St. Thomas Stars' Sean McGurn, left, Jake Rendall and Liam Fedak, along with Darren Beattie (absent from photo) will be skating in the GOJHL Prospects Games.
St. Thomas Stars' Beattie, McGurn, Rendall and Fedak selected
Thursday, December 27, 2018
St. Thomas Stars' Sean McGurn, left, Jake Rendall and Liam Fedak, along with Darren Beattie (absent from photo) will be skating in the GOJHL Prospects Games.
By Rob J. Ross
ST. THOMAS - Four St. Thomas Stars are playing in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League Futures and Prospects games today.
Defenceman Darren Beattie and forward Sean McGurn are in the Futures game (for 16 year olds), while defenceman Jake Rendall and forward Liam Fedak will be skating in the Prospects game (17 year olds), both at the Memorial Complex, in Waterloo.
"It's good for those guys to play against kids their own age and to see where they stand. It's the best against the best in the league," Stars' head coach Darren Kelly said.
"I'm happy to be selected. It's a huge honour to represent the team and St. Thomas. I'm really excited," said McGurn, a 2018 London Knights' third round draft pick from Ottawa, has three goals and 17 assists in 23 games with the Stars.
"He's been our best player the past six or seven games. His confidence has grown. We've given him more opportunity to handle the puck," said Kelly.
Beattie, a Lambeth native drafted by the OHL's Sudbury Wolves this year, has four goals and six assists, third among Stars' defencemen.
Fedak has six goals and 16 assists, third in Stars' team scoring. The six foot two native of Oakville, was a Barrie Colts' draft pick in the 2017 OHL Priority draft.
"It's super exciting and it'll be great to get out there and play with the top talent in the league," said Fedak. "It's good exposure and I'm looking forward to the opportunity."
Fedak also performs well at school.
"(Liam) is a big centre man who has played a big role for us. He can skate well and shoot," said Kelly. "He's very smart school wise. He has a 98 percent average in high school."
The six foot one Rendall is in his second season on the Stars' blue-line.
"It's an honour and it should be a fun experience. I'm looking forward to it," said Rendall, a graduate of the London Jr. Knights program.
"Rendall is a great defensive defenceman for us," said Kelly. "He's a stay at home defenceman who can lay the clean bodycheck and play well defensively."
All four players are vital to the Stars' goal of moving up in the Western Conference standings in the second half of the season. Entering the Christmas break, the Stars sit in sixth place, with an 11-15-3-2 record, four points back of LaSalle and just one point ahead of Strathroy.
"The team definitely wants to do better. I believe we are a top three team. That should be our goal," said McGurn.
Adds Fedak, "We have a great group of guys here and we'll push ourselves to be a top competitor. We're working on making every bit of our game better."
The Stars return to action with a road game at Leamington, January, 3, before hosting Strathroy, January 4, at the Joe.
In the Prospects game, Fedak and Rendall were part of Team Crowder's 6-3 victory over Team Clubb.
McGurn drew an assist on the only goal for Team Moreau, in a 4-1 loss to Team Pietrangelo, in the Futures game.