Bobby Dow had some solid playoff performances and led the Kemptville 73's in scoring. (Robert Lefebvre/IceLevel)

Brockville Selects Defenceman With Top Pick
A glimpse into the Central Canada Hockey League’s future was on display in early April.

The league’s Bantam Protected Draft was staged on April 10 at the Navan Memorial Arena, the home rink of the Cumberland Grads.

A total of 127 players were selected in the 11-round draft.

Those eligible to be drafted were players born in 2002 that were registered with a squad in the Hockey Eastern Ontario branch.

The Brockville Braves utilized the top pick overall on James Mayotte, a defenceman who spent the past year with the Upper Canada Cyclones’ Major Bantam team.

Another defenceman, Mitchell Kealey from the Ottawa Senators’ Major Bantam squad, was picked second by the Carleton Place Canadians.
Three members of the Eastern Ontario Wild Major Bantam club were then chosen.

Forward Joshua Barnes was the Number 3 pick by the Cornwall Colts followed by forwards Chazka Bush and Yanic Crete, who were drafted fourth and fifth, respectively by the Cumberland Grads and Hawkesbury Hawks.

The Eastern Ontario Wild led all teams by having 18 of its players drafted.

Colts Lead Playoff Attendance Too
Fans sure love their Cornwall Colts.

The Colts, who led the CCHL in regular season attendance, continued to draw fans to their playoff matches.

The Cornwall squad averaged a league-high 912 spectators to its five postseason games. The Colts though did not get the chance to improve their attendance numbers as they were ousted in the semifinal playoff round by the Ottawa Jr. Senators.

Dow Leads Kemptville Playoff Scorers
Bobby Dow stepped up his game in the playoffs.

The Kemptville 73’s forward led his club in scoring by collecting 13 points, including five goals, in a dozen postseason matches.

Dow had also averaged more than a point per outing during the regular season. He had 59 points (24G, 35A) in 53 games and finished third in team scoring.

Dow would have preferred to play even more playoff games this season. But Kemptville was unable to advance to the CCHL’s championship series.

The 73’s were defeated 4-2 by the Carleton Place Canadians in their best-of-seven semifinal series.

Dow was the CCHL’s top playoff pointgetter heading into the championship series. It was expected that a number of players from Carleton Place and the Ottawa Jr. Senators, the other league finalists, would surpass Dow’s point total since they were still playing in the final.

Though he has accepted a scholarship offer from Pennsylvania’s Mercyhurst University, Dow is expected to return to Kemptville as his deal begins with the 2018-19 season.