OHL draft 1st round recap

We have a nod to the north. That is, the top three picks in the first round of the 2026 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft all have a strong northeastern Ontario side to them.

— Oshawa Generals opened the draft by selecting Vaughan Kings centreman Kane Cloutier with the first overall pick. Cloutier is the son of Danny Cloutier, a former OHL goalie with — and first round draft pick in 1992 of — the Soo Greyhounds. Cloutier later played in more than 375 games in the National Hockey League, mostly with the Vancouver Canucks. While the elder Cloutier was born in Quebec, he played much of his minor hockey in Sault Ste. Marie after his family relocated to the Soo. Danny’s older brother — and Kane’s uncle — Sylvain Cloutier is also a former OHL standout as a forward who was picked by the Guelph Storm in the second round of the 1990 OHL priority selections draft from the erstwhile AAA Soo Legion program.

— Up next with the second overall pick, the Erie Otters took Sault Ste. Marie product Colin Kennedy. A hard working, heart and soul, high performance forward, Kennedy left home to play for Detroit Little Caesars the past two years. In going to Erie, Kennedy heads to an Otters’ team that has his uncle, Chris Hartsburg, on staff as its skills development coach. Kennedy’s bloodlines also include his dad, Craig Kennedy, who played five full seasons in the OHL with the Windsor Spitfires as a forward who was taken in the second round of the 1999 OHL priority selections draft. He later captained the Spitfires. And young Kennedy’s maternal grand father is Craig Hartsburg, who during his playing days as a world class defenseman was a first round OHL pick to the Soo Greyhounds in 1975 and a first round NHL pick to the Minnesota North Stars in 1979 — while going on to be the captain of both teams.

— With the third pick of the first round, the Brampton Steelheads opted for forward Tanner Adams from The Hill Academy. Adams played most of his minor hockey up in his hometown of Timmins, suiting up for the Timmins North Stars and the Timmins Majors. He also got into three games during the ’25-26 season as an affiliate player for the Timmins Rock of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.

Highlights from the rest of the first round include:

— North Bay Battalion selected the first goalie of the draft when it chose Don Mills Flyers puck stopper Owen Loftus with the 11th overall pick. Loftus became the first goaltender taken in the opening round since the Brampton Steelheads took Jack Ivankovic seventh overall in 2023.

— Two hometown products heard their names called in the first round, with London native Ryan Beaulieu going 14th overall to the London Knights and Barrie product Lucas Matheson being selected 17th overall by the Barrie Colts.

— Size was also on display throughout the opening round. Guelph Storm selected 6 foot 6 defenceman Declan McNally from the Don Mills Flyers seventh overall while the Kingston Frontenacs chose 6 foot 7 forward Logan Prud’homme from Upper Canada College with the 10th pick.

— The opening round featured eight players from the Greater Toronto Hockey League, four from American based programs, three from Hockey Canada accredited sports schools, three from the Ontario Minor Hockey Association and two from the Minor Hockey Alliance of Ontario.

— Vaughan Kings produced three first round picks led by Cloutier’s first overall selection. Defenceman Adrian Sgro was chosen fourth overall by the Sarnia Sting while forward Landon Roulston went 13th overall to the Peterborough Petes.

— A total of 11 forwards, eight defencemen and one goalie were selected in the opening round. See below for the full list.

1. Oshawa Generals – Kane Cloutier (Vaughan Kings) – 6’0”, C
2. Erie Otters – Colin Kennedy (Little Caesars) – 5’9”, C
3. Brampton Steelheads – Tanner Adams (Hill Academy) – 6’0”, C
4. Sarnia Sting – Adrian Sgro (Vaughan Kings) – 5’11”, LD
5. Sudbury Wolves – Kash Kwajah (Toronto Jr. Canadiens) – 5’11”, C
6. Saginaw Spirit – Drew Bate – (London Jr. Knights), 5’10”, C
7. Guelph Storm – Declan McNally – (Don Mills Flyers), 6’6”, LD
8. Owen Sound Attack – Max Fransen (Upper Canada College), 5’11”, RD
9. Niagara IceDogs – Max Lappan – (Detroit Honey Baked), 6’2”, RD
10. Kingston Frontenacs – Logan Prud’homme – (Upper Canada College), 6’7”, C
11. North Bay Battalion – Owen Loftus – G (Don Mills Flyers), 6’1”, G
12. Soo Greyhounds – Jaden Licastro – (Toronto Marlboros), 6’1”, LD
13. Peterborough Petes – Landon Roulston – (Vaughan Kings), 6’1”, C
14. London Knights – Ryan Beaulieu – (London Jr. Knights), 5’11”. LD
15. Flint Firebirds – Chase Schulberger – (Woodbridge Wolfpack), 6’1”, RD
16. Windsor Spitfires – Lauchlan Whelan – (Quinte Red Devils), 5’11”, C
17. Barrie Colts – Lucas Matheson (Barrie Jr. Colts), 5’9”, LD
18. Ottawa 67’s – Andrew Laurin – (Quinte Red Devils), 6’1”, RW
19. Kitchener Rangers – Braden Reilly – (Toronto Marlboros), 5’11”, RW
20. Brantford Bulldogs – Aiden Kelly – (Little Caesars), 5’11”, C