Is Braidy Wassilyn The Most Talented Player From The 2024 OHL Draft Class? A Deep Dive Into The Skills Of The Elite Playmaker

An exclusive interview and breakdown of Niagara IceDogs' 16-year-old rookie Braidy Wassilyn, who has been nothing short of spectacular for them this season.

The Niagara IceDogs have gone from a bottom-feeder team to playoff contenders largely because of their recent hits in the first round of the last two OHL drafts. 

The team hit the jackpot when they selected sharpshooter Ryan Roobroeck second overall in the 2023 OHL Priority Selection, and don't forget about Ethan Czata — drafted fifth overall in 2023 — who looks like one of the most improved OHL players this season. 

The IceDogs finished dead last in 2023-24 but suffered a huge blow falling in the OHL draft lottery and picking fourth overall.

However, it appears that it worked out for the best, as the team used their first-round pick to select Braidy Wassilyn, who looks like a complete stud for them already at just 16 years old. 

Wassilyn has adjusted to the OHL level seamlessly and leads all 2008-born players in points with 33 and the most assists amongst rookies with 26, 17 of which are primary assists. 

We had the opportunity to speak with Wassilyn and asked him what made his transition to the OHL level feel so seamless.

"I have to give a shoutout to my billet family the Whites. They're truly an amazing family. They brought me in as their own and I'm so comfortable living here. It feels like I'm at home."

He admitted that the pace of play in the OHL was something he had to get used to but he feels like it's been easier to get used to since the Christmas break. 

Braidy was born in Oakville but grew up on a farm in Rockwood and spent a lot of time at his grandparents' farm in Puslinch.

"I spent a lot of time at my grandparents farm. We had a rink in a barn there and I spent a lot of hours on that rink developing my game before school and after school."

Many regarded Wassilyn as a surefire top-10 pick heading into his OHL draft year. He played and captained the Markham Majors in the GTHL and was one of the top-ranked 2008 Ontario-born players. 

The IceDogs forward had a four-assist, five-point game against the Saginaw Spirit on Jan. 9, where you will see several high-level plays he made in clips below. 

As one may expect when looking at his season statistics, Wassilyn is a pass-first player with a high-end playmaking skillset. He's a creative passer with excellent imagination accompanied by dextrous hands to distribute pucks around obstacles. 

Braidy said he's very proud of the season he is having and the production he's been able to accomplish up to this point, which he should be considering how quickly he's been able to become a playmaking threat in the OHL. 

"I think I've done pretty well. There's always room for improvement and I'm always looking for ways to get better on and off the ice, but I think I've been a great playmaker this season, and I'm just going to keep playing my game, make the play when it's there. It's been an amazing season thus far."

Additionally, his hand speed is quick and it's obvious that the young man has spent many hours developing his stickhandling skills when watching his above-average puck control. 

On the assist below, he quickly takes the pass with the play already in mind to spin and make a behind-the-back backhand feed across to Czata for the goal. 

Here's another example of his creativity mixed with deception. He sells the shot by loading the puck in his hip pocket right before sliding a cross-body pass for the Loshko one-timer. The defender was so committed thinking that Wassilyn was going to shoot the puck. 

Braidy’s creativity and deceptive play likely stem from his admiration for the Chicago Blackhawks dynasty of 2010-2015. In our interview, he mentioned that he looks up to Patrick Kane and models his game after him.

"As a kid, I grew up watching that great dynasty team with Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, and Patrick Sharp. My favorite player growing up was Kane and he still is," said Wassilyn. 

"I like to model my game after guys like Pavel Bure and Patrick Kane. Skilled guys like them who can pass and finish, which I think translates into my game."

Wassilyn saying he likes to model his game after an older player like Pavel Bure caught me off guard considering the Russian Flash last played in the NHL in 2003 and Braidy was born in 2008. 

Having the ability to sell your shot and get the goalie to commit before sliding a pass over is an important trait a playmaker needs to have in their bag of tricks. Wassilyn has that skill. 

As a winger, an important job is to make plays off the boards in your own zone to get the puck out. Most breakouts have the center swinging through the middle with momentum to catch a pass from their winger. 

Here's a crafty pass by Wassilyn to hit his man stride. It's a small detail, but one that showcases his skill and imagination. 

Wassilyn seems to have what I refer to as "Mitch Marner Syndrome," where he often makes an extra pass instead of taking advantage of a scoring opportunity. When there's a clear scoring opportunity for yourself, you have to take it. 

Here's an example of what I am talking about with Wassilyn. 

The puck comes to him and he has a clear look at the net. His teammate is covering the shortside shot but he still has room to try and beat the goalie's glove side. He instead tries to make a pass across but his teammate is not there. 

Here's another one. Now, the pass here isn't necessarily a terrible option because he did have a teammate gliding toward the hash marks, but I would've liked to see him prepare himself more to one-time the puck as soon as he got it. 

He processes the game rapidly and is extremely decisive with his passing, but that can turn into too much tunnel visioning on the pass and devalues his shooting threat. 

It isn't as if Wassilyn has a bad shot. He has a quick release and great body shape with his shot. He pushes through his bottom hand to generate speed through his release. The goal below also shows excellent patience.  

And here's his first career OHL marker that came back in his third game of the season on Oct. 4 against the Oshawa Generals. He wastes no time getting his shot off as three Oshawa defenders converge in on him. Another great example of his quick release. 

Four of his seven goals this season have come on the powerplay and he's added another seven helpers on the man advantage (11 powerplay points out of his 33). Braidy has found a home on the right side of the ice for Niagara on their top powerplay unit. 

His ability to identify cross-ice passes makes him dangerous. He demonstrates an impressive combination of patience to slow down the play and the quickness needed to make timely passes that catch penalty killers out of position.

Working on becoming more of a shooting threat over the summer will make him a far more dangerous offensive player when next season rolls around. 

Wassilyn told us that he plans to put a big emphasis on working on his shooting over the summer.

"I feel like every part of my game I can work on and get better in, but I'm going to put a big emphasis on my shooting this summer, my accuracy, my power, just to fine-tune it."

Another area for the young man from Rockwood, Ontario to improve is his speed whilst carrying the puck. 

He's not a poor skater, in fact, he's very good on his edges and is a shifty, elusive skater in tight because of his quick turns and stops and starts. However, his top-end speed doesn't create a ton of separation from his opponents.

Not to take away from his beautiful cross-ice assist here, but he doesn't generate much speed while bringing the puck up the ice. His strides are short, and he's not fully utilizing the power of his lower body. Additionally, he has plenty of space to work with. Instead of stickhandling, he should be pushing the puck forward with one hand on his stick and fully extending his strides.

Braidy also admitted that his play in the defensive zone has been an area of his game that's needed improvement, but feels he has steadily been improving this season through the help of Niagara's coaching staff. 

Wassilyn is set to be eligible for the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, demonstrating significant potential as a possible top prospect. He is also a strong candidate to represent Team Canada at the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, which is one of the first major international tournaments showcasing emerging talent from the Canadian Hockey League.

With his high-end playmaking skill set and shifty skating ability, he has displayed that he has the potential to be a first-round NHL draft pick. 

Now, Wassilyn did tell us that he is not focused on the NHL draft quite yet, and his priorities are helping the IceDogs do damage in the post-season. 

"I'm more focused on helping this team (Niagara) win games at a crucial time of the year and getting in the playoffs for the first time in many years."

Should he have gone first overall in the 2024 OHL Priority Selection instead of Ethan Belchetz? Maybe. Maybe not. But the future looks extremely bright for the Niagara forward and has shown early promise as a player who could be a first-round talent for the summer of 2026. 

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