1980 OMJHA Expansion Draft
With the addition of two new teams from the Toronto area, first Chris Warner came on stage and officially named his team the "Neon" after his company. Along with GM Paul McKeegan and head coach Warren Coyle, the trio went down to business and started drafting. Meanwhile, Herb Pickard has named his team the "Hornets" along with naming Rick Van Allen as GM and Gary Clancy, the team's first head coach. The Hornets went to work on building a dynasty.
Toronto Neon
1. Michael Campbell, F (Barrie)
2. Alex Myers, G (Oshawa)
3. Shane Lane, F (Orangeville)
4. Ian Henry, F (Oshawa)
5. Stan Chapman, D (Peterborough)
Toronto Hornets
1. James Colby, D (Barrie)
2. Adam Newhook, F (Waterloo)
3. Will Stell, F (Orangeville)
4. Collin Mitchell, F (Legionnaires)
5. Leo Berezan, D (Generals)
GMs, Coaches, and Owners came together to pick the right players in hopes of improving to become champions. As many hockey reporters expected that defence Drew Eastwood from Regina, SK, got picked 1st by the Billings Trains, it is a first for the club to ever draft a defenceman in the first round. After losing two goalies, one from the pro hockey draft and one committed to college, the Hawks select goalie Sam Abbot from Portage la Prairie, MAN. The Hawks would draft another goalie in the 5th round after drafting three defencemen in hopes to improves the defence after a painful losing season. After missing the playoffs for the first time since 1960, the Cats need a rebuild, but unlike other teams that rebuild within 2 years and only last for 2 to 4 years to do it again, this time, the Cats will take time and put the pieces together starting with forward Nathen Faulk from Calgary, AB that could be one of many keys to the Cats chance to get themselves back on top. The surprised draft pick was made was the 1980 Valor Cup champions Abbotsford Forest Kings select forward Jon Hedberg; he lives in Calgary after he and his family moved from Tampere, Finland, to excel in his hockey career, he became the first European player to be drafted in the first round in WCLH history.
1. Billings – Drew Eastwood, D (Regina, SK)
2. Medicine Hat – Sam Abbot, G (Portage la Prairie, MAN)
3. Saskatoon – Nathen Faulk, F (Calgary, AB)
4. Swift Current – Denny Holbrook, D (Surry, BC.)
5. Moose Jaw – Jason Napier, D (Thunder Bay, ONT)
6. Portage la Prairie – Zachary Natyshak, F (Roseau, MIN)
7. Brandon – Peter York, F (West Fargo, ND.)
8. Lethbridge – Karl Fuhr, F (Winnipeg, MAN)
9. Fargo – David Favell, D (Prince Albert, SK)
10. Nanaimo – Greg Lalonde, G (Fort McMurry, AB)
11. Abbotsford – Jon Hedberg, F (Tampere, FIN)
12. Kenora – Luke Hay, G (Burnaby, B.C.)
1980 OMJHA Draft
In the aftermath of the expansion draft, teams scramble from trading players for draft picks to trading lower draft picks for a 2nd round pick. The Oaks selected an Oakville local forward, Jake Dahl, who tops all-Ontario hockey in scoring with 50 goals and 2nd highest points total of 132, "this kid is going to be big and will lead the Oaks to the top." Oaks head coach Leon Cowern said after drafting Jake. Bees GM Ryan Byron Jr. has been making good moves to get good picks, including trading a top player to the Kitchener Generals for a 1981 1st round pick and trading another top player to Owen Sound for another 1981 1st round draft pick which gives the Bees three 1st round draft picks for next year, for now, they only got one 1st round pick this year. They choose defence Floyd Currie from Hamilton; with that, the Bees are hoping for better goals against the average for the 1980-81 season. North York young gun forward Pat Fogolin is what the Peterborough Braves need to score more goals and hope to get themselves out of the bottom of the standings. The Burlington Metros successfully drafted defence Vic Housley after many OMJHA teams tried to recruit his brothers in the past, but their rival league, the SWOHL, took them.
1. Oakville – Jake Dahl, F (Oakville)
2. Buffalo – Floyd Currie, D (Hamilton)
3. Peterborough – Pat Fogolin, F (North York)
4. Milton –Paul Foote, G (Pickering)
5. Kitchener Legionnaires – Shane Stillman, F (Mississauga)
6. Kitchener Generals – Kevin McVon, F (Brampton)
7. Orangeville – Dave Fortier, D (Scarborough)
8. Owen Sound – Dirk Graves, G (Vaughan)
9. Oshawa – Adam Howell, F (Whitby)
10. Burlington – Vic Housley, D (Etobicoke)
11. Waterloo – Nick Ross, F (St. Catharines)
12. Barrie – Ty Joly, F (Orillia)
The first round was interesting. The first five picks featured top players from Quebec, three picks from Nova Scotia, one from New Brunswick, one from PEI, one from Maine, and one from New Hampshire. Drummondville selected forward Lou Baillargeon from Verdun, QC, who played very well in the Jr.B level; his 60 goals and 109 points are what the Les Rouges need to get back on top. The Laval Tigers got themselves a scoring forward from Levis, QC. Alex Chouinard is the Tigers' pick in the process of a rebuild after losing six players from Pro Hockey drafts to collages; in the next two years, the Tigers will be contenders again. The Shawinigan Voltages take defence Shawn Meighan from Longueuil, QC; his enforcer style could help the Volts get themselves out of the bottom of the standings next season. Moncton Bears lost their goalie Herb Hoy as he committed to McGill University; they need a strong goalie in a big way, and they got one from Waterville, Maine, Seth Taylor, who was supposed to be in the top 3 for this year's draft after winning 26 out of 35 games with 8 shutouts, to even consider to be the first goalie to be drafted but Keith Rice was taken by the Trois-Rivieres Titans.
1. Drummondville – Lou Baillargeon, F (Verdun, QC)
2. Laval – Alex Chouinard, F (Levis, QC)
3. Shawinigan – Shawn Meighan, D (Longueuil, QC)
4. Manchester – Roy Messier, F (Sainte-Foy, QC)
5. Fredericton – Dave Messier, F (Sherbrooke, QC)
6. Trois-Rivieres – Keith Rice, G (Oromocto, NB.)
7. Portland – Ron Renaud, D (Truro, N.S.)
8. Moncton – Seth Taylor, G (Waterville, Maine)
9. Sherbrooke – Lenny Tardif, G (Dartmouth, NS.)
10. New Glasgow – Brad Edmundson, D (Windsor, N.S.)
11. Cape Breton – Neil Eaton, F (Cornwall, P.E.I.)
12. Verdun – Mark Klatt, F (Portsmouth, New Hampshire)
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