Logan Prud'homme's puckhandling and abilities as an OHL draft prospect who's not only 15 years old but is also 6-foot-7 and 220 pounds make him a promising hockey player to watch.
Covering the OHL Cup, you tend to see a lot of the same teams every year: the Toronto Marlboros, the Thunder Bay Kings, TPH from the U.S. and so forth.
But this season, the field has a few new faces, including the Upper Canada College Blues.
The Toronto prep school has been around since 1829, and while the private institution had hockey, it didn't have a program eligible for the U-16 OHL Cup until recently. That changed with the introduction of Hockey Canada-sanctioned AAA teams at the U-15 and U-16 level.
"It's huge for us," said coach Brett MacLean. "When we started this, myself and (manager) Dan Noble a couple of years ago, this was the goal. Having a group of families and kids willing to commit to something new and different and the vision we had, it has meant a lot to us."
The OHL Cup is the final showcase for talent before the OHL draft, and the laundry list of talent who played at the tourney is exhaustive – but let's just list Connor McDavid, Matthew Schaefer and all three Hughes brothers as a starting point.
This year, scouts had a very intriguing player to watch on UCC in center Logan Prud'homme, who comes in at a baffling 6-foot-7 and 220 pounds at the age of 15. He's got great hands and a quick release, plus a bit of an edge to his game.
"He's a phenomenal hockey player to have that size and the hands and abilities that he has," MacLean said. "I'm trying to help him with habits, day-to-day preparation and rounding out his game. From an offensive standpoint, he has all the tools, so I'm trying to teach him things I learned when I was a player."
MacLean himself played in the NHL with Phoenix and Winnipeg after a great OHL career that included back-to-back 100-point seasons with the Oshawa Generals. That's where his big center wants to be.
"I want to play in the OHL next year," Prud'homme said. "So to take that big step, I want to work on my skating and get ready to play at that pace. That's something I'll put an emphasis on this summer."
That, and packing on more muscle and core strength to his frame.
"He's a phenomenal hockey player to have that size and the hands and abilities that he has."
Prud'homme is a fan of Tage Thompson, and the Sabres star is a pretty good model for the youngster, given their similar frames.
Which begs the question: teen athletes already need a ton of calories to sustain their growing bodies, so how much food does a giant one eat each day? Luckily for Prud'homme, he boards at UCC, so he never starves.
"It's been buffet-style meals every day, so I'm going up and getting a couple of plates," he said. "I definitely eat a lot, and I'm focusing on that, too. We're so active, I eat as much as I can."
The meals aren't the only benefit of boarding, however. Prud'homme gets to live with his teammates, and that's nice for the Ottawa native, who took the plunge moving away from home to live and play in Toronto at UCC.
"They're a new program so I didn't know much about them," Prud'homme said. "But as I watched them through the (2024-25) year, they were winning games, and I was enticed. I took a visit, and as soon as I met the coaching staff and all the guys, I knew I wanted to be there."
Prud'homme has loved his situation off the ice, and success followed at the rink, as well.
He had 82 points in 61 games for the Blues this season and had four points in three games early on at the OHL Cup, where the team won its first three games. The tournament is a great spotlight for the team and Prud'homme, and based on his potential, it's likely only the beginning for the young man.
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