Coming into the 2024-25 season, there was a field of candidates who could have gone first overall in the OHL draft.

As the campaign began to wind down, however, the focus narrowed to center Kaden McGregor of the Ottawa Valley Titans.

McGregor was a force for the Titans at the OHL Cup, earning tournament all-star honors and finishing third in scoring with 11 points in five games – two fewer games than the players ahead of him in the race. Before that, he helped Ottawa Valley win the HEO championship, and in between, he joined his high school team for the provincial playoffs. 

"I liked it because we had time off between playoffs and OHL Cup, so it was a great opportunity for me to stay on the ice and compete with other guys," McGregor said. "We made it to OFSAA, and we were undefeated, then lost in the final 5-2. It was a good run and the first time our high school team had medalled at all. My dad was actually the coach, which was pretty fun."

It must have been fun to watch those games, too, as McGregor put up a ludicrous 21 goals and 27 points in just six games for St. John's High School of Renfrew, Ont.

Basically, this kid just can't get enough hockey.

That's great news for the Peterborough Petes, which selected McGregor first overall this spring. The OHL squad has some talent for McGregor to play with in the form of 2025 NHL draft prospects Colin Fitzgerald and Adam Novotny, but they'll need all three to produce, as the Petes didn't have a single player hit the 40-point mark last season. For McGregor, going first overall is already in the past.

"It was obviously cool. but it's out of my head now," he said. "I'm focusing on each day this summer: what can I do to get better each day? I focus on my training, sleep, nutrition and recovery and getting ready for next year."

And when it comes to doing things the right way, the 16-year-old has a pretty good role model in mind.

"I'm not there yet, but I try to model my game after Nathan MacKinnon," McGregor said. "He's a strong, two-way forward who plays a fast, tenacious game. He prioritizes compete level, he's focused and a good leader. I see someone I've always looked up to."

Much like MacKinnon, McGregor has the chance to pull on a Team Canada sweater soon. The youngster was part of Canada's U-17 summer camp, where he got to test his mettle against similarly elite kids from across the country in hopes of landing a spot at the World U-17 Challenge in the fall.

"It's definitely different," he said. "You can see the Western guys, the Quebec guys, the Ontario guys all play differently and it's neat to see how everyone comes together. It's something to adapt to."

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In order to adapt to the OHL this fall, McGregor has been working on his quickness, speed and strength – all areas of the game he knows will be heightened while playing against older competition. Luckily, McGregor grew up playing multiple sports, including basketball, tennis, soccer and track and field, so there's a nice athletic base there.

The next mission? Make his mark in the OHL.

"I've heard so many great things about the talent Peterborough has," McGregor said. "I'm ready to get going."