Belleville Bulls 2012 OHL Priority Selections

In the 2012 OHL draft on Saturday the Belleville Bulls needed to address a weakness, The Power Play. They felt that Niki Petti could be part of the solution selecting the The Southern Tier Admirals Forward with their 1st round pick ,10th overall.

This is a break down on the Bulls selections as we see them.

1st Rd 10th Overall - Niki Petti - Southern Tier Admirals

The Scouting report on Niki Petti is that he has a boat load of offensive talent. He put up 40 goals and 45 apples in 57 games last season for his home town Southern Tier Admirals based in Welland. His skating is off the chart and should show up well on the big ice at the Yardman. He could be the best manufactured skater in the draft. Bulls chief scout and Assistant GM Barclay Branch went as far as to call Petti the Best Pure Skater next to 1st overall selection Conner McDavid. Its safe to say he can skate.

He sees the ice very well and believes one of his strengths is his vision to the weak side saying that he feels the big ice in Belleville will help his game and that's a skill he can translate on to the ice. GM George Burnett was quoted as saying that Petti was "through the roof about becoming a Belleville Bull. He has above average puck skills and can handle the biscuit well under pressure. He's dynamic with the ability to score and create chances.

Petti is ready to help the power play and he has the tools to work down low behind the goal line off the half boards or in front of the net. Not the biggest guy at 5'11" 175lbs but he can bring a physical game and he plans to. He plans to hit the weights this summer with the hope of becoming stronger more flexible and as efficient as possible.

I think this was the smart pick by the Bulls, it gives them an element their lacking and have been for awhile.

2nd Round 31st Overall- Daniel Desousa - Toronto Marlboros

This might turn out to be a huge steal for the Bulls with almost all mock drafts having Desousa going in the 1st round. In Desousa the Bulls get a hard-hitting defense man with flair. He is smart and skilled defensively, the OHL scouting report called him a defence man that players dislike playing against and is the type of player who can play in any situation, playing at his best on the PK and against the other teams top lines. His offensive skill set is also a big draw. Daniel loves to rush the puck and with a stride like his he should also benefit from the the large ice.

3rd Rd 52nd Overall- Michael Cramarossa - Toronto Marlboros

The brother of Bulls player Joesph Cramarossa Michael brings a big game presence, above average skill set, and he is a great two way guy. He plays a smart game and can mix it up physically. I know his skill set will fit real nice in the system that the Bulls run.

4th Rd 70th Overall- Chad Heffernan - Peterborough Minor Petes

This was an other strong pick for the Bulls. Heffernan is a good working, tough, consistent power forward. He works the puck to the net, cycles well down low and is a nice complementary player. He will be a fan favorite. Chad enjoys the physical side of the game and uses his size to dominate play. He hits hard but has the skill to be a complete player. Heffernan's stepfather is retired NHL veteran Steve Larmer

5th RD 90th Overall- Nik Coric - York Simcoe Express

Coric is a flashy puck handler who has speed to burn and can make very intelligent plays at top speed. He is a gifted play maker who makes his whole team better. With his explosive speed he gets a lot of breakaways.”

6th Rd 112th Overall- Hayden Lavigne - Toronto Young Nationals

The only goalie the Bulls drafted. Lavigne At 6' 3" is a big goalie who is both athletic and technical. He separates himself from other goalies his age using strong positioning, consistently challenging and making saves outside the blue paint.

7th Rd 132nd Overall- Andrew Ming - Eastern Ontario Wild

Ming has the intangibles to compete in the OHL, he is gritty, tough, and a hard worker who puts team interests ahead of his own. He is the brother of Kitchener Ranger Eric Ming.

9th Rd 172nd Overall- Brody Morris - Quinte Red Devils

Brody plays for the Quinte Red Devils and is a big, stay at home type defence man. he is tough to beat out of the corners. He will do whatever it takes to win, like block shots, and battle for pucks. Nothing flashy, he just moves the puck up the ice.

10th Rd 192nd Overall- Daniel Barnes - Toronto Red Wings

Barnes is a smart D man, has good vision and positioning away from the play

11th Rd 212th Overall- Connor Cobbold - Ottawa Valley

Cobbold is the wild card according to scouts, because the prospect plays a "roller-coaster" style game that sees him shine on one night and underwhelm on another. His brother Spenser Cobbold plays for the Mississauga St. Mikes Majors

12th Rd 232nd Overall- Trent Shore - Ajax Pickering

A nasty, physical defence man. You won't get much offence out of him, but unlike a lot of kids in this age group, he loves to play physical, he knows his role and plays it well.

13th Rd 252nd Overall- Joe Wegwerth - Brewster Bulldogs

Wegwerth is built like a tank at 6-2 and 205 pounds, and has skill to back it all up. Real good chance he will play for the USA NTDP.

14th Rd 272nd Overall- Mark Price - Peterborough Minor Petes

Mark Price could become a very good power forward in the OHL. His greatest attributes are his great hands and he's tough in the corners. He's a big body who comes out with the puck.

15th Rd 292nd Overall- Jacob Panetta - Quinte Red Devils

Panetta is the Captain of the Quinte Red Devils. Jacob is a great athlete. He was the smallest player the Bulls drafted and will have to work his but off to play in the OHL. It says here that he knows that and will.

15th Rd 295th Overall- Colton Keuhl - Ottawa Valley

He played a few games with the Jr.A Gloucester Rangers.

Bulls/Leafs 1989 Draft

The Bulls and Leafs draft connection from 1989 was a bust for the Leafs for sure, but not so much for some of the Bulls Alumni involved.

Scott Thornton was drafted 3rd overall, but I don't think anyone other then the Leafs staff at the time, thought he would be a NHL Superstar , He only scored 62 goals in 171 games with Belleville. I think Thornton turned in to the NHLer he should have, a good tough two-way player , a third liner that could give you good minutes. Its thanks to the lock out that he missed being the 1st Belleville Bull to dress in 1000 NHL games. Scott and others trade out of Toronto brought Glen Anderson, Grant Fuhr, and Craig Berube. Anderson was later Traded to the NYR for Mike Gartner, Fuhr was traded to Buffalo that brought the last Leaf 50 goal scorer to town in Dave Andreychuk, and Berube well he left town in the Gilmour trade. Thornton won a Calder Cup playing with the Cape Breton Oilers in 92-93 under current Bulls Head Coach and GM George Burnett.

Rob Pearson left the Bulls for the Generals and peaked playing with Lindros when Eric was at his OHL best.

Steve Bancroft was a guy I thought for sure would have played in the NHL, he was tough, he could fight, hit and had a beauty of a shot from the point. It helps that he is from Madoc. and was also a Centurion. He still holds track and field records at CHSS. He never panned out in the NHL but the minor leagues were an other thing . He played in 1024 minor pro games, 546 AHL and 478 IHL. Winning a Calder Cup in 1998-99. In 2005-06 when playing with the Calgary Flames farm team Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights, then Flames GM Darryl Sutter payed Bancroft a great complement saying he was that guy that was good enough for the NHL but you wanted him on your farm team to show all your kids how to be real pros.

OHL Eastern Conference Playoffs - (7) Belleville Bulls Vs (2) Ottawa 67's Game 6 and Series Review

OHL Eastern Conference Playoffs - (7) Belleville Bulls Vs (2) Ottawa 67's Game 6 Review

Monday night in Belleville, with 2857 on hand the Ottawa 67's ended the Belleville Bulls season with a 2-1 victory, winning the series in 6 games.

The first period was scoreless with the Bulls out shooting the 67's 16-11.

In the 2nd it was Belleville that got on the score sheet first when Garrett Hooey buried his 1st of the post season from Scott Simmonds and OA Adam Payerl at 3:22. The Party didn't last long and before the period would end at 18:08 Tyler Toffoli scored his 5th from Sean Monahan and Jake Cardwell to tie the game 1-1. The 67's outshot the Bulls 17-12 in the frame.

The third seen who else but Tyler Toffoli score the game winner his 2nd of the game and 6th in the playoffs from Cody Ceci at 5:51. With his team trailing Joesph Cramarossa dropped the mitts with Tyler Graovac in what was a very impressive bout by both player but it wasn't enough for the home team and the 67's defeated the Bulls 2-1. In the 3rd Ottawa out shot Belleville 9-4 and 37-32 in the game. Both clubs went 0/3 on the power play.

3 Stars 1- 67's Tyler Toffoli 2- Bulls Garrett Hooey 3- Bulls Malcolm Subban

The Belleville penalty kill was very good in the series going 16/18 with a shorthanded goal and was 2nd in the league during the 1st round, only the 67's were better going 28/29. Ottawa was also very good on the kill but that number also says alot about the Bulls very ineffective power play after being ranked 20th the last two regular seasons , it was also the last ranked power play in the playoffs running at very weak 3.4%.

Both goaltenders had some great moments in this series. 67's Petr Mrazek put up great numbers posting a 2.43GAA and a .934SV%. In the games two Ottawa lost in OT he was also strong. Malcolm Subban earned his 1st OHL playoff victory and was really strong facing an average of 36 shots a game. As we have seen this season there where times when Malcolm was holding the fort on his own. He is Belleville's best penalty killer. He posted a 2.93GAA and a .917SV%.

Belleville's defence was good with Jake Worrad, Brady Austin and Stephen Silas scoring big goals for the Bulls. Jason Shaw even without any goals was Belleville's best defender.
With Captain Marc Zanetti missing the last 4 games due to suspension Ottawa turned to Cody Ceci who did his thing. Veteran Jake Carwell and Michal Cajkovsky both played well in the Captain's absence.

Upfront was the difference, Ottawa's big guns where their big guns, the 67's scored 20 goals in the series, their top 3 regular season goal scorers lead the charge, Tyler Toffoli with 6 , Shane Prince with 4 and Sean Monahan with 4 combining for 14 of the 20. For Belleville their top three regular season scorers Brendan Gaunce, Austen Brassard and Daniil Zharkov had 3 between them. The Bulls just couldn't match up, Toffoli's 6 goals matched the out put of Gaunce, Brassard, Zharkov, Luke Judson, Adam Payerl and Jordan Mayer combined. Sean Monahan was spectacular in this series and I look for him to be a deference maker for the 67's moving forward.

OHL Eastern Conference Playoffs - (7) Belleville Bulls Vs (2) Ottawa 67's Game 5 Review

OHL Eastern Conference Playoffs - (7) Belleville Bulls Vs (2) Ottawa 67's Game 5 Review.

On Friday night the Belleville Bulls traveled to the Nations Capital to face the Ottawa 67's in Game 5 of their very tight 1st round playoff match up. Coming in to game 5 every game in this series minus game 2 , where there was an empty net goal, had been decided by one goal, Three games have gone to over time. The series was tied 2-2.

On Friday Ottawa's big guns were their big guns and they defeat the Bulls 5-2 to take a 3-2 series lead. Game 6 goes Monday night in Belleville.

The Bulls did what they wanted to do and that was score early and take the 6838 fans in attendance out of it and at just over 5 minutes in at 5:18 Joesph Cramarossa scored his 2nd from Daniil Zharkov and Austen Brassard to give the Bulls a 1-0 lead. Things looked to be going the Bulls way, Ottawa had taken a penalty, their 2nd minor of the game. Belleviille looked great on their 1st chance doing everything but scoring. Some body scored but that somebody was Shane Prince shorthanded at 12:44 to tie the game. The first would end tied 1-1. Ottawa out shot the Bulls 11-8. In the 1st Dalton Smith layed a huge hit that rocked Daniil Zharkov and sent him to the quiet room for a check up. He returned.

The OHL has decided against applying supplementary discipline to Smith.
Smith caught Zharkov with his head down and rocked him with a solid check. Replays show Smith makes hard contact with Zharkov’s head with his raised arms. The Ref made the correct call — five for check-to-the-head and game misconduct.

Some others would argue that Zharkov had this coming, all series he has been doing his share of dirty work, but in a league that has made it clear it wants to rid its product of any kind of contact to the head or borderline legal hits to players in a vulnerable positions why was this hit to the head not punished ? Bulls rookie and 1st time offender Alex Carnevale got 8 games for a hit that was all shoulder but this one gets nothing ? Smith didn't have to raise his arms and it would have been a great hard hit, but he did. Smith plays a hard physical in your face game and is no saint . He is a repeat offender, I don't understand it ?

Shane Prince would score his 2nd of the night and 3rd of the playoffs from Cody Ceci and Mike Cazzola at 13:20. The 2nd ended with the home team up 2-1. Belleville had the lead in shots department 11-7 in the period.

At 9:27 of the 3rd Belleville tied the game 2-2 when Stephen Silas scored his 1st of the post season from Brendan Gaunce and Luke Judson. That was it for the Bulls as it was the 67's the rest of the way. At 12:26 Sean Monahan scored the game winner his 4th of the post season from Brett Gustavsen and Sean Callaghan. The OHL's regular season goal leader Tyler Toffoli got in on the fun lighting the lamp with his 4th from Monahan and Ceci. To round out the scoring it was Shane Prince with his 3rd of the game and 4th of the series from Toffoli in to the empty net at 19:02. Belleville would out shot the 67's 15-11 in the 3rd and 34-29 in the game.


Ottawa didn't not have any PP chances and the Bulls went 0/6. Belleville is now 1/26 in the series. The 67's with 2 have more shorthanded goals then Belleville has PP goals. The 67's are 2/15 with the man advantage in the series.

3 Stars - 1- 67's Shane Prince 2- 67's Sean Monahan 3- 67's Cody Ceci