Local draftee Jordan Fox aims for a spot on the Battalion blueline

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Local draftee Jordan Fox aims for a spot on the Battalion blueline
Like most endeavours, playing major junior hockey in your hometown has its advantages and disadvantages.
On the plus side, a player can live at home, possibly attend their regular high school and play their home games in front of an appreciative crowd of family and friends. On the other hand, all the distractions that come with playing in front of all those family and friends can undermine a player’s performance and the benefits of playing and living in another city are not always fully realized.

Brampton native Jordan Fox is looking forward to earning the opportunity to play in front of his hometown supporters. The 17-year-old, 6’1″, 205-pound defenseman was a 12th round draft choice (236th overall) of the Brampton Battalion in June’s OHL Draft. Fox, who spent part of last season patrolling the blueline for the Junior A Brampton Capitals, will be heading next week to the Battalion training camp, which is being held from September 1-5 at the Brampton Centre. Fox is the fourth local player selected by the Battalion. Last year the team picked local products Ryan Leard and Chris Garnham and this year, in addition to Fox, also selected Brampton midget winger Justin Myler in the 14th round.
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Peterborough Petes Look To Rebound From Disappointing Finish In ’98-’99

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The Peterborough Petes organization has been highly regarded in the ranks of Major Junior Hockey for many years. It boasts a proud record of sending more graduates into the National Hockey League than any other CHL franchise.

Yet, despite the constant turnover of quality players anually, the Petes have been able to maintain a competitive team each season. The Petes are hoping that this trend will hopefully continue for the ’99-2000 edition of the club. Last season’s fourth place finish was a disappointment for the Petes.

After challenging traditional rivals Oshawa, and the strong Belleville club for second place most of the season, the Petes faltered in the home stretch and then were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Generals. The ’99-2000 season will be a season of “ifs” for Peterborough. IF promising players such as Jason Williams and Preston Mizzi can bring their games up to the next level the Petes will compete for the division lead with Belleville and defending Memorial Cup champions the Ottawa 67′s. IF the Petes also receive strong goaltending from last year’s surprising tandem of Mike Pickard and Joey MacDonald this will also boost the Petes chances. Finally, IF new players in the lineup, such as Steve Montador and Marcel Rodman play as well as they are expected to, the Peterborough Petes may well be on the way to adding another chapter to their proud team history.

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2000 OHL Prospect Preview

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Here is a ranking and look at some of the top prospects from the OHL who are eligible for the 2000 Entry Draft. (NOTE: A player without comments has already had an in-depth accurate profile written on them. Just click on their respective link to view their profile)

1. Darryl Bootland – Toronto St. Mike’s

2. Lou Dickenson – Mississauga

3. Chris Eade – North Bay

4. Brad Boyes – Erie

5. Dan Growden – Windsor

6. Nikita Alexeev – Erie

7. Raffi Torres – Brampton

Comments: Finished second in team and rookie scoring to phenom Jason Spezza, a
pure sniper who also likes to crash the net. A fine two-way player who is
as steady as a rock, and is difficult to knock off his skates.

8. Bobby Turner – London

9. Jared Newman – Plymouth

10. Ryan Hare – Sarnia

Comments: A center/winger, this hometown product was Sting’s first round pick in
1998. Rookie season was marred by back injury, but that still did not slow
down this road-runner. An OHL scoring champion in the making once he
matures.

11. Chris Berti – Sarnia

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Spezza’s OHL Career Off To A Great Start

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Born: June 13, 1983
Hometown: Brampton, Ontario
Position: Centre
Number: 9
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 188 lbs
Shoots: Right

Although he’s only 16-years-old Jason Spezza already has one OHL season under his belt and most NHL scouts drooling. Spezza spent last season with the OHL’s Brampton Battalion as a 15-year-old underage player.

Spezza, a Brampton native, had a tremendous season in bantam with the Toronto Marlboros bantam team in 1997-98, which probably attributed to his playing in the OHL as an underage. Spezza posted 53 goals and 114 points in 54 games, which turns out to be just over 2 points per game. You have to admit, that is impressive.

Spezza had an impressive season with the Battalion in 1998-99 considering they were an expansion team and had such a bad season. Spezza finished the season with 22 goals and 71 points. That put him in third place in the rookie scoring race behind Sheldon Keefe (116 points) and Denis Shvidki (94 points). Both Keefe and Shvidki spent the season in Barrie, although Keefe spent a portion of the season playing with Toronto St. Mike’s.

Despite playing in the OHL as a 15-year-old Spezza was already catching the attention of NHL scouts. Spezza was eligible for last month’s OHL priority draft where, as expected, he was drafted 1st overall by the Missisauga IceDogs. Spezza was the first of seven straight 16-year-olds drafted in the first round.
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Brampton Battalion Report

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Troops host Barrie to open 1999-2000 campaign
The Battalion will kick off their second season on September 24 with a home game against the powerful Barrie Colts. The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds will come to the Bunker on September 30 and the next night will see Brampton’s first road game of the year, against Jason Spezza and the Mississauga IceDogs at the Hershey Centre.
Other notable dates on the schedule include:
October 1 – first inter-divisional game of the year, against the Erie Otters;
October 11 – Brampton will once again host the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors on Thanksgiving Monday (game time: 2:00 p.m.);
October 14 – Jason Spezza makes his first visit to the Bunker as a member of the Mississauga IceDogs;
October 22 and 24 – the team’s first road trip of the season, featuring games in Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie;
November 6 – the Battalion visit Maple Leaf Gardens to take on St. Mike’s;
November 26 – Brampton journeys to Ottawa for their first meeting of the season with the defending Memorial Cup champions;
December 5 – the team plays host to the Belleville Bulls, defending OHL Champions;
December 31 – Mississauga comes to the Bunker for their traditional New Year’s Eve clash (game time: 3:30 p.m.) with the Battalion. This will be the final OHL game of the century;
January 2 – Brampton plays its first game in the year 2000, at home against the Peterborough Petes;
January 6 – the Oshawa Generals visit the Bunker; Read more»

Top Prospects

  1. Darnell Nurse
  2. Sean Monahan
  3. Zach Nastasiuk
  4. Chris Bigras
  5. Bo Horvat
  6. Ryan Hartman
  7. Kerby Rychel
  8. Max Domi
  9. Jimmy Lodge
  1. Nikita Zadorov
  2. Spencer Martin
  3. Jason Dickinson
  4. Justin Bailey
  5. Dakota Mermis
  6. Dane Fox
  7. Frank Palazzese
  8. Max Iafrate
  9. Luke Cairns
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