The Sarnia Sting chose Russian defenceman Andrei Malyavin with the 24th overall pick in Wednesday's CHL Import Draft.
The 5 foot 10, 143 pound native of Voronezh, Russia spent the 2019-20 season playing with the Lokomotiv-2004 Yaroslavl U16 team, where he recorded three goals and 18 assists for 21 points in 24 games.
During the same season, the 17-year-old also suited up for his country at the Youth Olympic Games where he recorded an assist and a +9 rating in four games en route to a gold medal finish.
Sting General Manager Dylan Seca said Malyavin is an exciting young player.
"Malyavin was a player we had targeted going into the draft," said Seca. "He is a smooth skating, intelligent puck mover who defends well and loves to have the puck. We see tremendous upside in his game."
With their second round choice, the Sting took Swedish centre Marcus Limpar Lantz.
He split the 2019-20 Season between Orebro’s U18 and U20 teams. In 23 games at the U18 level, Limpar Lantz scored 11 goals and 17 assists in 23 games. At the U20 level, he put up three points in 17 games.
The Sting will play their home opener on Friday, October 8 against the Windsor Spitfires at Progressive Auto Sales Arena.
Players are expected to report for training camp on September 4.