6'1" - 178 LBS
D.O.B. May 30, 1994
Laughton was a first round pick of the Generals, 3rd overall, in the 2010 OHL Priority Draft. A product of the Toronto Marlboros Minor Midget Team, he played in 76 games scoring 55 goals and adding 40 assists in his draft year. He then led his Marlboros to the OHL Showcase Cup adding 5 goals and 2 assists in 7 games.
2010-2011 was Laughton's rookie season for the Generals. In 63 games he posted 12 goals and 11 assists. Not lofty numbers but considering the Generals had enough offensive threat in their game, Laughton was able to learn and concentrate on his defensive game playing a shut down role. He added 1 goal and 1 assist in 10 Oshawa playoff games.
Laughton was selected to play for Team Canada at the Ivan Hlinka Tournament this past summer winning a gold medal and posting 2 goals and 1 assists in 5 games in a shut down role. He also scored the gold medal winning goal. Earlier in the year he played for Team Ontario at the World Hockey Challenge Under-17 where he 2 goals and added 2 assists in 5 games, also capturing gold.
Because of his rookie season and the role Steve Spott had him play for Team Canada, Laughton has excelled in his defensive game. And while there is always room for improvement, he's one step ahead of most of the players in the 2012 Draft Class.
Laughton possesses good size but will need to bulk up. He has an unbelievable work ethic in all 3 zones. He's a very good skater but could also improve on his overall speed. He plays a gritty game and often gets compared to Mike Richards. In fact, Laughton himself claims to model his game after Richards.
Laughton has very high hockey sense. He reads plays very well, knows where to go to make himself available and isn't afraid of any area of the ice. He's an excellent leader and was captain of his Toronto Marlboros. Known as a goal scorer, it'll be interesting to see if Laughton can have a breakout season this year. He's off to a slow start. One OHL general Manager I spoke with thinks Laughton has the ability to be the first player taken from the OHL in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.
Laughton is on the NHL Central Scouting's A list of players to watch for this season. In my own preseason rankings, I had Laughton at number 11.
He'll also come to the defense of a teammate
Photo from oshawagenerals.com
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