North Bay Battalion forward Brandon Coe has been drafted to the NHL.
Coe was taken 97th overall in the fourth round of the NHL Entry Draft by the San Jose Sharks. He is the third Battalion (Brampton and North Bay) player to be selected by the Sharks.
Adam Dennis, GM of the Battalion says that Coe is deserving of the selection based on what he’s gone through during his time with the Troops.
“We haven’t had the best success as a team but he’s persevered through it. He’s grown as a person and grown as a player. While I do think that he could have gone earlier, it’s great that he has a home and it’s a great day for the organization,” said Dennis.
Coe has played three seasons with the Battalion, steadily improving upon his numbers every year. In his 2017-18 rookie season, Coe scored 23 points in 63 games as a 16-year-old while also representing Canada at the World Under-17 Championship where he scored four points in five games.
In his sophomore season, Coe scored 17 goals and 20 assists in 65 games, making him the Battalion’s fifth-leading scorer that season. Coe followed that up with 57 points in 60 games during the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season – three points back of the team lead with two fewer games played than teammate Luke Moncada.
“He came in as one of the youngest players in the league as a late-December birthday. For that, the maturity that he’s developed over the years, he’s gotten better with his consistency which is something that he’ll have to continue to work on,” Dennis said on Coe’s development in North Bay.
Coe was the only Battalion player to be selected in this year’s draft. The only other eligible player, defenceman Avery Winslow, was passed over this year; however, Winslow’s sample size is small having only played one OHL season so far.
The Battalion now have three NHL selections on its roster: Mason Primeau, newcomer Matvei Guskov and now Brandon Coe.
The North Bay Battalion will begin training camp on November 15 before tentatively beginning the OHL season on December 1.
