Windsor Spitfires' Ethan Belchetz ready to take stage at Hockey Canada's U17 summer camp
The World U17 Challenge is an event held every November, showcasing the top hockey prospects in their DY-1 season. This year’s tournament will take place in Sarnia, Ontario from Nov. 1 to 9.
80 players have been selected to attend Hockey Canada’s national U17 development camp, which is being held at Joshua’s Creek Arena in Oakville, Ontario.
The OHL led the way with the most players (39) named to the camp amongst Canada's three major junior hockey leagues.
Caleb Maholtra, Kingston Frontenacs' eighth overall selection in 2024, is the only player from the first round of the most recent OHL Priority Selection to not receive an invite to the camp.
Windsor Spitfires first overall pick Ethan Belchetz will quickly turn heads at the development camp since it’s hard to miss the 6-foot-4, 230-pound 16-year-old. He's also a great skater for his size with dextrous hands and offensive skill.
Four out of the eight goaltenders taking part in the camp were drafted by an OHL team last April. Two goalies played for the Barrie Jr. Colts U16 AAA organization, Mateo Beites and Jason Schaubel.
Adam Valentini, Beckham Edwards, and Jet Kwajah are a few top Ontario-based prospects attending the camp with OHL connections but will report and play in the USHL come September.
The Kitchener Rangers have four prospects attending the camp in Oakville, which is the most of any OHL team, following their trend of having the most players attending Canada's U18 camp.
Here’s the list of OHL-drafted players attending Canada’s U17 summer development camp.
*In the brackets is where the player was selected in the 2024 OHL Priority Selection
Goaltenders
G, Mateo Beites - Sudbury Wolves (5th round, 86th overall)
G, Gavin Betts - Kingston Frontenacs (2nd round, 37th overall)
G, Colin Ellsworth - Guelph Storm (3rd round, 59th overall)
G, Jason Schaubel - Kitchener Rangers (5th round, 97th overall)
Defensemen
LHD, Lucas Ambrosio - Erie Otters (2nd round, 25th overall)
RHD, Patrick Babin - Brantford Bulldogs (2nd round, 23rd overall)
LHD, Alexander Bilecki - Kitchener Rangers (2nd round, 31st overall)
RHD, Luca Blonda - Sudbury Wolves (1st round, 12th overall)
LHD, Callum Croskery - Soo Greyhounds (2nd round, 40th overall)
LHD, Michael D'Alessio - Erie Otters (4th round, 72nd overall)
RHD, Kohyn Eshkawkogan - Ottawa 67's (1st round, 21st overall)
LHD, Eric Frossard - Guelph Storm (3rd round, 43rd overall)
LHD, Blake Gowan - Peterborough Petes (2nd round, 32nd overall)
RHD, Carter Hicks - Windsor Spitfires (2nd round, 24th overall)
RHD, Jet Kwajah - Owen Sound Attack (6th round, 104th overall)
LHD, Caleb Mitchell - London Knights (2nd round, 39th overall)
LHD, Jacob Xu - Kitchener Rangers (8th round, 157th overall)
Forwards
F, Nathan Amidovski - Ottawa 67's (1st round, 11th overall)
F, Ethan Belchetz - Windsor Spitfires (1st round, 1st overall)
F, Ryder Cali - Soo Greyhounds (1st round, 18th overall)
F, Ryder Carey - North Bay Battalion (1st round, 16th overall)
F, Tyler Challenger - Erie Otters (1st round, 10th overall)
F, Ethan Dean - Sudbury Wolves (2nd round, 36th overall)
F, Alessandro Di Iorio - Sarnia Sting (1st round, 2nd overall)
F, Beckham Edwards - Sarnia Sting (3rd round, 46th overall)
F, Colin Fitzgerald - Peterborough Petes (1st round, 3rd overall)
F, Alexander Hage - Peterborough Petes (6th round, 105th overall)
F, Logan Hawery - London Knights (1st round, 20th overall)
F, Evan Headrick - Kitchener Rangers (1st round, 15th overall)
F, Jean-Christoph Lemieux - Windsor Spitfires (2nd round, 22nd overall)
F, Pierce Mbuyi - Owen Sound Attack (1st round, 7th overall)
F, Alex McLean - Guelph Storm (1st round, 9th overall)
F, Aiden O'Donnell - Brantford Bulldogs (1st round, 14th overall)
F, Brady Smith - Oshawa Generals (1st round, 17th overall)
F, Adam Valentini - Brampton Steelheads (1st round, 13th overall)
F, Parker Vaughan - Barrie Colts (1st round, 5th overall)
F, Braidy Wassilyn - Niagara IceDogs (1st round, 4th overall)
F, Dimian Zhilkin - Saginaw Spirit (1st round, 19th overall)
F, Cole Zurawski - Flint Firebirds (1st round, 6th overall)