Mariners draft brings a little taste of home

By Michael Gorman

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

The Yarmouth Mariners came away from the MJAHL entry draft in Amherst last week with everything they wanted, including a little taste of home.

The Mariners drafted 11 players and picked up several others through trades. Laurie Barron, the Mariners' head coach, said the team was more than pleased with the results of the weekend.

"We're extremely happy with what we ended up getting," he said. "We didn't have a whole lot of early picks but we wouldn’t trade our list for anyone's right now."

Yarmouth's first pick was in the third round when they selected Julien Payne from the Western Kings of the Newfoundland Midget AAA League. Payne, a 17-year-old forward, is a bit on the small side but is said to have a lot of offensive potential.

The team was also dealing during the draft. Their biggest move saw them get goalie Justin Collier, defenceman Patrick Sharkey and draft picks from Restigouche for future consideration. Barron said those were moves the team was looking to make heading into the draft.

"We went looking for that and we couldn't believe our luck."

Barron said the hope is to have all of the players in camp. Some of the players will also have Major Junior tryouts and opportunities with other clubs in other leagues.

"We'll wait and see with (those players) but we've contacted them all and, I'll tell you, it's great to hear they're all very excited about being a part of (the team)."

One of those players is Weymouth native Morgan Mullen, who the Mariners selected with their first territorial pick. The 16-year-old centre, who stands five-foot-nine-inches and weighs in at 150 pounds, played at Cardigan Mountain Prep School in New Hampshire for the last two years.

Mullen said he was pleased to get the call from the home team.

"It was really good to get drafted by Yarmouth," he said. "They showed definite interest in me."

Mullen said he would weigh his options before deciding if he would play Jr. A hockey.

"I have a few options. I'm looking at all of them, though. I haven't made a definite decision but I'm looking at all of them."

Those options include a scholarship offer from Avon Old Farms School in the Founders League in Connecticut.