The Guelph Storm drafted a how-did-he-see-that? player first overall in the OHL Priority Selection draft on Friday.
Ryan Merkley, a 5-foot-11, 160-pound defenceman from Mississauga was introduced as the first overall pick in the draft at the Sleeman Centre. The rest of the 15-round draft goes Saturday.
Merkley is considered a great-skating, pass-first blueliner with superb on-ice vision.
"He is a real special talent. He's fun to watch," Storm general manager Mike Kelly said of the right-shooting defenceman.
Merkley captained the Toronto Jr. Canadiens last season, his second straight year of minor midget hockey, scoring seven goals and adding 37 assists in 33 games.
He also had 58 penalty minutes.
"It's certainly a big accomplishment. You want to be the best. You want to be number one pick overall. You always shoot to go first," Merkley said of being chosen first.
"It's a pretty good feeling. Unreal. You can't really describe it. You always think about going number one overall and then when it comes it's a great feeling."
Many, including Merkley himself, compare him to former Kitchener Rangers rearguard Ryan Murphy.
"I compare myself to Ryan Murphy, Ryan Ellis, a guy in the NHL right now, Kris Letang: guys who are good with the puck and good passers who see the ice very well," said Merkley, who was accompanied by parents Kyle and Joanne on Friday.
Merkley's older sister Lauren attended Bemidji State University on a hockey scholarship and his dad is a former OHL draft pick who played a bit of NCAA hockey.
Kelly called Merkley's on-ice vision "uncanny" and "instinctive."
"It's something that even I don't understand: how did he possibly know that player was going to be there? Why did he do that, there's no one there? then all of a sudden a player skates into the puck," Kelly said.
The Storm general manager said he is one of those players that makes everybody around him better.
"This kid makes every player on our team 10 per cent better and the guys he's playing with on the power play 20 to 25 per cent better."
Kelly thinks Merkley will wind up being a legitimate six-footer, playing at around 180-185 pounds when he's finished growing.
Kelly said the team picked the best player available and didn't take into account signability, nationality or position.
"We wanted the best possible player to be the first overall selection for the Guelph Storm," he said.
OHL Central Scouting said Merkley's "skill level and creativity with the puck are second to none."
"He has the ability to thread a pass that not many others could," the league's scouting service said. "Ryan is a dominant player that has the ability to take over a game whenever he wants to."
Guelph's scouts will hold final meetings Friday night then finish the final 14 rounds of the draft Saturday.
Top local to be drafted is Guelph Jr. Gryphons forward Mitch Morrison.
