Toronto, Ont. – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that 35 OHL players were selected in the seven rounds of the 2023 NHL Draft held at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, home of the NHL’s Nashville Predators.
The 35 selections were the most produced by any league at the 2023 NHL Draft.
Owen Sound Attack captain Colby Barlow was the first OHL draft-eligible to be picked, being selected 18th overall by the Winnipeg Jets in Wednesday’s first round. London Knights blueliner Oliver Bonk followed, hearing his name called by the Philadelphia Flyers 22nd overall. The OHL continued to be recognized throughout the first round, with Sudbury Wolves forward Quentin Musty (San Jose Sharks), Oshawa Generals centreman Calum Ritchie (Colorado Avalanche), and London Knights winger Easton Cowan (Toronto Maple Leafs) selected consecutively (26, 27, 28th overall).
Thursday morning’s second round saw a total of five OHL players chosen, with Soo Greyhounds defenceman Andrew Gibson (42nd overall, Detroit Red Wings), Kitchener Rangers forward Carson Rehkopf (50th overall, Seattle Kraken), Barrie Colts blueliner Beau Akey (56th overall, Edmonton Oilers), Erie Otters centreman Carey Terrance (59th overall, Anaheim Ducks), and Flint Firebirds defenceman Tristan Bertucci (61st overall, Dallas Stars) all hearing their names called.
A total of 80 CHL players were selected including 35 from the Ontario Hockey League, 33 from the Western Hockey League and 12 from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Seventeen of the OHL’s 20 member clubs had a player selected in 2023 led by the Brantford Bulldogs, Flint Firebirds, London Knights and Ottawa 67’s with four players chosen. Flint’s mark of four becomes the highest in Firebirds history while Ottawa’s total is the most by the 67’s at the NHL Draft since 2010. The Kitchener Rangers and Sudbury Wolves trailed with three players selected while the Kingston Frontenacs and Oshawa Generals each had two. The London Knights maintained their record streak of players chosen annually since 1969 while the Ottawa 67’s extended their streak to 21 years, the Soo Greyhounds pushed theirs to 17 and the Saginaw Spirit extended their run to 16 consecutive drafts.
By position, a total of 22 OHL forwards were selected, as well as 12 defencemen and one goaltender. Among the OHL’s drafted players, 26 are selections born in 2005, four are late 2004-born picks (Pitre, Brzustewicz, Smith, Mayich), and five are 2004-born picks in their second year of eligibility (Xhekaj, Thomas, Dionicio, Julien, Roobroeck).
25 of the NHL’s 32 teams added at least one OHL player with the Anaheim Ducks leading the way with four selected. The Dallas Stars trailed with three.
Following the 2023 NHL Draft, a total of 2,510 OHL players have been selected since 1969, representing approximately 20% of all players chosen.
OHL Players Selected in the 2023 NHL Draft:
First Round (5 OHL Players):
18. Colby Barlow (Owen Sound Attack) – Winnipeg Jets
22. Oliver Bonk (London Knights) – Philadelphia Flyers
26. Quentin Musty (Sudbury Wolves) – San Jose Sharks
27. Calum Ritchie (Oshawa Generals) – Colorado Avalanche
28. Easton Cowan (London Knights) – Toronto Maple Leafs
Second Round (5 OHL Players):
42. Andrew Gibson (Soo Greyhounds) – Detroit Red Wings
50. Carson Rehkopf (Kitchener Rangers) – Seattle Kraken
56. Beau Akey (Barrie Colts) – Edmonton Oilers
59. Carey Terrance (Erie Otters) – Anaheim Ducks
61. Tristan Bertucci (Flint Firebirds) – Dallas Stars
Third Round (6 OHL Players):
65. Coulson Pitre (Flint Firebirds) – Anaheim Ducks
67. Nick Lardis (Brantford Bulldogs) – Chicago Blackhawks
74. Quinton Burns (Kingston Frontenacs) – St. Louis Blues
75. Hunter Brzustewicz (Kitchener Rangers) – Vancouver Canucks
79. Brad Gardiner (Ottawa 67’s) – Dallas Stars
95. Denver Barkey (London Knights) – Philadelphia Flyers
Fourth Round (7 OHL Players):
97. Konnor Smith (Peterborough Petes) – Anaheim Ducks
99. Alex Pharand (Sudbury Wolves) – Chicago Blackhawks
101. Florian Xhekaj (Brantford Bulldogs) – Montreal Canadiens
104. Patrick Thomas (Brantford Bulldogs) – Washington Capitals
109. Ethan Miedema (Kingston Frontenacs) – Buffalo Sabres
111. Joey Willis (Saginaw Spirit) – Nashville Predators
114. Luca Pinelli (Ottawa 67’s) – Columbus Blue Jackets
Fifth Round (5 OHL Players):
129. Rodwin Dionicio (Windsor Spitfires) – Anaheim Ducks
136. Cam Allen (Guelph Storm) – Washington Capitals
140. Matthew Andonovski (Kitchener Rangers) – Ottawa Senators
146. Jacob Julien (London Knights) – Winnipeg Jets
150. Matthew Mania (Sudbury Wolves) – Los Angeles Kings
Sixth Round (6 OHL Players):
164. Cole Brown (Brantford Bulldogs) – New Jersey Devils
170. Matthew Mayich (Ottawa 67’s) – St. Louis Blues
174. Cooper Foster (Ottawa 67’s) – Pittsburgh Penguins
178. Dylan Roobroeck (Oshawa Generals) – New York Rangers
184. Nathan Day (Flint Firebirds) – Edmonton Oilers
189. Angus MacDonell (Mississauga Steelheads) – Dallas Stars
Seventh Round (1 OHL Players):
211. Ethan Hay (Flint Firebirds) – Tampa Bay Lightning
