Top Canadian prospect Adam Valentini is headed for the NCAA
Top Canadian prospect Adam Valentini is headed for the NCAA
Adam Valentini, the Brampton Steelheads 13th overall selection in the 2024 OHL Priority Selection, has committed to the University of Michigan, electing to develop in the USHL before transitioning to the NCAA.
Valentini arguably was a top-three prospect for the OHL Draft but fell due to rumors that the Toronto Marlboros superstar wasn’t going to report to the OHL.
Brampton took a chance and used their 2024 first round selection to try and persuade him and at the very least hold onto his OHL rights.
The rumors were true. A couple of weeks after the OHL Priority Selection concluded, Valentini reached an agreement with the Chicago Steel, a powerhouse USHL organization that has stolen top-end young players from Ontario in previous years.
The writing was on the wall. Adam was taking his talents across the border to develop his game in America and Brampton’s hope of signing the ultra-skilled forward is lost.
This doesn’t mean that Valentini won’t ever play in the OHL, however. His first year of draft eligibility for the NHL is in 2026. If he is selected, his NHL team could discuss him going back home to Canada and playing in the OHL. Although, that is extremely unlikely. But it’s a good idea to hang on to a player's rights for that reason alone.
Valentini was the 2023-24 GTHL Player of the Year after having a monstrous season with the U16 Marlboros. He recorded 52 goals and 134 points in 57 games and added another 12 points in five games at the OHL Cup.
He played as a 15-year-old in the U16 age group in 2022-23 with the Mississauga Senators where he first started to catch the eyes of OHL scouts. He’s an offensive dynamo who can break games open with his elite skill level.
The OHL has seen other high-end talent choosing to go down the NCAA route before. Buffalo Sabres first overall pick Owen Power grew up playing in the GTHL as a Mississauga native but decided to go to the Chicago Steel and played for the Michigan Wolverines.
In the 2023 OHL Priority Selection, another star player from the Toronto Marlboros organization decided against playing in the OHL. William Moore was the 2022-23 GTHL Player of the Year and was drafted 18th overall by the London Knights.
Unfortunately, for the Knights and OHL fans, Moore was recruited by the U.S. National Team Development Program (eligible due to his dual citizenship) and is committed to playing at Boston College for the start of the 2026-2027 season.
Losing out on these types of players is killer for the OHL and every year it seems like more and more younger players are entertaining the idea of playing and developing in the NCAA.