Ty Dellandrea Becomes First Flint Firebird To Be Selected in First Round of NHL Draft
Dallas, Texas – The Dallas Stars selected Flint Firebirds forward Ty Dellandrea in the first-round, 13th overall, of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft Friday, making him the first Flint Firebird ever to drafted in the first round of the National Hockey League.
- Dellandrea Draft Day Feature
- Dellandrea Addresses Media
- NBC Sports Network Coverage
- Dellandrea NHL Draft Spotlight
- Firebirds’ NHL Draft Central
Dellandrea, a six-foot, 190-pound forward from Port Perry, Ont., totaled 59 points (27G, 32A) in 67 games during the 2017-18 regular season in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). After being selected by the Firebirds in the first-round, fifth overall, of the 2016 OHL Priority Selection, Dellandrea was named an assistant captain in his second season in Flint. He recorded five game-winning goals and 14 multi-point games during the 2017-18 campaign, including a five-point (3G, 2A) night on Dec. 16, 2017.
At the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game on Jan. 25, he scored two goals in 20 seconds en-route to setting an event record for the ‘fastest two goals scored by a single player.
On the international level, Dellandrea was one of just three under-aged players to be selected for Canada’s National Men’s U-18 Team for the 2017 IIHF World Championship in Poprad and Spisska Nova Ves, Slovakia. He also played a key role on Canada’s National Men’s Summer U-18 Team that claimed gold at the 2017 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup in Břeclav, Czech Republic and Bratislava, Slovakia in August. Most recently, Dellandrea tallied five points (2G, 3A), including a plus-5 rating in five games, and was named an assistant captain for Canada’s National Men’s U-18 Team at the 2018 IIHF World Championship in Chelyabinsk and Magnitogorsk, Russia.
Dellandrea was also recognized as the Flint Firebirds Most Valuable Player (MVP) and winner for the Combined Academic & Athletics Excellence award for the 2017-18 season. He achieved a perfect 4.0 grade point average (GPA) at Grand Blanc High School in Michigan during his senior year.
Rounds 2-7 begin Saturday morning at 11 a.m. (ET) on the NHL Network in the United States and on Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada.
Four Flint Firebirds that were listed in the NHL Central Scouting’s ‘Final Rankings’ hope to hear their name called Saturday: Connor Roberts (#146), Hunter Holmes (#148) and Riley McCourt (#161) while Dennis Busby was one of three players labeled LV for ‘limited viewing’ due to a season long injury this campaign. Additionally Ryan Littlejohn and Jack Wismer are also two first time eligible players to be selected in the NHL Draft.
Since the Flint Firebirds’ inception three season ago in 2015, the club has had 14 drafted or NHL signed players on its roster consisting of Will Bitten (Montreal), Nick Caamano (Dallas), Connor Chatham (New Jersey), Ty Dellandrea (Dallas) Fedor Gordeev (Toronto), Kyle Keyser (Boston Bruins), Nick Mattinen (Toronto), Brent Moran (Dallas), Alex Nedeljkovic (Carolina), Alex Peters (Dallas), Vili Saarijarvi (Detroit), Kole Sherwood (Columbus), Jalen Smereck (Arizona) and Josh Wesley (Carolina).
For the past five seasons, the OHL has sent more players to the NHL than any other league in the world. The OHL leads in total players selected in the NHL Draft (199), first and second round selections combined (76), defenseman (66) and forwards (122). On NHL opening day rosters in October, one-in-four players (26.4%) competing in the NHL were alums of the OHL, which is the highest percentage in the world. (See Info Graphic Here)
121 of the organization’s alums dating back to the Plymouth Whalers have been drafted in the NHL, including 18 first-round picks.
Of the 121 drafted players, 14 former skaters from the organization played in the NHL in the 2017-18 season: Jared Boll (Anaheim), Connor Carrick (Toronto), Ryan Hartman (Nashville), Sonny Milano (Columbus), JT Miller (New York Rangers), James Neal (Vegas), Michal Neuvirth (Philadelphia), Stefan Noesen (New Jersey), Rickard Rakell (Anaheim), Tyler Seguin (Dallas), Chris Thorburn (St. Louis), Vincent Trocheck (Florida), Justin Williams (Carolina) and 2018 Stanley Cup Champion Tom Wilson (Washington).
At least one player with Flint or Plymouth ties has been selected in the NHL Draft for the past 28 consecutive years dating back to 1991.
Season ticket packages for the Flint Firebirds 2018-19 season are on sale now and can be purchased at the Dort Federal Event Center Box Office, Monday thru Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (ET). Season ticket holders receive FREE parking this season. For more information, contact the Dort Federal Event Center Box Office at (810) 744-0580 or email mary@dorteventcenter.com.
Photo Credit: Rena Laverty / Flint Firebirds
For more information:
Dominic Hennig
Director of Broadcasting & Communications
Flint Firebirds Hockey Club
dominic@flintfirebirds.com
(810) 519-9347
