The club announced earlier today that they had acquired Cali's rights in a trade with the Soo Greyhounds.

The North Bay Battalion acquired the OHL rights to Ryder Cali in a trade with the Soo Greyhounds today. 

In exchange for Ryder Cali, the Greyhounds received a 2025 6th-round pick belonging to the London Knights as well as three picks (2nd, 4th and 7th rounds) in the 2028 draft which are all conditional. 

"Ryder is a player we really liked during his draft year," said Battalion GM John Winstanley. "This was an opportunity for us to acquire the rights to a really talented and complete player."

As a member of the Markham Majors, Cali scored 19 goals and added 11 assists for a total of 30 points in 29 games last season. 

The Soo Greyhounds selected Cali with the 18th overall pick in the 2024 OHL Priority Selection. The 6-foot-2 centerman has made a verbal agreement to Harvard University. He is currently playing in the OJHL for the Milton Menace.

Because of his commitment, The Greyhounds will receive a compensatory pick (19th overall) in the 2025 OHL Priority Selection. 

"We look forward to getting to know Ryder and his family and showing them what our program and community have to offer and why we can be addition to his development path," said Director of Hockey Operations Adam Dennis. 

This is a low-risk, high-reward trade for the Battalion. If Cali does not report to North Bay and spends the rest of the year in the OJHL they will have lost a 6th-round pick. The relative value of a 6th-round pick can be debated, however, it is a small price to pay for the rights to a player that North Bay liked last season. 

The price will of course rise if they manage to convince Cali to join the Battalion. However, at that point, they will have added a first-round pick to their system.

For the Greyhounds, this deal makes perfect sense. After reporting to training camp, Cali did not report to main camp. Through his verbal commitment to Harvard it had become clear the young forward would not be playing for the Greyhounds this year.

Rather than holding the rights to a player who is choosing not to play for them, they gain at least a 6th-round pick on top of their compensatory pick. If Cali joins North Bay they gain considerably more. 

Both teams come away from this deal with value. All that remains to be seen is whether Cali joins North Bay.