In anticipation of Saturday’s Ontario Hockey League Draft, Plymouth President, General Manager and Head Coach Mike Vellucci announced the acquisition of five separate draft choices in a deal with the Belleville Bulls.

The Whalers acquired Sudbury’s 5^th round pick, their own fifth round pick, Peterborough’s 8^th round pick, Belleville’s 11^th round choice, and Windsor’s 15^th round selection in Saturday’s draft in exchange for Belleville’s 4^th round choice and Oshawa’s 5^th round selection.

“We wanted more draft choices for Saturday,” Vellucci said. “We go from 10 choices on Saturday to 13.”

The Whalers – who finished in sixth place in the Western Conference last season with a record of 36-26-2-4 – will select 11^th overall in the first round of the Ontario Hockey League Draft, which will be held over the internet starting at 9am on Saturday and can be followed online at http://www.ontariohockeyleague.com/page/2010-priority-selection.

Plymouth’s selections on Saturday can be followed online at www.plymouthwhalers.com.

The Whalers have made the OHL playoffs a current-record of 20 straight seasons and expect to have a strong team in 2011-12. Plymouth has just three players graduating from its current roster – Robbie Czarnik, James Livingston, and Tyler Brown – and could have as many as seven National Hockey League draft choices returning next season

Fans can see many of the new Whalers during the team’s annual Rookie Orientation, which will be held May 21-22 at Compuware Arena.