OHL 3 Stars Of The Week: Sept. 25-29

The first week of OHL action has come to a close, and that can only mean one thing - it's time to kick off our brand new series here at The Hockey News OHL site. Get ready to meet the standout players from opening week as we introduce our three stars of the week.

For future reference, the three stars of the week will be picked from those who played through Monday to Sunday.

There was a lot of entertainment in the OHL's opening week. One 2025 NHL draft-eligible prospect had a tremendous start to his season, and the 2024 OHL first-overall pick is off to one of the best starts a 16-year-old could imagine. 

With all that being said, let's get into our inaugural OHL three stars of the week.

The 2022 exceptional status, first overall pick enters one of the most important seasons of his career. His NHL draft season. And Misa is off to a flying start.

Scoring his team's first two goals of the year wasn't enough for Misa. He went on to score a natural first-period hat trick against the Greyhounds on Friday night, and added two more goals in Saginaw's win against Sarnia the following night.

Fresh off a Memorial Cup victory, Misa leads the OHL in goals with seven in three games and shots with 19. He's looked dominant in all three games for Saginaw.

The Oakville, Ontario native was ranked the seventh best prospect for the upcoming 2025 NHL Entry Draft in TSN's Bob McKenzie's pre-season rankings. He was five spots below Erie's Matthew Schaefer and three spots below Brampton's captain Porter Martone.

Misa's performance in opening week sends a clear message to NHL scouts. I'm a top 10 pick in the upcoming draft and if you want a game-breaker, I'm your guy. 

We have to give the second star of the week to the 2024 first-overall pick, Ethan Belchetz, although he came very close to earning our inaugural first star. 

Belchetz doesn't go unnoticed with his kind of size for a 16-year-old. and he was also extremely noticeable on the scoresheet in his first week in the OHL. He recorded two assists in Windsor's season opener, which included a pretty backdoor feed to Anthony Cristoforo for a tap-in goal. 

However, the icing on the cake was his performance in his first game in front of the Spitfires faithful, with a six-point game in his team's 12-2 stomping over the Kitchener Rangers. 

Belchetz made his first career OHL goal look easy. The rookie pounced on his team's clearing attempt on the penalty kill, swiftly going backhand-forehand using his long reach to tuck it past Jackson Parsons. He went on to score three more goals (another shorthanded and one on the powerplay) and added two assists in the home opener.

An opening week of four goals and eight points in your first three games puts the rest of the league on notice to watch out for the kid, and a player who looks prime to contend for Rookie of the Year.

Anthony Cristoforo had a disappointing summer. The Woodbridge, Ontario native went undrafted in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. But he's started the new season full throttle and with a clear intention of proving himself as a potential top 2006-born prospect re-entering the draft come next June. 

Cristoforo recorded a goal and two assists in Windsor's season opener win against Saginaw, and he followed it up by positing back-to-back two-assist games on the weekend. 

The third-year defenseman leads all defensemen in points (seven in three games) and plus/minus (plus-9) after the opening week. However, he was also noticeable defensively at times due to his ability to get into shooting lanes and block shots.

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