Brandon Caputo
Photo Credit: Niagaraicedogs.net
Earlier this month, the Niagara IceDogs selected Braidy Wassilyn with the fourth overall selection in the 2024 OHL Priority Selection draft. On April 25th, 2024 his dream of playing in one of the best development leagues in the world was put to paper as the Puslinch, ON native signed his OHL Scholarship and Development Agreement with Niagara.
“It is amazing thinking of the guys who have come through this league,” Wassilyn said. “Names like Connor McDavid who is one of the greatest players ever to play came through this league. It’s one of the best development leagues in the world and I’m really excited to get started.”
Soaking in the process
Photo Credit: Vivid Eye Photography
The 15-year-old sniper, who amassed 31 goals and 62 points in his U16 draft year, talked about his phone being a little busier the last few weeks but feels thankful that so many people have reached out to offer their congratulations on his special moment.
“A lot of congratulations all around,” Wassilyn said. “Many people reaching out. I’ve been trying to spend as much valuable time with my family as I can while I’m still home but I also can’t wait to get into my billet house and get next season going.”
Wassilyn spoke about family being a very important and integral part to his success as a hockey player up to this point with the sacrifices in time, money, and effort to make sure he had every opportunity to make this dream a true reality.
“They’ve done so much for me, sacrificed so many hours, called off work, and everything just to watch me play,” Wassilyn said. “They’ve taken me to all these different places just for hockey and invested so much money into me and I’m so thankful for that. I hope my return on investment can be a good one for them.”
Wassilyn doesn’t want to get too far ahead of himself but admitted that he’s already envisioned that first game at Meridian Centre and hopefully scoring some last-minute cheeseburger goals as he spoke about in his draft night interview.
“I’m honestly just trying to take it day by day,” Wassilyn said. “Obviously, I want to score a lot of goals this year and I want this club to win a lot of games. This club is going to be something special in the coming years and I’m grateful to be a part of it.”
Next chapter alongside a best friend
Photo Credit: Vivid Eye Photography
The former Markham Major also talked about what it means to be going through this draft process in Niagara with not only a familiar face or teammate but also his best friend in goaltender Matthew Humphries who was selected in the third round of the 2024 OHL Priority Selection draft by the IceDogs.
Wassilyn laughed when asked if he would be playing alongside Humphries his entire hockey career at this rate, given that the pair have played for the U14 Toronto Marlboros and most recently the Markham Majors together before both being drafted to Niagara and continuing another step of their hockey journey together.
“If it could be that way, I hope it would be,” Wassilyn said with a big smile on his face. “Matthew’s been my best friend for so many years now. I get to shoot on him everyday living with him. He’s getting a little easier to beat but he’s also got me red because he shut me out in the first session of development camp. It’s real exciting and he’s such an amazing kid, hopefully I get to live with him again this year.”
In closing, Wassilyn touched on his first experience on the ice as a member of the IceDogs for the Rookie Orientation Camp and how he’s soaking in every moment of it.
“Every time I touch the ice there’s a smile on my face so that’s the greatest feeling in the world," Wassilyn said. "Getting out there doing my thing, scoring a goal, having a couple of assists, and helping the team win that’s just what I do and what I look forward to bringing to this IceDogs organization.”
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