The North Bay Battalion selected Czech centre Filip Chytil sixth overall in the Canadian Hockey League Import Draft on Wednesday. Head Coach Stan Butler says as they’d planned to do, they’ve selected a very talented player and they hope that he will come to North Bay. Butler says they don’t want two goals here, they’re going for hat tricks.
The New York Rangers selected Chytil in the first round, 21st overall, of the National Hockey League Draft last Friday in Chicago. He was ranked 11th among European skaters by the NHL’s central scouting department in advance of the draft. Chytil, who turns 18 on September 5th, scored four goals and earned four assists for eight points in 38 games playing against men last season with PSG Zlin of the Czech Extraliga, regarded as one of Europe’s top four professional leagues. The Kromeriz native, who also plays left wing, would fill out the Battalion’s two-player import quota with Swedish defenceman Adam Thilander, who’s set to return for a second OHL season.
Butler says he talked to Chytil’s agent before the draft, and the New York Rangers yesterday. He says they told him that if he did come, the league he wanted to come to was the Ontario league, which is positive that way. Butler says it’s going to be very similar to the Thilander thing last year, or the Evgeny Grachev thing numerous years ago, where there’s going to be a recruiting process. Butler looks at it like if they’re successful, they get a first-line centre on their hockey team and if they’re not successful, then the team’s no different than it was before the draft today.
