Goodness knows the Kingston Frontenacs can use a break.
A couple friends who follow the OHL draft say that the Frontenacs getting defenceman Erik Gudbranson, of Ottawa, with the No. 4 overall selection is a great stroke of geography -- Jack McFarland is everybody's No. 1, going to Sudbury, and the next two teams drafting, Erie and Owen Sound, are both too far afield for Gudbranson's taking. Kingston's less than two hours away (if memory serves, a CFRC football broadcaster once made it from the Division St. on-ramp to Lansdowne Park in a hour and 10 minutes, but I digress).
Granted, it's not an exact science with 16-year-old hockey players. Three years ago, the Frontenacs also had the fourth pick and took centre Luke Pither one spot ahead of defenceman Drew Doughty, who might end up being the No. 2 overall pick in the NHL draft next month.
Fronts GM-for-life Larry Mavety has a chance to do some serious rebuilding (i.e., not repeat last year's otherwise admirable patching job). The Fronts have three more picks among the first 45 selections, so this would seem to be a clean slate, or it would if fans hadn't been scorched by high picks who didn't work out over the years. No one outside of the Fronts organization itself wants to see them break their playoff drought more, so here's hoping ...
(Western College Hockey has a mock first round posted that leaves no mystery about yours truly's reputation among hockey bloggers -- I laughed, hard).
Related:
A defence-first approach; Fronts expected to land Ottawa blueliner (Doug Graham, Kingston Whig-Standard)
Bags packed for Kingston; Frontenacs will get a gem in Gudbranson (Don Campbell, Ottawa Citizen)
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