The back-to-back OHL Champions, the London Knights, have named their captain and finalized their leadership group for the 2025-26 season. 

The 54th captain in Knights history is Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Sam O’Reilly. 

O’Reilly, 19, made his OHL debut in the 2022-23 season, but spent the majority of the season developing in the GOJHL with the London Nationals, which proved to be pivotal in his development. 

As O’Reilly begins his third full year in the OHL, he aims to lead his Knights to become the first team in the modern era of the OHL to win three consecutive championships. Although the Peterborough Petes organization achieved this feat by winning three straight OHL Championships from 1978-1980, no team has managed to win three consecutive titles since the league was founded in 1980.

The Lightning prospect frankly was an easy choice to make captain. There isn’t one area of the game where O’Reilly can’t make an impact for his team. He’s a workhorse and an incredibly detail-oriented player. There’s a reason why he’s always the first out there to kill penalties or to take an important defensive zone faceoff while defending a lead: he knows what it takes to win. 

Last season, O’Reilly posted career-highs across the board. His 28 goals were fourth most on the team, his 43 assists and 71 points were third most, his +56 was second best, and he ranked first on the team in faceoffs taken (1,025) and faceoffs won (566), while having an impressive 55.2% win rate. Additionally, in the playoffs, he finished second behind Calum Ritchie in faceoffs taken and won faceoffs. 

After posting 22 points (7 goals, 15 assists) and a +24 in the playoffs, he finished fourth on the team in scoring (5 points) en route to a Memorial Cup victory. 

O’Reilly was the final pick of the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft by the Edmonton Oilers. Back in July, the Oilers traded their former first-rounder to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Hobey Baker Award winner, Isaac Howard. 

Defensemen Henry Brzustewicz and Jared Woolley round out the leadership group and will both wear an “A” on their jerseys this season. 

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