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Colts nab top available defenceman at OHL draft

Saturday's OHL Draft is critical to Barrie as Colts look to retool, rebuild

While they may not be in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) playoffs, the Barrie Colts were busy on Saturday: OHL draft day.

The Barrie Colts, who finished ninth in the Eastern Conference this past regular season, used their fourth overall pick to select defenceman Brandt Clarke from the Greater Toronto Hockey League's Don Mills Flyers.

In 73 games this past season, the 16-year-old blueliner had 35 goals and 78 assists for his 113-point tally.

Standing just over six feet tall, Clarke is a welcome addition to a rebuilding Colts' lineup. 

Known to be a powerhouse on the forecheck, Clarke was instrumental in Team Ontario earning silver at the recent Canada Winter Games.

In the second round, 24th overall, the Colts selected centre Ryan Del Monte from the Toronto Young Nationals. Centre Jacob Frasca from the Mississauga Senators was the Colts' third-round pick (45th overall).

The OHL Priority Selection draft is ongoing as technical glitches and a power outage at the league offices delayed the process.

BarrieToday will have more information on the Colts draft picks and some other news from the team regarding coaching and management later in the day.