The quality of CIS hockey shone through on the CBC reality television program, Bell Making The Cut, aired liveon Tuesday night on CBC television. Five of the Six final picks out of the 18 finalists are either playing CIS hockey now or played before. The 13-episode series concluded Tuesday with a mini draft for the 18 finalists; 12 of whom are playing orhave played CIS hockey.
With the first pick, the Edmonton Oilers chose 6-foot-4 defenceman Jordan Little from Winnipeg, who currently plays with the University of Manitoba Bisons and will be in Thunder Bay with the Bisons for the Bell Varsity Cup.
The Vancouver Canucks then selected 6-foot-6 blueliner James DeMone of St. Albert, AB who played forthe Lethbridge Pronghorns. Ottawa, choosing third, pickedSt. FX goaltender Michael Mole, who was University Cup MVP for last year's national champion X-Men. Calgary had fourth pickand decided on Matt Hubbauer, a 5-foot-10 centre who played for the Manitoba Bisons and is nowskates forthe St. John's Maple Leafs of the American Hockey League.
Montreal chose fifth and chose Kevin Lavalee, the only player without a CIS connection. He is now playing in the German Second Division. With the final pick, the Toronto Maple Leafs chose Dominic Noel, a 6-foot-1 centre from Lameque, N.B., of the Dalhousie Tigers.
McGill's Daniel Jacob,won a special award for hison and off-ice sportsmanship, and received a special trophy and a $5,000 chequeto donate tothe Canadian Cancer Society, courtesy of Reader's Digest.