North Bay Battalion had good news a little bad news at the NHL Draft
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The good news came for two players as The Minnesota Wild chose right winger Lirim Amidovski in the fourth round, 121st overall, while the Florida Panthers took Shamar Moses, a right shot who has played left wing, as the first pick of the fifth round, at No. 129.
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First it was Amidovsky, who had a breakout season, who remarked how exciting it truly was. 'It means I have been dreaming about this moment and working towards it my whole life, so it feels amazing to be drafted. Can't be any more appreciative of what everyone in the organization has done for me,' says Amidovsky who watched the draft with family.
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Moses reacted this way, 'This means the world (to me), a lifelong dream has come true, 'says Moses. The former Barrie Colts first-round draft pick gave flowers to his newer team, 'the coaching staff and organization have been so welcoming to me and (they) pushed me to be the best,' says the Battalion forward who watched the draft from home with family.
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A big surprise was that the Battalion's star goaltender Mike McIvor was passed over. McIvor had a great season between the pipes for a sub-.500 North Bay team. McIvor was the Ontario Hockey League's Goaltender of the Week on two occasions and kept the Battalion in many games in the 2024-25 season.
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North Bay General Manager John Winstanley was asked about that draft snub when he addressed the media on Wednesday after the Canadian Hockey League 's Import Draft.
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'I feel for Mikey (not being drafted), he had a great year, and we had Nate McDonald, our goalie coach, put together a package of Mike's stats and put them against (stats) of goalies who have been drafted. Some of them were drafted very high,' says Winstanley. 'He was 'right there' if not ahead of many of the drafted goalies.'
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