Wright pick for the OHL
Smart, splendid, skilled skater Shane Wright has applied for exceptional player status ahead of this year’s Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft.
And if his application is approved by Hockey Canada, the 6-foot, 170-pound forward is a sure bet to become the first overall pick at April’s OHL draft.
The 2019 OHL priority selections draft is geared towards minor midget aged skaters who were born in 2003. But Wright, who has a 2004 birth date — January 5 to be exact — is seeking to enter the OHL draft a year ahead of schedule under the Canadian Hockey League’s “exceptional player status” category.
Hockey Canada officials will ultimately determine whether Wright is ready to play in the OHL as a 15-year old, just as a scant few such as fellow forwards John Tavares and Connor McDavid and defenseman Aaron Ekblad have done previously.
Of note, Tavares, McDavid and Ekblad were all first overall picks to the OHL who then became first overall picks to the National Hockey League.
As for Wright, if he indeed is granted exceptional player status and is subsequently picked first overall at this year’s OHL priority selections draft, he is poised to wind up being taken by either the Flint Firebirds or Kingston Frontenacs.
That is because, at present, Flint is in 20th place and Kingston is 19th in the 20-team OHL.
Wright is currently playing for the Toronto-based Don Mills Flyers, who are the top-ranked minor midget team in Ontario. With his 2004 birth date, Wright is a year younger than his teammates, who were all born in 2003.
Despite being a year younger than the others, Wright is regarded as the best player in the minor midget division of the Greater Toronto Hockey League.
Meanwhile, as Don Mills is a GTHL powerhouse, at least three of Wright’s teammates with the Flyers are considered top prospects for this year’s OHL draft — defensemen Brandt Clarke and Roman Schmidt and forward Brennan Othmann.
As for the scouting report on Wright, the consensus is that his on ice success lies in his play-making ability, his extraordinary hockey IQ and his exceptional skating skills.
As well, it has been noted by OHL scouts that Wright’s senses and vision of the ice are unmatched by any player his age — and that he has the uncanny ability to find his teammates and create space for them. He is also said to have the game breaking abilities to control every aspect of what takes place on the ice.
Skating is also an apparently noticeable and important quality to Wright’s game. He has been described as a speed demon who is very strong on his skates and has acceleration to match.
And to be sure, Wright has other big-time qualities to his game that contribute to his success. He is a very responsible player in the defensive zone who plays a 200 foot game that sets him apart from others his age and older.
As for the question of character, there appears to be no issue whatsoever with Wright.
“He is a great kid from a really good family,” Beau Moyer, who is the GTHL scout for the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs, told Hockey News North. “They don’t come any better than Shane and his family.”