The Sudbury Wolves’ 2012 main training camp is set to start on Saturday at the Sudbury Arena and the team has just acquired and new player.
Ray Heuther (pronounced Heater), an 18-year-old forward and Londesborough native, was acquired from the Barrie Colts in exchange for a 10th round draft selection in 2013 and a fifth-round draft selection in 2014.
Heuther, 6-1 and 200 pounds, is a right-shot forward that plays the middle or on the wing. He finished second in team scoring last year with the Stratford Cullitons of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League (GOJHL) after compiling 68 points in 46 games during the regular season. He had 39 goals and 29 assists and added 28 minutes in penalties. He also had 11 power play goals and two short-handed markers.
Heuther helped lead the Cullitons to the GOJHL finals and scored seven goals and 15 points in 18 play-off games. Originally drafted in the fifth round of the 2010 OHL draft by the Saginaw Spirit, Heuther played seven OHL games as a 16-year-old for the Spirit before being acquired by the Barrie Colts last season.
Heading into the off-season, the Wolves identified the need to replace the offensive production that graduates Michael Sgarbossa, Andrey Kuchin, Michael MacDonald and Josh McFadden provided to the team last year.
“We are pleased to add a player of Ray Heuther’s ability to our stable of young prospects,” Wolves’ GM Blaine Smith said in a press release. “Ray has enjoyed two outstanding seasons in Stratford, scoring 61 goals and 107 points in 93 league games.
"He is a good skater who scores big goals," Smith continued. "He reads the ice well and has good hands and good hockey instincts. At 18 years of age, Ray is an emerging goal-scorer that still has three more years of junior eligibility ahead of him.”
Heuther will be one of 54 players who will attend the Sudbury Wolves training camp, starting Sept. 1 at the Sudbury Arena. Practice sessions will be held Saturday afternoon with scrimmages beginning Sunday morning at 9 a.m. Admission is free throughout the training camp weekend, which will conclude on Monday with the annual Blue and White game beginning at 9:30 a.m.
