The first three rounds of the Ontario Hockey League draft are being held Friday night, with the Sarnia Sting selecting 13th overall.
General Manager Dylan Seca said it's been a challenge not seeing prospects in typical game situations this season due to the pandemic.
He adds the scouting staff has been hard at work.
"It was either private skill skates or some independent scrimmages, and tournament games," said Seca. "So, surprisingly we were able to see quite a bit of players. In previous years, we would watch a player that we like as a staff 40 to 50 times and that's been cut considerably down. We've been impressed with what we've been able to pull off and the diligence of our scouts. We're looking forward to putting the fruits of our labour to work and hopefully, things fall in our favour."
Seca said they'll look to take the best player available in the opening round, but adds defence and centre will be a couple of main focuses for the club.
"We have an idea of a small mixture of players that we think will be there (at 13th overall)," he said. "We feel like we definitely need to try and add a defenceman or two to the mix and see if we can get fortunate in this draft. We're always looking for help up the middle and centre depth. Most teams will want to have a strong group up the middle, and it's no different for us."
Friday's draft gets underway at 7 p.m., while rounds four through 15 will be conducted on Saturday at 9 a.m.
The Sting had the third overall choice in 2020, and selected Max Namestnikov.
The Sting will have the 9th overall pick in the U18 Draft, and the 24th overall pick in the CHL Import Draft.