Avalanche Select Garrett Meurs

The Avalanche picked Canadian Garrett Meurs of the OHL in the 5th round (123rd overall). Meurs is a 5'10" 169-lb center for the Plymouth Whalers. Growing up on a farm, he's learned the importance of hard work and perseverance. From the Plymouth Whalers Examiner:

"Living on a farm, you've got to work hard for everything you do, and that's kind of how I go about it as a player," Meurs said. "Just try to work hard, do my best and do everything I can to help my team win."

 

No one has seen that be the case more than Whalers coach Mike Vellucci.

"His upbringing definitely translates into his game and his personality on and off the ice," Vellucci said. "He's a small-town kid and it's a tough transition when you're coming from a high school of 200 kids to 6,000 kids, so it's a big transition."

It was a transition Meurs handled quite well. In 2009-10, his first season with the Whalers, he had 16 goals and 18 assists in 62 games as a 17-year-old. This past season, his goal total slipped to 10, but his playmaking ability blossomed as he finished with a 40-point season thanks to 30 assists.

He's No. 79 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters for the 2011 Entry Draft.

The 17-year-old said the ranks or statistics don't matter to him, as long as he can "just play hockey." That's what he hopes to continue to do in the future and for any team.

Meurs played for the Plymouth Whalers OHL team for the 2009-10 season and will continue to do so this coming season as he returns to the Michigan city to attend Grade 12 in September.

Last year, Meurs appeared in nine post-season games with Plymouth (OHL), recording a 1g-2a-3p line with no penalty minutes and appeared in 62 regular-season games, recording a 16g-18a-34p line with 22 penalty minutes. He was named the Whalers' Rookie of the Year.

In 2008-09, Meurs appeared in 67 games with the Huron-Perth Lakers (Alliance), recording a 52g-43a-95p line.