Let's take a deep dive into Sarnia Sting's 2024 preseason roster
The OHL preseason is ongoing, and excitement is building as more teams gear up and form their rosters for the start of the 2024-25 season. Building on our training camp series breakdowns, we'll dive into the preseason rosters to give you the inside scoop.
In our training camp series, we delved into the import players, overage players (2004-born), first-year draft-eligible players to watch, and other noteworthy storylines.
Today we are looking at the Sarnia Sting's preseason roster. The link to their roster can be found here.
Sarnia kicked off their preseason last Friday with a 6-3 loss to the Windsor Spitfires. They followed it up the next day with a 4-3 win in a shootout against the Flint Firebirds, and their young core players Alessandro Di Iorio, Beckham Edwards, and Ryan Brown led the way offensively.
Their preseason roster consists of 17 forwards, eight defensemen, and three goaltenders.
Overage Players
Sarnia's overage situation is crystal clear, with starting goaltender Nick Surzycia, and forwards Zach Filak and Tyson Doucette. Fun fact, Surzycia and Doucette signed together with the team on Sept. 8, 2022.
Nick Surzycia played the fifth most games amongst goalies last season with 52. He had a bumpy season, but so did the entire Sarnia team as they entered their rebuild era. There isn't much competition behind him and he should assume the starter role again in the upcoming season.
Zach Filak originally was going to play in the USHL but the Sting swayed him into joining their franchise. Now, he enters his fourth year with the team. He set career highs last season with 24 goals and 40 points. The Michigan native is a versatile forward who brings speed and competitiveness to the lineup and needs a massive season to earn an AHL contract for 2025-26.
Tyson Doucette emerged as a regular top-six player for Sarnia last season, improving on his four goals and eight points in 2022-23 to 23 goals and 46 points. As an older player entering his third year, his experience and skillset would complement playing alongside Alessandro Di Iorio, which has already been experimented with in preseason.
Import Players
Sarnia successfully recruited their two draft picks from the 2024 CHL Import Draft — Ruslan Karimov and Jack Bodin — in the summer.
Ruslan Karimov was taken 6th overall by the Sting in the recent import draft and is considered a top prospect for the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. Although he is listed on their preseason roster, he is currently playing over in Russia in the MHL and has played four games already with the Sputnik Almetievsk.
It could simply be that the Sting organization wants him to get some regular-season reps in before making the trip overseas. However, he and the team would benefit from him getting preseason reps in and getting acclimated to his new home in Canada before the OHL season begins.
Jack Bodin is a big right-shot defenseman who has represented Sweden twice on the international stage. He is the heaviest player on the team, listed at 220 pounds, and has suited up in Sarnia's two preseason games, recording an assist in each match.
Bodin is the definition of a defensive defenseman. Offensively, you won't get much out of him, but he is an ideal defense partner for either Lukas Fischer or Mitch Young.
Youth Taking Over
Sarnia has an extremely young team and fans can expect more growing pains this season, but also a lot of excitement with the skill they have added.
The organization only has four 2005-born players, and one of them is recently signed free-agent forward, J.J. Franceschetti, who has played for six different organizations over the last five years.
The youth is here, and hopefully here to stay, and take the organization to an OHL Championship in the coming years.
2024 2nd overall pick Alessandro Di Iorio has the opportunity to play a top-six role down the middle of the ice for the team in his rookie season considering their lack of depth at center. He could even emerge as their number-one center by the end of the season.
2024 third-rounder Beckham Edwards, originally headed for the USHL and NCAA, has chosen the OHL to continue his development and will become an important piece in the team's offensive arsenal. Edwards would've gone in the first round of the draft if he hadn't had a USHL tender agreement already in place.
2007-born forwards Carter Kostuch, Ryan Brown, Lane Sim, and defenseman James Barr will have elevated roles with the team as they enter their sophomore seasons. Barr, Kostuch, and Sim are first-year NHL draft-eligible prospects. Brown has a late '07 birthday and isn't eligible until 2026.
2024 Draft Class
Sarnia has four members from their 2024 draft class on their preseason roster. Of course, it is highlighted by their two 5-star-rated prospects Alessandro Di Iorio and Beckham Edwards. But two other names impressed in training camp and have earned the opportunity to suit up for the Sting.
Forward Chase Gaughan was drafted one spot before Beckham Edwards in the third round. Chase suited for Sarnia in their preseason game against Flint last Saturday. The Pennsylvania native will be an AP player for the organization while playing in the GOJHL for the Strathroy Rockets.
Fifth-round forward Ryan Chamberlain will be teammates with Gaughan in Strathroy and recently signed his OHL scholarship back on Sept. 6. GM Dylan Seca commented on the '08 forward saying, "Ryan is a player that we believe might have been the best skater in the '08 draft class."
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