Aidan Dudas signs with Owen Sound

 

Aidan Dudas, the 10th overall pick in this year’s OHL Draft, signed with the Owen Sound Attack this past week. In many ways Dudas is a beacon of hope to future OHL Draft hopefuls who will see that a small kid from a lesser known program in Ontario can become a top ten pick. We caught up with him just days after signing to ask about his road to the OHL, why he decided to sign with Owen Sound and what advice he has for next year’s crop of minor midget players.

 

NZ: Many parents/players believe you have to play in the top league or on the top teams. You were drafted out of a good program but not a known powerhouse like the Marlies or the Canadiens. How were you able to get noticed?

AD: I believe in the philosophy that if you are good enough scouts/coaches will find you. Scouts told me that when watching some of the top teams you can’t always tell if a player is succeeding because he’s good or because he’s on a really good line. Even our team had OHL scouts in the rinks most games so its just evidence that it doesn’t matter what team you play for.

 

NZ: Tell us about your youth hockey experience and how that has put you where you are today?

AD: North Central Predators is an hour from my house so I didn’t start playing for them until I was a minor bantam. My parents didn’t want me playing AAA (an hour away) growing up because they thought I’d get burned out or miss out on other things. So the organization I grew up playing for was the Parry Sound Shamrocks. We were not the best team and played mostly B level competition but I learned a lot about the game there. Once I became a minor bantam I begged my parents to play AAA, and I played the next three season with the North Central Predators. It was a great experience. The organization has great coaches and great players and they helped me become the player I am today.

 

You were selected by Hockey Canada to represent your country at the Youth Olympic games .Tell us about being selected and what that experience was like.

AD: Hockey Canada sent a letter to 120 players (I think) before the season, saying they’ll be keeping an eye on us for the Team Canada Youth Olympics team. Later in the season they sent another letter to around sixty players saying we were still in contention for making the team. Then in early January I got called by Hockey Canada saying they had picked me for the team. It was one of the greatest phone calls of my life.

To represent Canada in any international games is a great honor. I was really excited to go overseas for the first time and play against the best in the world. We went hoping for gold and came just short but it was challenging and it was fun. It’s an amazing feeling to wear that Team Canada jersey.

 

NZ: Walk us through the weeks leading up to the draft. Did you have any idea you would go in the first round?

I got a lot of phone calls and emails at the end of the season. That’s when the recruitment really took off. I talked to pretty much every team and they all expressed interest. The teams picking between 7-15 all said if they had a chance to pick me then they would, so I went in with a pretty good idea I would get selected in the first round. I also had told teams that I had visited some college programs and was keeping my options open.

 

NZ: Where did you watch the draft and what was it like waiting for your name to be called?

AD: I watched the draft in my basement with family and friends over. At pick 7 I was really watching the board. The nerve of not knowing where you are going to go, where you are going to be living, seeing names come on the screen is tough to describe. You feel nervous and anxious but also excited. When I saw my name come on the screen at #10 to Owen Sound it was an incredible feeling. My mom was cheering and I was just so excited to be taken by such a great program.

 

NZ: A lot of parents/players/fans are curious about what happens after you get picked. Walk us though the days between getting drafted and signing with Owen Sound?

AD: A few minutes after being drafted I got a phone call from the GM, Dale DeGray, and he said they wanted me to come down that day and get pictures and meet with the media, meet the owners and scouts. So I went down there on draft day and met with everyone and had a great time with my family. They knew I had visited some colleges so they were explaining how this was a good fit for me and why I should play at Owen Sound. I did not sign that day. We told them I’d be playing there and living there. They didn’t want to rush signing so I waited until they had a team barbeque June 4th and signed then.

 

NZ: You mentioned that you explored the NCAA route. What schools were you interested in?

AD: I visited Michigan and Michigan State and also got interest from several east coast schools including Boston College. I was pretty interested in Michigan and that was a difficult decision because I think it’s a great school and great place to play hockey.

 

NZ: Why the OHL?

AD: I don’t think it’s a one or the other, I think I could have progressed at either place but the OHL was a better fit for me. I looked at guys like Mitch Marner and Patrick Kane, who are small like me and play a skilled game and they had great success in the OHL and really developed. That was motivating for me to try and play like them with skill and speed and be an impactful player in the OHL.

A lot of people think that if you go to the OHL than you don’t care about schooling and that is absolutely false. On our trip back to Owen Sound we met with management and they put a lot of emphasis on education. They mentioned one player who skipped a day of school and they didn’t let him play that weekend.  They keep up with your class schedule, your grades and make sure you are doing the work. I’ve learned the OHL has a lot more focus on academics than people realize.

 

NZ: Minor Midget hockey in Ontario is a high pressure environment for most of the players. After having gone through the process and being a top draft choice, what advice would you give to next year’s crop of minor midget players?

AD: As I said earlier I think the focus shouldn’t be on where you play but how you play. If you are good enough they will find you. Secondly, the thing I heard the most from the scouts who reached out was how much they loved my work ethic. If you don’t care and don’t try and you don’t backcheck and don’t forecheck hard for pucks in the corner than the scouts won’t like you. You have to work hard every shift and every day in practice. They have all the resources to make you better so if you have the drive and work ethic to push yourself everyday than you will improve.

 

Aidan plans to play for Owen Sound next season as a sixteen-year-old.

 

Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images