Zander Veccia Feels Ready And Prepared For The OHL Draft
Zander Veccia with the Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs – Photo by CKSN.ca
The 2004 born Ridgetown product won back-to-back Alliance Championships with the Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs, scoring 18 points in 16 playoff games this year.
“I have been proud to be a member of the Chiefs organization and our team,” Veccia said of his experience with Elgin-Middlesex. “We all bought into a system that required every player to contribute in a way that matched our individual abilities and fit into the entire team chemistry.”
“Winning was a team reward for persistent commitment to excellence.”
After scoring 20 goals and 46 points in 29 regular season games, Veccia is considered one of the top scorers coming out of the Alliance, and is considered a middle round draft prospect.
Although he is certain to hear his named called April 4 during the draft, it doesn’t remover anxiety from the day. Still, Veccia knows he has done everything he could personally to prepare himself for the OHL draft.
“As a hockey player, I feel prepared for the draft,” he said. “I have worked hard for several years to prepare myself mentally and physically, and have faith in the OHL Selection process. I understand that hockey at the next level is a job and players are selected to fill jobs on teams. I was taught early that my contribution to past teams would become a predictor for scouts, on how I will perform in future. I believe I produced results that have led several teams to contact me and am proud I put the extra work into to be productive to my team and for myself. I am thinking about playing in the most important league in the world that prepares players for a professional career in hockey.”
When that phone call does come, and he sees his name on the now entirely online draft process, Veccia says it will be a moment he has visualized and a feeling he can’t wait to experience.
“I have visualized about the day I get a phone call from an OHL team and I know I will feel great knowing that an OHL team believes in me and wants me to be a part of their organization,” he said of the prospect of being selected.
“I look forward to getting the call and knowing that I am continuing my journey and growth as a player on to the next level.”
As most hockey players know however, whether they are drafted or not, the journey is still just beginning, and more work than ever is needed to actually make a Junior B, Junior A, or OHL team in the coming seasons.
“My focus will be exactly the same as it has always been, which is to work with high performance specialists who can identify my weaknesses, and put strategies in place to become strong in those areas. I will continue to work on all aspects of my game with a 100% focus to prepare myself for the fall training camp.”
The OHL Draft takes place April 4.