NOHA falls far behind

It was the worst showing ever by the Northern Ontario Hockey Association as only five players from the NOHA’s Great North Under 18 Hockey League were picked at the 2025 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft.

North Bay Trappers had three players chosen while the Soo Under 16 Jr. Greyhounds and the Kapuskasing Flyers each had one skater selected. The Sudbury U16 Jr. Wolves did not have a single player picked.

While the NOHA accounted for just the five players from the more than 300 youngsters who were drafted at the 15 round priority selections process, kudos to the lads from the north who caught the attention of a sprinkling of OHL teams.

Forward Adam Pszeniczny of the Jr. Greyhounds (eighth round to the Owen Sound Attack), forward Owen Smith of the Trappers (11th round to the North Bay Battalion), forward Theo Bourdon-Lemoyne of Kapuskasing (12th round to the London Knights), defenseman Karter Buchmann of the Trappers (13th round to the North Bay Battalion) and forward Ty Dubreuil of the Trappers (14th round to the Windsor Spitfires) were the northern boys who become property of OHL teams.

The 2025 OHL draft was for players from Ontario and the United States born predominantly in 2009.

A total of 303 players were selected over the 15 rounds from 88 different programs. The selected players included 169 forwards, 107 defensemen and 27 goalies. A total of 283 of the players chosen were 2009 birth year players while 14 were born in 2008 and six were born in 2007.

The Greater Toronto Hockey League led the way with 87 selections. The Toronto Titans topped the list with 15 players selected. The GTHL champion Don Mills Flyers followed with 14 while the Toronto Marlboros trailed with 11 picks, while the OHL Cup champion Toronto Jr. Canadiens, Toronto Red Wings, and Vaughan Kings each had 10 players picked.

The Ontario Minor Hockey Association followed with 61 selections. The York-Simcoe Express led the OMHA with eight picks, followed by the Barrie Jr. Colts and Oakville Rangers with seven each.

The Minor Hockey Alliance of Ontario had 37 players selected, with the Alliance champion Huron-Perth Lakers leading the way with 10 picks, followed by the Sun County Panthers with eight.

Hockey Eastern Ontario saw 26 players chosen in the OHL draft. The Ottawa Valley Titans led the way with 10 selections, trailed by Ottawa Myers Automotive with six.

As previously noted, the NOHA had five players selected, with the North Bay Trappers leading the way with three. An additional four prospects were selected from Ontario-based junior teams, along with one player from an out of province team and one from a Canadian prep school.

An OHL priority selections record total of 81 players were chosen from American based teams, led by Detroit Little Caesars with eight selections. Chicago Mission, Shattuck-St. Mary’s School, Chicago Reapers, Pittsburgh Penguins Elite and Mount St. Charles Academy each had six players selected. An additional two players were chosen from U.S. prep schools, while two were selected from the U.S. National Development Program.