits the definition of an 'inducement' under the U.S.-Canada treaty that sets the tax rate at 15 per cent. Powell says yes, but the CRA says no. The case, like Marleau and Tavares', could have a significant impact on how Canadian professional sports teams use signing bonuses or salary inducements as a tax incentive to attract foreign athletes to Canada instead of lower-taxed American organizations. Powell's lawsuit argues that the millions in inducements he signed with the Raptors to attract him to Toronto are covered by provisions of a Canada-U.S. tax treaty which set the tax rate for an 'inducement to sign an agreement' at 15 per cent. 'The Toronto Raptors and the Appellant (Powell) both understood that the Inducement was a key component of the Appellant's decision to sign' with the Canadian team, reads the appeal. But, per Powell, the CRA disagreed. On Feb. 4, 2022, the agency issued notices of assessment to him for 2019 and 2020 that taxed his inducement payments at the ordinary federal and provincial income tax rates (likely over 50 per cent) instead of 15 per cent. 'The Toronto Raptors agreed to pay the Inducement to entice the Appellant 'to sign an agreement relating to the performance of' his services as an 'athlete',' Powell wrote, saying that CRA's arguing otherwise is 'to distort the legal and economic reality' of his contract with the Raptors. Powell objected to the CRA, which he says accepted his objections 'in full' on March 1, 2024. But then to Powell's surprise, six days later the CRA issued a reassessment that once again considered his inducements to be taxable at the full federal and provincial tax rates instead of 15 per cent. Even more confusing is that one year later, the CRA 'admitted and agreed' that the $7 million paid by the Raptors to Powell in 2019 and 2020 were in fact 'an inducement… to choose the Toronto Raptors' under the terms of his NBA contract, his lawsuit states. 'The CRA has admitted that the Inducement was paid to the Appellant as an inducement for him to choose the Toronto Raptors. This should conclude the analysis,' reads his appeal. In his lawsuit, Powell says the CRA made essentially the exact same arguments as they did in Tavares' and Marleau's cases without considering the differences between an NBA and NHL contract. His appeal suggests that CRA copied its findings in the Tavares and Marleau cases and applied them to Powell, who plays a different sport in a different league with different player contracts. 'The position adopted by the (CRA) has been shaped following an audit conducted on an NHL player who received an inducement as per the terms outlined in his employment agreement. Subsequently, the (CRA) improperly extended the conclusions drawn from this particular NHL case to the Appellant' without considering the specificities of his NBA contract, Powell argued. Both the CRA and Powell's counsel, Marie-France Dompierre, declined to comment as the case is ongoing. The tax agency has not filed a statement of defence in court. National Post has published a series of reports since 2024 detailing tax battles between former star players of Toronto's three largest professional sports teams and the CRA. Other than its fights with Powell, Tavares and Marleau, the CRA also battled ex-Maple Leaf Jake Muzzin over the tax rate imposed on his signing bonus in 2020. The CRA also launched battles in 2023 with ex-Toronto Blue Jays all-stars José Bautista, Josh Donaldson and Russell Martin over multimillion tax bills. Late last year, the Tax Court ruled in favour of Donaldson and Martin, arguing that the CRA's calculation of their income tax owing was 'faulty.' cnardi@ National Post Get more deep-dive National Post political coverage and analysis in your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get at what's really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers. Sign up here . Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
