2023 OHL Priority Selection Rankings (Canada)

With league champions crowned, and a new OHL Cup champion atop the U16 mountain, the 2022/2023 U16 AAA hockey season has reached its final stop, the 2023 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection. The culmination of years upon years of hard work for the players in the 2007 born age group. From the start of the season with the Mississauga Senators taking home the first tournament championship of the season at the Toronto Titans Prospects Tournament, the powerhouse Toronto Marlboros taking home the Silver Stick title and the Marlboros Holiday Classic Championship, all the way to the Toronto Jr. Canadiens winning the 2023 OHL Cup. Players have battled through injuries, and the ups and downs that come with playing in your draft eligible season, and the Priority Selection is a milestone in many young hockey players lives, and this year will be no different.

Looking at this years draft class, at first look we can see how it differs from the 2022 group, which saw 2007 born Michael Misa granted exceptional status and taken first overall in the 2022 Priority Selection. While Malcolm Spence (Erie Otters), Nathan Villeneuve (Sudbury Wolves), Sam Dickinson (Niagara IceDogs), and Porter Martone (Sarnia Sting) rounded out the top five. This years class will have fans of U16 AAA hockey seeing some familiar names drafted this year, who they may have seen playing up a year with the 2006 age group. Names such as Ryan Roobroeck ( 06′ London Jr. Knights), William Moore 06′ Mississauga Senators), Owen Griffin (06′ Markham Waxers), Caden Taylor (06′ Toronto Jr. Canadiens), and Ethan Weir (06′ London Jr. Knights), were all players who played key roles on their teams last year.

The 2022 Priority Selection saw five U16 teams have multiple players selected in the first round, and as we go through this years group, we should expect to see some teammates hearing their names called one again in the first round. With 22 picks in the first round this year, some teams with multiple players listed in my top 22 are, the Halton Hurricanes, Toronto Marlboros, Toronto Jr. Canadiens, Mississauga Senators, and London Jr. Knights. At the defence position, last year saw six defencemen drafted in the first round, and while this year’s defensive group is different from the 2006 group, this years class is led by number 1 overall player Matthew Schaefer. Cameron Reid from Bishop Kearney and Quinn Beauchesne out of Nepean are a couple other defencemen who will likely follow Schaefer in the early to mid first round. The late first and second round draws a lot of intrigue with this defencemen class, with lots of players who could provide positive value as we progress into that range of the draft. While there are lots of Ontario teams listed below, many may notice some American teams and ask “I thought this was a Canada only ranking,” for context as with any year, this season saw several Ontario born players take their talents South of the border. Players like the aforementioned Cameron Reid (Aylmer, ON) playing for Bishop Kearney, while Ottawa born players Jacob Cloutier and Kieran Dervin played for the Pittsburgh Pens Elite 15O team.

1. Matthew Schaefer, Defence, Left Shot, Halton Hurricanes (OMHA – SCTA)
2. Brady Martin, Centre, Right Shot , Waterloo Wolves (ALLIANCE)
3. William Moore, Centre, Left Shot, Toronto Marlboros (GTHL)* committed to US National Team Development Program
4. Ryan Roobroeck, Centre, Left Shot, London Jr. Knights (ALLIANCE)
5. Tyler Hopkins, Centre, Left Shot, Halton Hurricanes (OMHA – SCTA)
6. Jacob Cloutier, Wing, Right Shot, Pittsburgh Pens Elite (USA via Ottawa)
7. Owen Griffin, Centre, Right Shot, York Simcoe Express (OMHA – ETA)
8. Jake O’Brien, Centre/Wing, Right Shot, Toronto Jr. Canadiens (GTHL)
9. Caden Taylor, Wing, Left Shot, Mississauga Senators (GTHL)
10. Lev Katzin, Wing/Centre, Left Shot, Toronto Marlboros (GTHL)* signed USHL tender agreement with the Green Bay Gamblers on March 1st, 2023.
11. Cameron Reid, Defence, Left Shot, Bishop Kearney Selects (USA vis Aylmer, ON)
12. Quinn Beauchesne, Defence, Right Shot, Nepean Raiders U18 (HEO)
13. Jack Nesbitt, Centre, Left Shot, Lambton Jr. Sting (ALLIANCE)
14. Luca Romano, Centre, Right Shot, Toronto Jr. Canadiens (GTHL)
15. Ethan Czata, Centre, Left Shot, Mississauga Rebels (GTHL)
16. Jeremy Martin, Wing, Left Shot, Toronto Marlboros (GTHL)
17. Jack Ivankovic, Goalie, Left Catch, Mississauga Senators (GTHL)
18. Aiden Lane, Wing, Right Shot, Toronto Marlboros (GTHL)
19. Matheas Stark, Centre, Left Shot, Toronto Marlboros (GTHL)
20. Nico Addy, Wing, Right Shot, Toronto Jr. Canadiens (GTHL)
21. Parker Snelgrove, Centre, Left Shot, London Jr. Knights (ALLIANCE)
22. Chase Hull, Centre, Left Shot, Renfrew Wolves U18 (HEO)
23. Ethan Weir, Wing, Right Shot, London Jr. Knights (ALLIANCE)
24. Nolan Jackson, Defence, Left Shot, Barrie Jr. Colts (OMHA – ETA)
25. William McFadden, Wing, Left Shot, Peterborough Petes (OMHA – ETA)
26. Dryden Allen, Defence, Left Shot, Southern Tier Admirals (OMHA – SCTA)
27. Carson Cameron, Defence, Right Shot, Central Ontario Wolves (OMHA – ETA)
28. Aiden Young, Wing, Left Shot, London Jr. Knights (ALLIANCE)
29. Shamar Moses, Wing, Right Shot, Don Mills Flyers (GTHL)
30. Kieran Witkowski, Centre/Wing, Left Shot, Toronto Marlboros (GTHL)
31. Andrew MacNiel, Defence, Right Shot, Peterborough Petes (OMHA – ETA)
32. Luke Dragusica, Defence, Left Shot, Toronto Marlboros (GTHL)
33. Joshua Avery, Centre, Left Shot, Peterborough Petes (OMHA – ETA)
34. Ryan Brown, Wing, Left Shot, York Simcoe Express (OMHA – ETA)
35. Kieran Dervin, Centre, Left Shot, Pittsburgh Pens Elite (USA via Ottawa)
36. Wesley Royston, Wing, Right Shot, York Simcoe Express (OMHA – ETA)
37. Chase Yanni, Wing, Left Shot, Toronto Jr. Canadiens (GTHL)
38. Artem Frolov, Defence, Left Shot, Vaughan Kings (GTHL)
39. Tanner Lam, Wing, Right Shot, Halton Hurricanes (OMHA – SCTA)
40. Carter Kostuch, Wing, Left Shot, Vaughan Kings (GTHL)
41. Ben Radley, Defence, Left Shot, Peterborough Petes (OMHA – ETA)
42. Xander Velliaris, Defence, Left Shot, Toronto Jr. Canadiens (GTHL)
43. Jacob Crawford, Centre, Left Shot, York Simcoe Express (OMHA – ETA)
44. Vasily Serov, Centre, Left Shot, Vaughan Kings (GTHL)
45. Rylan Singh, Defence, Right Shot, York Simcoe Express (OMHA – ETA)
46. Jimmy Lombardi, Centre, Left Shot, Don Mills Flyers (GTHL)
47. Harry Nansi, Centre, Right Shot, Nepean Raiders U18 (HEO)
48. Matthew Manza, Wing, Right Shot, Mississauga Senators (GTHL)
49. Keagan Knight, Defence, Left Shot, Toronto Jr. Canadiens (GTHL)
50. Peter Legostaev, Centre, Right Shot, Smiths Falls Bears U18 (HEO)
51. Tristan Delisle, Centre, Left Shot, Mississauga Rebels (GTHL)
52. Evan Elliott, Wing, Right Shot, Whitby Wildcats (OMHA – ETA)
53. Ivan Galiyanov, Centre, Left Shot, Vaughan Kings (GTHL)
54. Carson Harmer, Centre, Left Shot, Huron Perth Lakers (ALLIANCE)
55. Jonathan Cirone, Centre, Right Shot, Barrie Jr. Colts (OMHA – ETA)
56. Brady Smith, Wing, Left Shot, Halton Hurricanes (OMHA – SCTA)
57. Jaiden Newton, Centre, Left Shot, Whitby Wildcats (OMHA – ETA)
58. Mason Goodfellow, Centre, Left Shot, Kingston Jr. Gaels (OMHA – ETA)
59. Kaleb Dietsch, Defence, Left Shot, Southern Tier Admirals (OMHA – SCTA)
60. Gabriel Trozzo, Defence, Right Shot, Mississauga Senators (GTHL)

Honourable Mentions:

Below listed in alphabetical order by last name is ten players in an honourable mention section, who I think either were on the cusp or just outside my top 60 or who I enjoyed watching and think will be value picks at some point in the draft, and will be interested to see their development past the U16 level.

1. Casey Bridgewater, Defence, Left Shot, Halton Hurricanes (OMHA – SCTA)
2. Jordan Charron, Wing, Right Shot, Cambridge Hawks (ALLIANCE)
3. Hudson Chitaroni, Centre, Left Shot, Soo Jr. Greyounds U18 (GNML – North)
4. Chase Del Colombo, Centre, Left Shot, Toronto Young Nationals (GTHL)
5. Maasilan Etchaart, Defence, Left Shot, Rockland Nationals U18 (HEO)
6. Brendan Gerber, Wing, Right Shot, Waterloo Wolves (ALLIANCE)
7. Luka Graziano, Defence, Right Shot, Toronto Jr. Canadiens (GTHL)
8. Evan Malkhassian, Wing, Right Shot, Toronto Jr. Canadiens (GTHL)
9. Alex Valade, Defence, Left Shot, Sudbury Nickel Capitals U16 (GNML – North)
10. Jordan Visneskie, Centre, Left Shot, Huron Perth Laker (ALLIANCE)

Rounds 1 to 3 of the 2023 OHL Priority Selection Draft will be taking place on Day 1 of the draft getting underway Friday April 21st at 7:00pm. Rounds 4 through 15 will commence on Day 2 of the draft on Saturday April 22nd bright and early at 9:00am. If you are interested in following along with the priority selection results, you can follow along online on the Ontario Hockey League website. If you wish to watch the Priority Selection live, it is available for free on OHL Live (https://watch.chl.ca/ohl_chl). You can also keep up with my live updates, thoughts, and analysis as the picks come in on Day 1 through my twitter by following @cwilliams_384.