Owen Sound selected Gates with their first-round pick in the U-18 Priority Selection.
Earlier today, the Owen Sound Attack announced the signing of Trent Frederick to an OHL Education and Development agreement.
"It's a dream come true to achieve this," said Gates. "Dale, the coaches and all staff and other players have been amazing so far. It's been a great start to the next stage of my hockey career."
The Attack picked Gates with the seventh pick in the first round of the 2024 U-18 Priority Selection. The 2007-born forward led the Halton Hurricanes U-18 AAA team in points last season. He scored an astounding 34 goals and added 48 assists for a total of 82 points in just 33 games.
"He [Gates] is a smooth skating, highly skilled forward that should be able to produce offensively for us," said Owen Sound GM Dale DeGray. "We look forward to seeing him in the Attack jersey and would like to welcome Trent and his family to the Owen Sound Attack organization."
Gates has played in all of Owen Sound's preseason games so far. Through three games, he has registered one assist.
The skilled young forward is slightly undersized. At 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds, the first thing that he will have to adjust to is the physicality of the OHL. If he can deal with that then he should be able to use his skill to his advantage.
The young forward will likely start the year in a depth position. Depending on how he develops during the season, he may be able to win himself a more permanent spot in the lineup.
Owen Sound will travel to Guelph next Friday for their opening game of the 2024-25 season. They will then play Guelph at home the next night for the completion of the home-and-home series. We will have to see whether Gates factors into either of these games.