A few OHL draft notes
Results for the 2026 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft — which was held in Kingston — are officially in the books. A total of 301 players were taken by the 20 teams of the OHL as the league returned to an in person format for the first time since the year 2000. (For that, we say, better late than never.) At any rate, following is a small sample of one writer’s focal points from this year’s draft.
All In The Family. Most draft rankings had forward Colin Kennedy going late in the first round. A few even had him slipping into the second round. Me? I went with a very trusted source and had Kennedy going within the top six picks of the first round. Well, the Erie Otters most certainly thought Kennedy was their guy as they used the second overall pick of the first round to take the 5 foot 9 skater as a clear cut future cornerstone for the franchise. A Sault Ste. Marie product who has spent the past two seasons on a fast track with Detroit Little Caesars, Kennedy now holds top draft status within his immediate family. His dad, Craig Kennedy, went in the second round, 28th overall, to the Windsor Spitfires back in 1999 as a hard working forward. And Colin’s maternal grand father — who would also be Craig’s father in law — Craig Hartsburg was a first round pick, third overall, as a stud defenseman by the Soo Greyhounds back in 1975. Meanwhile, in going to play for Erie, young Kennedy will be teaming up with his uncle, Chris Hartsburg, who has a side gig with the Otters as their skills coach.
Lots Of Hugs. How excited was standout centre Lauchlan Whelan to be taken with the 16th pick of the first round by the Windsor Spitfires? Well, not only did the former Quinte Red Devils star make it known that he was hoping to be drafted by Windsor but the effervescent lad sought out Spitfires general manager Billy Bowler on four separate occasions after being picked to give the GM a big hug.
Hyman High On Kelly. Brantford Bulldogs may have picked last in the first round — 20th overall — but their general manager Spencer Hyman thinks they got the best player in the draft in centre Aiden Kelly of Detroit Little Caesars. “We added, in our eyes, the best player in the draft in Aiden Kelly,” Hyman told sports editor Brian Smiley of the Brantford Expositor. “We had him rated first overall on our board.”
Cole’s Notes. He is a 5 foot 6 spark plug with skill and strength who can score and skate with the best of them. And Sault Ste. Marie product Cole Guizzetti was picked by the Flint Firebirds, who ignored the lad’s lack of size to take him in the third round. An electrifying forward, Guizzetti left his home in the Sault two years ago to play at the Ontario prep school level for Upper Canada College. And the youngster has been nothing short of a sensation since departing the Sault Major Hockey Association for Upper Canada College by averaging close to two points per game — showing that size can be overcome. In going to Flint, Guizzetti will have the opportunity to develop with an OHL franchise that has gained considerable good repute over the years.
My Oh Mio. The 2026 draft was quite fruitful for long-time, top notch player agent Eddie Mio, who runs Octane Sports Management out of Detroit. A Windsor native and former National Hockey League goalie who played eight years in the NHL when it had just 21 teams, Mio had five of his clients taken at the draft, including four from 2026 OHL Cup champion Detroit HoneyBaked. Three of Mio’s HoneyBaked players — all defensemen — went within the first four rounds. Max Lappan went in the first round to the Niagara IceDogs, Ivan Belikov went early in the second to the Sudbury Wolves, and the Windsor Spitfires beat the Soo Greyhounds to the punch by snagging Jake LaMontagne in the fourth round. Later, the Owen Sound Attack took a flyer on OHL Cup MVP forward Austin Hall — who would have been a first rounder if he hadn’t signed a tender with the Youngstown Phantoms of the United States Hockey League before hand — in the 11th round before the Oshawa Generals took Windsor born goalie Noah Spiteri from the BioSteel Sports Academy in the 15th round.
