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Created: Wednesday, 11 April 2018 17:43
A very deep 2002 age group resulted in some quality players being passed up in the 2018 OHL Priority Selection. With so many players to choose from the list of notable players who don’t hear their name called on draft day can always go on and on, and this year offered some major surprises.
The following is a list of players we were surprised to see go uncalled this past Saturday. Some were more surprising than others, but all are players who certainly would have been worthy of selection.
Level of Surprise is out of 5- with 5 being the most surprising.
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Created: Tuesday, 10 April 2018 13:28
-From ontariohockeyleague.com-
20 players from across 11 different organizations were chosen in the first round of the 2018 OHL Priority Selection on Saturday April 7.
The OMHA Champion York Simcoe Express provided the first two picks of the Priority Selection as Quinton Byfield led off the proceedings being chosen by the Sudbury Wolves before teammate Evan Vierling followed suit going to the Flint Firebirds. This marks the first time since 2012 when Connor McDavid (Erie Otters) and Roland McKeown (Kingston Frontenacs) of the Toronto Marlboros went first and second overall. The scenario also presented itself back in 2006 when current-day NHL stars Steven Stamkos (Sarnia Sting) and Michael Del Zotto (Oshawa Generals) of the Markham Waxers were the first two picks of the OHL Priority Selection.
The GTHL Champion Toronto Marlboros led all teams with five players chosen in the first round including third and fourth overall picks Will Cuylle (Peterborough Petes) and Jamie Drysdale (Erie Otters). Blueliner Lleyton Moore (12th, Niagara IceDogs), forward Riley Piercey (16th, Barrie Colts) and winger Reid Valade (17th, Kitchener Rangers) soon followed.
The GTHL’s Vaughan Kings produced three first round picks including fifth overall selection Cole Perfetti (Saginaw Spirit), forward Tyler Tullio (11th, Oshawa Generals) and blueliner Ryan O’Rourke (20th, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds) while the OMHA’s Oakville Rangers also boasted three including centreman Cameron Tolnai (6th, Ottawa 67’s) and back-to-back picks in defenceman Jake Murray (13th, Kingston Frontenacs) and forward Luke Evangelista (14th, London Knights).
The GTHL led the way with 10 first round selections followed closely by the OMHA with seven.
The NOHA and HEO circuits each produced one top-20 selection as the North Bay Battalion chose local rearguard Pacey Schlueting of the North Bay Minor Midget Trappers with the ninth overall pick while the Owen Sound Attack selected Ottawa-area defenceman Nolan Seed of the Smiths Falls Bears at 15th.
Sarnia Sting first choice Jacob Perreault of the Chicago Mission 16U program was the lone American chosen in the first round at 19th overall.
The first round saw 13 forwards and seven defencemen taken by OHL clubs.
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Created: Tuesday, 03 April 2018 17:10
We sent out a poll to our area scouts asking for their top 3 players in a number of categories. Players were assigned 3 points for a 1st place vote, 2 points for a 2nd place vote and 1 point for a 3rd place votes. The top three from each category are shown.
It should come as no surprise that the categories are dominated by the top prospects in the age group with names like Byfield, Perfetti, Drysdale, Moore, Tolnai and Lennox leading the way. Our top two ranked players in particular, Quinton Byfield and Cole Perfetti scored very well in several categories. Byfield was a unanimous selection in the Best Goal-Scorer and Best Pro Prospect categories, while it was unanimous among our staff that Perfetti is the smartest player. (he also came close in the Best Playmaker category)
Please subscribe to view the selections in categories such as Best Skater, Best Shot, Best Stickhandler, Best Player, and many more. Follow the link to view the complete 2018 OHL Priority Selection- Scouts Poll.
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Created: Friday, 30 March 2018 14:18
The scouting season for any draft is a long and ever-changing process, and that notion was certainly prevalent this year in the Minor Midget AAA loop. A draft class with great depth, the 2002 age group kept us on our toes from start to finish with a large number of players impressing greatly to result in constant shuffling.
The process has been as such. Through all of the tournaments, showcases, league play, and playoffs, our staff has formed opinions, changed those opinions, and have now reached a point where we have confidently solidified those opinions.
The recently completed OHL Cup, while just one tournament, really helped to solidify thoughts that had been set in motion since our Mid-Season Rankings in December. More so than in recent years, the tournament saw the best of the best playing at their highest level of any point of the season, and it really helped to paint a clear picture as these Final Rankings were debated.
At the very top, nothing has changed. As we predicted way back in our Initial Ranking, Quinton Byfield of the York-Simcoe Express has gone to wire-to-wire as our top ranked player due to his unique and unmatched skill-set packaged into an athletic 6’4” frame.
Vaughan Kings centre Cole Perfetti, a player we held back a bit because of his NCAA commitment, proved through his consistent display of offensive dominance all season that he deserved the #2 spot regardless of the questions surrounding his intentions to play in the OHL.
Like Byfield, Jamie Drysdale of the Toronto Marlboros also went wire-to-wire by being our top ranked defenseman in all three rankings. The smooth-skating Drysdale held off the likes of teammate Lleyton Moore (#10) and Russian rearguard Daniil Chayka (#7) of the OHL Cup Champion Toronto Jr. Canadiens.
The rest of the names in our top 10 include winger Antonio Stranges of Little Caesars 16U, Oakville Rangers centre Cameron Tolnai, Marlboros forward Will Cuylle, dual-citizen Dylan Peterson from CIHA, and the silky Evan Vierling from the York-Simcoe Express. Cuylle in particular is a name that readers may recognize as having made a big jump. 20th in our Mid-Season Rankings, he was arguably the most dominant player in the age group over the last four months of the season, steamrolling opponents on almost a nightly basis with his advanced physical tools, abrasive physicality, and exceptional shot.
Between the pipes, we’ve decided to keep things separate as it is a difficult task trying to place the goaltenders with the skaters. The theme of the year has been the three-horse race out of the GTHL and their positions remain unchanged for the third straight ranking. Tristan Lennox of the Mississauga Reps takes the top spot while Joe Vrbetic of the Don Mills Flyers and Marco Constantini of the Vaughan Kings come in at #2 and #3 respectively.
We have extended our skater ranking from a Top 100 to 200 and our goalie ranking from a Top 10 to 20 with a group of honourable mentions for both.
Director of Scouting Andrew Sykes along with area scouts Matt Stewart, Matt Grainda, Brent Craswell, Chris Bowen, Jason Gray, Mitch Avis, Ryan Stacey, Trevor Revoy and Branden Scott all helped work towards these 2018 Final OHL Draft Rankings which the Scout.ca is very proud to present.
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Created: Monday, 26 March 2018 14:43
The 2018 OHL Cup lived up to its billing and then some as the top tournament of the year in Minor Midget AAA hockey in Ontario. Always a great event put on by the Ontario Hockey League, this year’s tournament had everything you could possibly want to see.
This year, perhaps more so than in recent years, mostly all of the top players in the age group really seemed to elevate their game to the highest level of the season. This resulted in all of the team managements and fans in attendance getting to see what everyone hopes to see- big players making big plays in big games. That seemed to be the theme of the week as top draft prospects such as Quinton Byfield, Will Cuylle, Dylan Robinson, Evan Vierling, Jamie Drysdale, Cole Perfetti and Cameron Tolnai all routinely coming up big for their respective teams during their tournament runs.
An exciting playoff round saw some surprises with the Toronto Marlboros being ousted in the semifinals by their GTHL rival Toronto Jr. Canadiens. The Jr. Canadiens then used that momentum in the Final against another GTHL foe in the Vaughan Kings in a convincing win to claim the OHL Cup with the aforementioned Dylan Robinson being named Tournament MVP.
TheScout.ca had full coverage of the tournament with Director of Scouting Andrew Sykes being showed by area scouts Ryan Stacey, Mitch Avis, Jason Gray, Brent Craswell, Chris Bowen, Trevor Revoy and Matt Stewart all taking in the action.
The following report includes our picks for the Top 20 performers of the 2018 OHL Cup along with comments on numerous more players.
Our staff has also been working hard at putting the finishing touches on our Final 2018 OHL Draft Rankings and we expect to have those completed and available on Thursday, March 29.
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