Pair of Hamilton Bulldogs defenders chosen in NHL draft

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Published July 8, 2022 at 2:03 pm

Jorian Donovan and Gavin White, who contributed to the Hamilton Bulldogs illustrating that defence wins championships, realized every young hockey player’s ambition of joining a pro organization.

The two defencemen from the Ontario Hockey League-champion and Memorial Cup finalist Bulldogs were both selected in the NHL draft in Montreal on Friday. The 19-year-old White was taken late in the fourth round (115th overall) by the Dallas Stars. Donovan was taken in the fifth round (136th overall) by the Ottawa Senators. His former NHLer father, Shean Donovan, is a development coach for the Senators.

The Bulldogs used four of their five import and overage slots on the back end last season, between 20-year-olds Colton Kammerer, Nathan Staios and Arber Xhekaj and Russian import Artem Grushnikov. That might not have been ideal for a defenceman in their draft year, but the two younger Bulldogs evidently showed something to NHL amateur scouts.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the maturation process particular to a teenage player meant that White came into last season as a 19-year-old who had only played 25 career OHL games. But he came into his own as a player with some scoring smarts, finishing second to Staios in defenceman scoring with 10 goals and 56 points across 66 regular-season games. The six-foot, 185-pound White also scored one of the biggest goals in Hamilton’s championship run, getting the overtime winner in Game 4 of the OHL final against the Windsor Spitfires.

White turns 20 in November and is eligible to return to the OHL and to the Bulldogs as an overage player.

Donovan, listed at six-foot-one and 182 pounds, also lost a season of competitive hockey due to COVID. But the Bulldogs’ first-round choice from the 2020 OHL priority selection draft became a regular immediately, while also contributing three goals and 25 points over 64 regular-season games.

The selections marked the first time since 2017 that more than one Bulldog was selected. That year, Hamilton had four players chosen — MacKenzie Entwistle, Matthew Strome, Marian Studenic and Reilly Webb.

In 2021, wing Ryan Winterton was chosen by the Seattle Kraken in the third round (67th overall)

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