Sarnia's third-round draft pick in 2024, Beckham Edwards, has signed his OHL Scholarship and Development Agreement
What a joyous day July 24 was for the Sarnia Sting and their fans. GM Dylan Seca announced yesterday morning that the team has signed one of the top 2008 Ontario-born prospects, Beckham Edwards.
Edwards, 16, was drafted in the third round, 46th overall by the Sting in the most recent OHL Priority Selection.
The Komoka, Ontario native grew up playing his minor hockey career in his home province before joining the Detroit Little Caesars organization this past season. His move to play in the United States was due to his pursuit of the NCAA development route instead of choosing the OHL.
Last December, the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL announced they had signed Edwards to a tender agreement to play for their franchise starting in the 2024-25 season.
Sarnia’s sales pitch to recruit him and develop in the OHL won him over clearly.
Seca acknowledged that Edwards' choice to cease his pursuit of playing in the NCAA must have been a difficult one.
However, he stated that adding more skill and talent to his team would strengthen their progress in returning to contention in the OHL.
Edwards played at the infamous Brick Invitational tournament in 2017 with the Toronto Bulldogs where he led the tournament in goals (11) and points (15) in eight games. It was evident from there he had the potential to become a star player.
Before moving to the States, Beckham played for the Elgin Middlesex Canucks organization in his hometown. Last year, he was a superstar for the Little Caesars 15U AAA squad and led the team in goals (60) and points (97) in 64 games.
Edwards represented Canada at the Youth Olympic Games, which featured the best 2008-born Canadian hockey players, including his new Sting teammate Alessandro Di Iorio (who led Canada in scoring with six goals and seven points).
Edwards was at Canada’s National U17 Development Camp alongside Di Iorio, and maybe Sarnia’s second-overall pick helped recruit his new teammate.
Beckham possesses an elite shot already, transparent by his 60 goals last year, and does a great job of finding open ice to get himself open and ready for a pass. He likes to model his game after Nathan MacKinnon.
Sarnia’s future upfront looks extremely promising with Alessandro Di Iorio, Beckham Edwards, Ryan Brown, and Carter Kostuch leading the team.
Can the Sting buzz their way back into the playoffs next season with all their young talent?