Oakville Blades
The 2021 NHL draft has come and gone, with just over 200 players selected in this year’s draft.
One of those players was Josh Bloom, an Oakville resident and graduate of Garth Webb Secondary School.
Bloom is a 6”2, 183lb left-winger who was drafted 95th overall by the Buffalo Sabres.
Josh spent his minor hockey career playing with the Toronto Nationals of the GTHL (Greater Toronto Hockey League).
While playing for the Nationals, Josh totalled 19 goals, 22 assists for 41 points in only 33 games. That year he also played a single game for the Oakville Blades, where he scored one point.
The Ontario Hockey League's Saginaw Spirit then drafted Josh, where he spent the next two years of his hockey career.
Josh played in 54 games with Saginaw in 2019-20 and scored six goals and eight assists, totalling 14 points.
Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, the OHL cancelled the 2021 season, so Josh could not play.
“I’m super excited, it was an unbelievable day with my friends and family, and I’m really excited to be a Buffalo Sabre,” expressed Bloom about being drafted.
I asked Josh if there was a specific player that he couldn’t wait to meet, play or even learn from once he came to Buffalo, and Bloom replied, “It would be pretty cool meeting Jack Eichel, I think is a hell of a player, getting some pointers from him would be super cool”
This quote made me chuckle slightly because speculation about Jack Eichel being traded has been going on for three months. Eichel has been a perennial all-star in the NHL for years so if he stays in Buffalo, that would be the perfect mentor for someone like Josh.
When asked about his time in Saginaw and how the team helped him developed, Bloom replied, “Saginaw has been great for me, I’m gearing up for a third season now with them and I’m really excited to be going back there. They have done an unbelievable job developing me as a player, and as a person and I couldn’t be more thankful, they are such a first-class organization in the OHL.”
I asked Josh how he would describe himself as a player; Josh explained, “I play with a lot of pace. Whether it’s skating or making plays, I make them all at a fast pace; and I play a 200-foot game. I make sure that I’m reliable in all three zones. But my speed and vision would be my two biggest assets.”
Being an NHL draft pick is a fantastic accomplishment by Josh Bloom, and Oakville News wishes him all the best and good luck in Buffalo.
