By Mason Lyttle
JANESVILLE, WI – The Janesville Jets, proud members of the North American Hockey League (NAHL), made four selections in Tuesday’s NAHL Entry Draft, including three of the first 20 overall picks.
With the team’s first selection, fourth overall, the Jets selected defenseman Frank Sullivan, a 1996-born native of Fairfield, Connecticut. Last season, Sullivan (6-0/187) registered eight goals and eight assists for 16 points and added 118 penalty minutes with the Grande Prairie Storm of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. Sullivan was also a fourth round selection of the Charlottetown Islanders in the 2014 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Entry Draft.
With the eighth overall selection, the Jets selected left winger Jakov Novak, who played prep high school with New Hampton School in New Hampton, New Hampshire. There, Novak (6-3/201) tallied 37 goals and 21 assists for 58 points in 40 games. Novak, a 1998-born native of Riverside, Ontario, Canada, also skated in 12 games with the New Hampshire Avalanche U18 midget program, scoring seven goals.
With its final selection of the first round, Janesville drafted future Wisconsin Badger forward Joey Abate. Abate (6-2/170) skated with Team Fastenal Tool, winners of last month’s Janesville Jets U18 Midget Tournament in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. The 1998-born forward was born in Bloomingdale, Illinois, and played last year with the Chicago Mission U18 team in the High Performance Hockey League, putting up 24 points on 15 goals and nine assists through 21 games. Abate has five games’ experience in the USHL, all with the Bloomington Thunder.
With its final pick in the draft, Janesville used its fourth round selection on right winger Zac Robbins (5-10/181), who played in 59 games with the USHL’s Cedar Rapids RoughRiders last season. In Cedar Rapids, Robbins, a Glenview, Illinois, native, scored seven goals and added 10 assists for 17 points. Robbins has 43 games of NAHL experience with the Johnstown Tomahawks, potting 12 goals and adding 17 assists for 29 points in 2014-2015.
Listed below are each of the 2016 Jets draft picks, organized by round order.
1st Round, 4th Overall: Frank Sullivan (D) | Fairfield, CT | Grande Prairie Storm (AJHL)
1st Round, 8th Overall: Jakov Novak (LW) | Riverside, ON | New Hampton School (USHS)
1st Round, 20th Overall: Joey Abate (F) | Bloomingdale, IL | Chicago Mission U18 (HPHL)
4th Round, 92nd Overall: Zac Robbins (RW) | Glenview, IL | Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL)
Contact the Janesville Jets’ front office at (608) 752-JETS, or go to www.janesvillejets.com for details on main camp, season ticket information, and sponsorship opportunities. Stay connected to the Jets through Facebook (/janesvillehockey) and Twitter (@JanesvilleJets1).
— JANESVILLE JETS —