ROUNDS 5/6: GRIT 'N SKILL



Travis Ewanyk



Thunder Bay, Ont.- Some will argue that it is in these later rounds of an entry draft where the core and heartbeat of a team are built. It is that vision and that hope that the Thunder Bay Timberwolves have when taking fliers on young men that have been overlooked by the CCHL's 22 teams through 4 rounds of drafting.
>>>With the 95th pick in the 5th round, the Timberwolves selected left-winger, Travis Ewanyk from the WHL's Edmonton Oil Kings.

>>>"Ewanyk is a guy that oozes Timberwolves hockey," said general manager Blake Wendt. "He plays a tough as nails, blue collar game. He initiates contact, hits you hard and is more than willing to drop the gloves to defend himself and his teammates. He's a two-way guy that plays as well in his own end as in the offensive zone. Although we love the toughness and highlight reel hits, we'd like for Travis to work on situational awareness and be more cautious making some of those hits if it puts his team in a tough spot defensively. But we're thrilled to get him where we got him in this draft."

>>>With the 128th pick in the 6th round, Wendt and his scouts reached way back and took 23 year old left-winger, Andy Miele from Miami University in the NCAA. Miele was the 2011 Hobey Baker winner as the NCAA's top collegiate hockey player.
>>>"I have no idea how we landed Miele," said Wendt. "Despite his size [5'8" 180 lbs], this guy has steadily improved in four years at Miami and lead the NCAA in scoring, wins the Hobey Baker and simply dominates in his senior year. He may be short, but he's built like a tank and solid enough for the riggers of the pro game. He's been on our list for the last two drafts. For whatever reason, we've always passed by for another guy. We just couldn't this time around. We feel he could really help us and are very happy to finally have him in a Thunder Bay Timberwolves sweater."

>>>The Timberwolves next pick will be at #150 in the 7th round. Then there will be a bonus 8th round where Thunder Bay will again pick in order and select at 174.