The U18 OHL Draft is set to get underway on Wednesday night, here is a preview of former successful U18 draft picks & the draft itself.
The OHL Priority Selection finished up this past weekend, and tonight we get to see the Under-18 Priority Selection — a much shorter draft.
The U18 draft consists of three rounds, but not each team will pick three times. If a team wants to pick a third player, they must select a goaltender in the first or second round.
In other terms, this is a very big draft for goaltenders. In the grand scheme of things, goaltenders are typically more "late bloomers" than players are. This draft gives later-developing goaltenders a chance to be drafted into the OHL after being passed on in their sixteen-year-old draft year.
2006 and 2007 born U18 AAA players are eligible to be selected in this draft, and there have been some past success stories — even though this is only the 8th edition of the U18 Priority Selection.
Gavin White is the most recent success story. He was drafted in the third round of the 2019 U18 OHL Draft, and went on to get drafted and signed by the Dallas Stars. He currently plays for the Texas Stars — Dallas' AHL affiliate.
Calem Mangone is another recent example, as he has been playing a big role with the Saginaw Spirit for the last two seasons. He also set the record with the most OHL points by a U18 drafted player.
In last year's U18 draft, Brett Hammond (ER) and Daniel Chen (BFD) were selected and have been playing full-time with their respective OHL clubs this season.
This draft gives "late bloomers" another chance, and there will be OHL players that come out of this draft class — possibly future NHLers.
The Windsor Spitfires will have the first overall selection in the U18 Draft — just as they did in the 2024 OHL Priority Selection.
The OHL Under-18 Priority Selection begins at 7:00pm EST on Wednesday, April 17th, 2024.