Biggest Standouts On NHL Central Scouting OHL Players Watch List For The 2025 NHL Draft

The 2025 scouting season is in full throttle and the OHL has several draft-eligible players off to incredible starts.

NHL Central Scouting recently released its preliminary watch list for the 2025 NHL Draft, which included 62 OHL players. Ironically enough, last year there were also 62 OHL players listed on their watch list for the 2024 NHL Draft. 

All teams in the league found at least one player in their organization listed on the watch list, led by the Brampton Steelheads and Owen Sound Attack with six players each.

Skaters are broken up into four different letter-rated categories with the following criteria:

"A" Rating - Indicates a first-round candidate
"B" Rating - Indicates a second/third-round candidate
"C" Rating - Indicates a fourth/fifth-round candidate
"W" Rating - Indicates a sixth/seventh-round candidate

Seven skaters received an "A" rating — Porter Martone, Michael Misa, Malcolm Spence, Matthew Schaefer, Jake O'Brien, Brady Martin, and Kashawn Aitcheson. Below are the full ratings handed out by NHLCS:

A Rating:

C, Michael Misa - Saginaw Spirit
C, Jake O'Brien - Brantford Bulldogs
C, Brady Martin - Soo Greyhounds
RW, Porter Martone - Brampton Steelheads
LW, Malcolm Spence - Erie Otters
LHD, Matthew Schaefer - Erie Otters
LHD, Kashawn Aitcheson - Barrie Colts

B Rating:

C, Jack Nesbitt - Windsor Spitfires
C, Luca Romano - Kitchener Rangers
C, Jimmy Lombardi - Flint Firebirds
LHD, Cameron Reid - Kitchener Rangers
RHD, David Bedkowski - Owen Sound Attack

C Rating:

C, Jake Crawford - Owen Sound Attack
C, Tyler Hopkins - Kingston Frontenacs
C, Lucas Karmiris - Brampton Steelheads
RW, Filip Ekberg - Ottawa 67's
RW, Travis Hayes - Soo Greyhounds
RW, Shamar Moses - North Bay Battalion
RW, Harry Nansi - Owen Sound Attack
LW, Kristian Epperson - Saginaw Spirit (DY+1)
LW, Caden Taylor - Peterborough Petes
RHD, Carson Cameron - Peterborough Petes
RHD, Quinn Beauchesne - Guelph Storm
RHD, Henry Brzustewicz - London Knights
RHD, Evan Passmore - Barrie Colts
LHD, Daniil Skvortsov - Guelph Storm

W Rating:

C, Ethan Czata - Niagara IceDogs
C, Tristan Delisle - Owen Sound Attack
C, Joshua Avery - Brantford Bulldogs
C, Owen Griffin - Oshawa Generals
C, Brady Smith - Soo Greyhounds
C, Parker Snelgrove - Guelph Storm
RW, Lirim Amidovski - North Bay Battatlion
RW, Blake Arrowsmith - London Knights
RW, Gabriel Chiarot - Brampton Steelheads
RW, Jacob Cloutier - Saginaw Spirit
LW, Charlie Hilton - Soo Greyhounds (DY+1)
LW, Parker Holmes - Brantford Bulldogs
RW, Ruslan Karimov - Sarnia Sting
RW, Kimi Korbler - Ottawa 67's
RW, Tanner Lam - Kitchener Rangers
LW, Jeremy Martin - Flint Firebirds
LW, Hunter McKenzie - Guelph Storm
LW, Lauri Sinivuori - Oshawa Generals (DY+1)
LW, Luca Testa - Brantford Bulldogs (DY+1)
LW, Aiden Young - Peterborough Petes
LHD, Luke Dragusica - Brampton Steelheads
LHD, Josh Glavin - Saginaw Spirit
LHD, Hughston Hurt - Sarnia Sting
LHD, Gabriel Smith - Owen Sound Attack
LHD, Grant Spada - Guelph Storm
LHD, Xander Velliaris - Kingston Frontenacs

Goaltender Ratings

B - Jack Ivankovic - Brampton Steelheads
C - Charlie Larocque - North Bay Battalion 
C - Alexei Medvedev - London Knights
W - Jacob Gibbons - Brampton Steelheads
W - Jaeden Nelson - Ottawa 67's
W - Matthew Koprowski - Owen Sound Attack
W - Michael Newlove - Windsor Spitfires (Playing for Georgetown Raiders in the OJHL)
W - David Egorov - Brantford Bulldogs (DY+1)
W - Finn Marshall - Sudbury Wolves (DY+1)
W - Mike McIvor - North Bay Battalion (DY+1)

Biggest Standouts

The biggest standout is Oshawa Generals center Owen Griffin receiving a "W" rating. Griffin has been thrust into playing a much bigger role to start this season in Oshawa and has faired well all things considered. His game looks more polished and has taken the experience of going on a lengthy playoff run last season to play a more mature game. 

He's recorded nine points in 11 games and is more deserving of a "C" rating, maybe even a "B" since he has the potential to be a late third-rounder. 

The Guelph Storm haven't gotten off to a great start (3-5-0-1 record) and that could have something to do with Quinn Beauchesne receiving a "C" rating. He's not flashy, but his skating and transition skill set are above-average and intriguing for a right-shot defenseman. He's missed a few games due to an injury, which could be a reason NHLCS didn't give him a "B" rating since they need a few more viewings first. 

Finally, a shoutout to Sudbury Wolves goaltender Finn Marshall, who earned a "W" rating following his outstanding start to the season. Marshall was selected as a 13th-round pick by the Wolves in 2022 and currently holds a record of 5-1, with a goals-against average of 2.41 and a save percentage of .918 in his first season in the OHL.

Marshall enters his second draft-eligible season after going undrafted in 2024. He will receive more recognition and eyes on him playing in Sudbury compared to playing in the OJHL for the Georgetown Raiders last season. 

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