Waterloo Chronicle Article
By Adam Jackson
Shawn Dietrich had to take a step away from his golfing buddy on Friday — he had something to watch on T.V. The Waterloo Wolves minor midget AAA coach had to watch one of his former disciples, Logan Stanley, put on a Winnipeg Jets jersey for the first time.
Stanley, a Waterloo native and grad of the Waterloo Minor Hockey Association, was drafted 18th overall by the Winnipeg Jets, as one of the highest-ever draft picks to come out of Waterloo Region.
When Dietrich finally got home, he saw that Winnipeg traded up in the draft and selected Stanley.
“The feeling of seeing someone from this area and someone that was part of our program going first round was a great feeling,” said Dietrich.
After his minor midget year in Waterloo, Stanley, a big six-foot-seven, 225-pound defender, reported to the Windsor Spitfires for two years, before becoming draft eligible.
In two seasons with the Spitfires, Stanley amassed 21 points — five goals and 16 assists — in 123 games.
Not too far away in the NHL draft was another Waterloo Wolves grad — Boris Katchouk, who was selected 44th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning after spending two seasons with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the OHL.
The left-winger, who was born in Vancouver B.C., has 75 OHL games under his belt and a total of 53 points — 24 goals and 29 assists. He also proved to be a performer in the playoffs for the Greyhounds, scoring 10 points in 12 games. Katchouk represents the seventh Waterloo Wolves alumni to be drafted in the last four years.
It’s no surprise to Dietrich that both players were picked in the first two rounds.
“I talked to about 12 NHL teams that contacted me directly looking for character checks and stuff like that,” said Dietrich. “It’s a great feeling to have local kids come out of this program.”
Although it is just one step along the development curve for hockey players, the minor midget year, where players are 15 years old, has a significant impact on the players’ future, said Dietrich.
“As much as it’s minor midget and still part of minor hockey, we call it their first year of junior. The way we run our program, it’s purely a junior development program where we try to get guys ready for that next level,” said Dietrich.
And for the rest of the players who moved up to the minor midget program, seeing the success of others is nothing but beneficial.
“From a recruiting standpoint, players want to play here in the coming years,” said Dietrich, adding that there was at one time an emphasis on getting to the Toronto area in order to be noticed. “It does put belief into local kids to see that.”