Hurricanes add goaltender, defenceman through import draft
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LETHBRIDGE – The Lethbridge Hurricanes have bolstered the depth in the goaltending and defense departments, with the selection of two players in the 2018 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft.
Using the 20th overall pick, the Hurricanes selected goaltender Akira Schmid. The Nesslau, Switzerland native played 32 games in the Langnau Under-20 Elite Junior-A league in his home country this past season, posting a 2.60 goals against average (GAA). The 18-year-old also put up a 1.96 GAA and .930 save percentage through three games at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament last year. The 6’4 netminder was recently selected in the fifth round of the NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils.
“Schmid is a 2000-born goaltender and we didn’t have one in our system, so we were happy to get him and think he fits perfectly into our depth chart,” said Hurricanes General Manager Peter Anholt in a media release. “We think with Reece Klassen coming back, along with Carl Tetachuk and Bryan Thomson, and Schmid in the fold, we will have some competition during training camp.”
The Hurricanes next pick at 80 saw them land defenceman Danila Paliyko, who already possesses an imposing 6’4, 192-pound frame at the age of 16. The blueliner from Novopolotsk, Belarus played the 2017-2018 season with Team Belarus’ Under-17 team, where he recorded 26 points (6g-20a) and 28 penalty minutes in 40 games. Through 12 games with Belarus’ Under-18 team, he picked up six assists and four penalty minutes.
