Egor Omelyanenko

Egor Omelyanenko - Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds
6' - 180 lbs

There seems to be a descrepancy as to Omelyanenko's size. The Greyhounds list him as 5'11, 168 lbs while Hockey Canada listed him as 6', 180 lbs for the Ivan Hlnika tournament where he scored 1 goal in 6 games.

 Omelyanenko is small even by Russian standards but he plays the game with lots of energy. He is an excellent skater with very good offensive skills. He is in great shape though with great stamina which will allow him to play big minutes.  He's not a prototypical Russian player.

He doesn't have the skills of a Namestnikov or a Khokhlachev, your typical Russians,  but he is dedicated to playing hard, even along the boards and in the corners.

 He could be more creative with the puck, but his playing style can fit very well in North America. The only question is, will his size allow him to play his game at the next level?

Justin Thomas, Patrick Volpe and Egor Omelyanenko

I spoke to Soo Greyhounds General Manager Dave Torrie about his three young draft eligible prospects.

"Justin Thomas has great upside as a player and pro potential" said Torrie. "He’s a big body who can play a tough, physical game while also having the skills to contribute offensively" he added. "We feel that Justin can play and contribute significantly this season as long as he stays focused on and off the ice. We feel as he gains more OHL experience that he will start to draw significant interest from NHL scouts."

Patrick Volpe has great size and has a good understanding of the game. Since he just joined our team and missed all of our exhibition games, he’s got some catching up to do" explained Torrie. He continued by saying  "We project this season to be a development/learning year for Patrick and he has to improve his skating along with his puck and passing skills, but we feel by being with us this season he will improve in these areas." Torrie added "We project Patrick to be a solid defensive presence as he develops and feel he’ll be a solid, valuable player as he gets older and gains experience."

Torrie had this to say about his Russian Import, "Egor is a young European player who has a lot of potential as he has good skills and skates well. He has one of the better snap shots and as he learns the North American game we feel he will be able to become effective and a strong contributor. He seems to have a strong drive to learn the game and wants to be a top player, so with some time and experience we feel he’ll figure out the game and earn more ice time."