NHL Draft Prospect Cole Zurawski Commits To NCAA Notre Dame

Greg Cowan, a sports reporter for the Sun Times who covers the Owen Sound Attack, recently talked about the new landscape between the NCAA and its relation to player recruitment for the OHL. 

“OHL GMs/Coaches now need to recruit twice. Once to sell the program, and again to get players to stay when the NCAA comes calling,” he wrote on X. 

Cowan mentioned that Owen Sound Attack Head Coach Scott Wray said he figures that jumping to the NCAA at ages 18/19 is “accelerating their adulthood.”

“You get four years in this league for a reason, to get bigger, stronger, and smarter,” Wray also mentioned to Cowan. These comments may have been said since another Attack player has announced his commitment to the NCAA following the completion of his OHL career. 

2026 NHL draft prospect Cole Zurawski has announced his commitment to play for Notre Dame.

Zurawski was drafted sixth overall by the Flint Firebirds in 2024. Owen Sound acquired him before last year’s trade deadline in the deal that included Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Sam McCue.

The Barrie, Ontario, native has had a strong start to his NHL draft season, developing into the dangerous goal scorer that he was expected to become from his OHL draft year. Regarding first-year draft-eligible players in the OHL, Zurawski ranks eighth in points (29) and is tied for fifth in goals (16).  

His teammate, Tristan Delisle, recently committed to Michigan Tech. Around 75% of Owen Sound’s roster is now committed to playing in the NCAA once their OHL careers are complete. But as Greg Cowan mentioned, the term “committed” can be used very loosely in college sports, and things can change on a dime. 

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