The 2024 OHL Priority Selection gets underway on Friday night with rounds one through three, and here is a brief preview to kick the night off.
It is that time of year again. The 2024 OHL Priority Selection gets underway tonight at 7:00pm, where rounds one to three of the draft will be completed.
The Windsor Spitfires announced on Thursday afternoon that they would be selecting 6-foot-5 forward Ethan Belchetz from the Oakville Rangers. Now, the ball is in the court of the Sarnia Sting with the second overall pick. Do they go Adam Valentini? Braidy Wassilyn? Alessandro Di Iorio? Only time will tell.
With so many players tendering to the USHL and the BCHL from Ontario in this draft class, things will get interesting. Top 2008-born Ontario prospects Colin Fitzgerald (Green Bay, USHL), Zach Nyman (Penticton, BCHL), Callum Croskery (Chicago, USHL), and Caleb Malhotra (Chilliwack, BCHL), have all tendered away from the OHL.
We could see a lot of these players drop to lower-picking teams, and other players begin to rise as a result of these tenders.
Nonetheless, the OHL Priority Selection has always been one of the hardest drafts to predict — and that is no different this season. Other top names that we could see go in the top half of the first round are Alex McLean, Logan Hawery, Nathan Amidovski, Cole Zurawski, and Alex Hage.
One common theme in this year's OHL Draft — there are not a lot defencemen. Top defencemen who have not tendered elsewhere include Carter Hicks, Kent Greer, and Kohyn Eshkawkogan.
At the end of the day, as a player, it does not matter where you go in this draft, or if you get drafted at all. What matters is what you do after you get drafted.
We have seen so many players play in this league that have never been drafted into the OHL, and even some that make the NHL. Recent examples include Anthony Cirelli and Arber Xhekaj.
The OHL Priority Selection gets underway tonight at 7:00pm EST, where the Sarnia Sting will kick things off by making the second overall pick.