Sting Welcome Three Prospects on Day One of 2024 OHL Draft ...

Sarnia Sting General Manager Dylan Seca and his scouting staff completed rounds one through three of the 2024 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection Friday night.

With the 2nd overall selection, Seca added 6’1 forward Alessandro Di Iorio from the Vaughan Kings U16 AAA team. The Vaughan, Ontario native tallied 20 goals and 12 points in 27 games played in addition to 4 goals and two assists through 7 games at the OHL Cup. Di Iorio also represented Canada at the Youth Olympics, recording 6 goals and an assist in just 4 games.

On the addition of Di Iorio, Seca comments:

“With the second overall selection, we felt this pick would be a cornerstone player for our organization for years to come and we wanted to welcome someone who is proud to play for this League, in this city, and in front of our fans.

One of the important tangibles we look for when selecting a player is the quality of the person. Alessandro comes from a family that has high morale value. His commitment to being an elite hockey player, and commitment to his family, is something that separated him from everyone else in this age group. Alessandro is a dual threat player, a centreman who can score and make the players around him better.”

Armed with back-to-back selections early in the third round Seca and his staff first added Annville, Pennsylvania native Chase Gaughan of the Palmyra Knights 15U AAA team with the 45th overall selection. The 6’1, 170 lbs forward recorded 21 goals and 27 assists for a total of 48 points in addition to 6 goals and an assist in 4 playoff games. During the 2023-24 season, Gaughan also made 5 appearances for Palmyra at the 16U level, tallying a point-per-game with 2 goals and 3 assists.

“Chase is a right shot centre who demonstrates both hockey sense and the ability to make the players around him better. He is a player we saw multiple times in Ontario as well as some U.S.A tournaments. Chase has been into Sarnia, seen our facilities, seen a game in our League and is very excited to be part of the Sarnia Sting Organization. We look forward to welcoming him and his family to the team. ” comments Seca.

With the Sting’s second third round pick, the Sting added forward Beckham Edwards from the Detroit Little Caesars program 46thoverall. The 6’0, 168-pound Komoka, Ontario native posted 60 goals and 37 assists, totalling 97 points in 64 games played. The strong skating centreman also recorded 5 points in 2 games at the United States 15U Nationals in addition to 2 assists through 4 games while competing for Canada at the Youth Olympics.

“Beckham Edwards is a dynamic left shot centre who shows elite skating and goal scoring ability. As a Komoka-native, Beckham grew up playing at our rink and in our community. We saw his high-end talent on display while representing Canada with Alessandro at the Youth Olympics this year. We look forward to connecting with Beckham and the Edwards family, showing them that the Sarnia Sting and Ontario Hockey League can provide him an environment where he can develop and reach his full potential.” adds Seca.

A press conference, open to members of local media and the public, will be held at Progressive Auto Sales Arena on Saturday at 2:30pm in the Sarnia Sting Hall of Fame welcoming Alessandro Di Iorio to Sarnia and the Hockey Club.

The Sarnia Sting Hocwould like to congratulate Alessandro, Chase, and Beckham as well as all other prospects selected during day one of the 2024 OHL Priority Selection and look forward to selecting 11 more prospects during day two of the Draft, scheduled to start at 9am Saturday morning.