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Former Tiger Romano finds name on NHL Draft rankings




By Jake Courtepatte

The regular season is over, and the list is up for the NHL's Central Scouting's final rankings.

Among the hundreds of young men hoping to catch a glimpse of their name on the list, released last week, is former Aurora Tiger forward Anthony Romano, who claimed the 52nd spot in the table.

Romano was a key component up front for the OJHL squad in the 2017-18 season, finishing fourth in team scoring as just a 17-year old with 44 points in 40 games, adding an impressive 10-point performance in the postseason.

He has been cutting his teeth for the past year with the Sioux Falls Stampede of the United States Hockey League, where he has posted 47 points through 60 games in the USHL regular season.

Despite the long distance between his home of Richmond Hill and that of the South Dakota-based team, Romano's game has grown to create a realistic goal of hearing his name called in the second round of the NHL draft in June.

“The big adjustment is not really seeing that many people, you know the big skyscrapers and all that.

“I kept improving, kept staying the course, kept getting better every day. That lead me to here to the USHL as an 18-year-old.”

Opting for the USHL rather than the major junior Ontario Hockey League has allowed Romano to take the path-less-chosen, despite where and when he hears his name called in June. He committed during his tenure with the Aurora club to a scholarship with Clarkson University next season, an NCAA division-one program in New York.

“It's important to get an education because even if I do make the NHL or hockey pro, I'm not going to play forever,” said Romano, who has worn the ‘C' for the Stampede throughout the season. “I'll have an education to fall back on if nothing works out.”

Aurora Tigers owner Jim Thomson took to Twitter to congratulate his former star forward, calling his future bright.

Tigers' play-by-play announcer Kevin Dean chimed in with his own two cents on Twitter, calling Romano “the real deal.”

The 2019 NHL Entry Draft will be held June 21, at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.

Excerpt: The regular season is over, and the list is up for the NHL’s Central Scouting’s final rankings.
Post date: 2019-04-25 17:13:55
Post date GMT: 2019-04-25 21:13:55
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