The Fort McMurray Oil Barons have signed three new prospects less than a week after announcing they would be looking for a new head coach.
All three come from the Calgary Buffaloes Midget AAA team, including that team’s leading scorer, 18-year old Jackson McKinstry.
“Jackson is highly-touted and very popular,” said Oil Barons head scout Doug Hergeinhein. “There were a lot of teams that were very interested in him, as one of the top 10 scorers in the AMHL, and we expect some big things out of him.”
McKinstry scored 18 goals and 23 assists for 41 points in 35 AMHL games played, ranking eighth in the league. The 6’0″, 170lb forward also ranked seventh in the AMHL in playoff scoring, with 2 goals and 7 assists in just 8 games played.
6’3″ forward Anthony Orubor was the second forward to commit to the MOB. Also eighteen years of age, he ranked third on the Buffaloes in AMHL scoring and 15th in the province with 33 points (16 goals and 17 assists) in just 29 games played.
“He’s a big kid; we called him ‘the Train’ at camp,” said Hergenhein. “He’s a kid that just gives you 180 percent, both sides of the ice, and protects the puck very well, and can contribute on the scoreboard.”
Finally, 15-year old Mark Drohan rounded out the list of new commits; a 6’2″ defenceman who is still a week away from his 16th birthday. Drohan was the Buffaloes’ second-highest scoring defenceman despite still being minor-midget eligible.
“He’s a very smart kid; he reads the ice well, with good vision for the game,” said Hergenhein. “He can play like an eighteen-year old now; he’s got the intelligence to play the game.”
“He moves the puck well; he played power play with the Buffaloes organization and did very well; he just has that ability to read the ice better than a lot of sixteen year olds.”
The team says all three players will be at the Barons’ July camp in St. Albert.
