2018 ohl draft April 7th

[NA Hockey]

Below was posted today on the Hockey Writers by Brett Slawson: A Writer covering the Toronto Maple Leafs and NHL Prospects, Brett Slawson is also a credentialed Writer with the Ontario Hockey League's Mississauga Steelheads.

https://thehockeywriters.com/2018-ohl-draft-ranking-top-20/

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The Sudbury Wolves may have hit the jackpot. Sure, the Wolves finished last in the Ontario Hockey League this season, however, Sudbury and other franchises who played to disappointment throughout the 2017-18 campaign now stand poised to reap the rewards made possible by an incredibly deep and talented class of incoming prospects. With a wealth of insanely talented forwards, defencemen, and goaltenders all available, each OHL team will boast the ability to nab a game-changing prospect in the blink of an eye come Apr. 7. And, when the 2018 OHL Priority Selection commences, it will undoubtedly be led by Quinton Byfield. As an exceptional athlete who owns eye-watering speed, an overpowering shot, and innate offensive instincts, Byfield’s raw physicality and ability to think the game at a high pace has placed him well above his fellow teammates and rivals.

Sure to follow Byfield is a slew of incredibly promising forwards and defenders, all of which boasting the potential to become elite players at the OHL-level and beyond. Although a handful of which could opt to play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the future, these prospects will remain immensely valuable and attractive to OHL clubs come draft day."

The Top-20

Well, here they are, the top 20 prospects available in the rapidly approaching 2018 OHL Priority Selection.
Now, it goes without saying that this ranking is based strictly upon my personal opinion, so debate and discourse are not only welcomed but encouraged. If you would like to discuss any particular player or a specific segment of this ranking, feel free to do so in the comments below.

Rank	Player	Position	2017-18 Team (Minor Midget)
1	Quinton Byfield	C	York Simcoe Express
2	Jamie Drysdale	D	Toronto Marlboros
3	Cole Perfetti*	C/RW	Vaughan Kings
4	Antonio Stranges*	C	Detroit Little Caesars U16
5	Lleyton Moore	D	Toronto Marlboros
6	Dylan Peterson*	C	CIH Academy White
7	Ryan O’Rourke	D	Vaughan Kings
8	Cameron Tolnai	C	Oakville Rangers
9	Will Cuylle	LW	Toronto Marlboros
10	Owen Power	D	Mississauga Reps
11	Evan Vierling	C	York Simcoe Express
12	Stephen Halliday	W	Toronto Marlboros
13	James Hardie	LW	Barrie Jr. Colts
14	Ty Collins	W	York Simcoe Express
15	Reid Valade	C	Toronto Marlboros
16	Logan Morrison	RW	Guelph Jr. Gryphons
17	Cameron Butler	RW	York Simcoe Express
18	Zack Terry	D	Oakville Rangers
19	Cam Peters	C	Toronto Marlboros
20	Ty Tullio	C/LW	Vaughan Kings
* Indicates player committed to NCAA
** Daniil Chayka and Andrei Bakanov have yet to secure eligibility.

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

0 FACEBOOK COMMENTS
Details here...
Bobby Orr's Landmark Season

30824
The Best NHL Contracts On All 31 Teams

763
LOS ANGELES KINGS
Hart Trophy Within Reach for Kopitar

ST LOUIS BLUES
Blues Playoff Bid Could Rely on Rival Blackhawks

BOSTON BRUINS
Bruins’ Loss to Blue Jackets: 3 Takeaways

NEW JERSEY DEVILS
Can Devils’ Kinkaid Stay Hot?

INTERNATIONAL HOCKEY
Finns Flash in Today’s NHL

WASHINGTON CAPITALS
Capitals’ Boyd Reflects on First Point, Making the Cut

 

[HockeyDad4Life]

Good list but I would add Josh Barnes to this list. Could go in the top 10 but certainly in the top 20.

 

[Petes]

Mike Mackley tweets he is hearing Daniil Chayka gets eligibility for the OHL Draft. I could see the Petes grabbing him over Moore now.

 

[cub]

 

[TcNorth]

Mike Mackley tweets he is hearing Daniil Chayka gets eligibility for the OHL Draft. I could see the Petes grabbing him over Moore now.

N/M

 

[Generalsupdates]

Chayka's an interesting one. I'm really not a fan of his at all, I don't think he makes good decisions and really don't think he thinks the game well, but it only takes 1 team that loves him to determine his value. Wonder how high he goes after having a pretty good OHL cup

 

[Firebrd828]

Somebody save me the trouble of flipping through the 27 pages of this thread an tell me the date of the draft...excuse me, the Priority Selection. Thanks!

 

[OHLTG]

Somebody save me the trouble of flipping through the 27 pages of this thread an tell me the date of the draft...excuse me, the Priority Selection. Thanks!

Saturday, Apr 7.

 

[bobber]

Chayka's an interesting one. I'm really not a fan of his at all, I don't think he makes good decisions and really don't think he thinks the game well, but it only takes 1 team that loves him to determine his value. Wonder how high he goes after having a pretty good OHL cup

General , Brock Otten really liked this kid. Says on twitter he thinks he could step right into any OHL blue line and right fit in. Guess everyone has different opinions on players but that is his. What did you see in his game that was lacking just out of interest? Always good to have a different view.

 

[Savard18]

Somebody save me the trouble of flipping through the 27 pages of this thread an tell me the date of the draft...excuse me, the Priority Selection. Thanks!

April 7 I think.

 

[Generalsupdates]

General , Brock Otten really liked this kid. Says on twitter he thinks he could step right into any OHL blue line and right fit in. Guess everyone has different opinions on players but that is his. What did you see in his game that was lacking just out of interest? Always good to have a different view.

It depends when you've seen him I guess. If you watched the OHL cup (I know Brock was there) then you'd like him a lot more than if you watched round 1 of the GTHL playoffs against the Rebels. In the OHL Cup I found he was a lot more passive and played defence a lot more whereas the 3 games in the Rebels series that I was at, he was constantly pinching at bad times nad getting caught and kept jumping up into the play when it didn't make sense to and MISS would be gone 3-on-1 the other way. That's why I questioned his hockey sense, didn't seem like he understands when to/when not to jump and/or pinch. Although he was a lot better at the OHL Cup so maybe his decision making got drastically better in the 3 weeks between the Rebels series and the OHL Cup lol

I'm also pretty sure the first game I seen him play (game 1 vs Rebels in round 1) was the worst game he's ever played, so that also has a bad taste in my mouth as a first impression. He must've turned it over with lazy breakout passes at least 5/6 times and 2 of them were goals against in the 3rd to get MISS back in the game. So maybe I'm still tainted by that a bit too


I still think he's a late 1st/early 2nd rounder. But that high in the draft I'd be taking a forward and I'd also be taking Drysdale/Power before him and I'd strongly think about O'Rourke before him too

 

[ForestCityHky]

Think Mr Slawson needs to watch more of this age group

 

[Puckclektr]

Chayka didn't stand out for me throughout the year much to be a top ten pick. He did play better in the ohl cup. As for Power, aside from his size I don't get what people see in him. Seen him play only a couple times. Didn't use his body, couldn't move the puck and had too many turnovers.

 

[billoink]

How would you sum up Byfields OHL cup? What were his final stats at the end of the season? and how big a gap between him and number 2. Would really appreciate the feedback.

 

[billoink]

Any word on Bakanov with the Grizzlies?

 

[cub]

Any word on Bakanov with the Grizzlies?

Still not eligible as of right now. What you thinking Billoink?

 

[bobber]

How would you sum up Byfields OHL cup? What were his final stats at the end of the season? and how big a gap between him and number 2. Would really appreciate the feedback.

Don Cherry talked a bit about him during the intermission last night in the OHL Cup final. Basically said he has to learn when to go and when not to but he is heads and tails better than any one else in this draft by far.

 

[Generalsupdates]

How would you sum up Byfields OHL cup? What were his final stats at the end of the season? and how big a gap between him and number 2. Would really appreciate the feedback.

He was good but not great at the OHL Cup I thought. He finished the season with 92 points (48 G, 44 A) in 34 games. He's head and shoulders the #1 pick IMO

 

[billoink]

Still not eligible as of right now. What you thinking Billoink?

Liking his size, stats worth a serious look 2nd round. Unlike chayka he has played 2 yrs in the USA however still waiting status. Could be a real sleeper.

 

[ohloutsider]

Does anyone have a top 5-10 for goalies?

I've asked this question on this thread a couple of times - I will assume at this point nobody on here scouts goalies, not a big deal. Would there be any suggestions on where I could find a list for the goalies, hopefully a free list? Sorry to bug you guys, I do really enjoy this thread.

 

[cub]

I've asked this question on this thread a couple of times - I will assume at this point nobody on here scouts goalies, not a big deal. Would there be any suggestions on where I could find a list for the goalies, hopefully a free list? Sorry to bug you guys, I do really enjoy this thread.

I was interested in this too. I think scouting goalies at this age must be the hardest thing to come to a decision and to make a list, so quite possible no one has an answer of a list because of this.

 

[the dog]

I've asked this question on this thread a couple of times - I will assume at this point nobody on here scouts goalies, not a big deal. Would there be any suggestions on where I could find a list for the goalies, hopefully a free list? Sorry to bug you guys, I do really enjoy this thread.

Tristan Lennox could be a first round pick...some top goalies incl Marco Constantini vaughan.....Joe Vrbetic don mills....Christian Linton guelph........William craig petes

 

[aresknights]

Chayka's an interesting one. I'm really not a fan of his at all, I don't think he makes good decisions and really don't think he thinks the game well, but it only takes 1 team that loves him to determine his value. Wonder how high he goes after having a pretty good OHL cup

I had the same gut fell (althou limited views- only OHL Cup)
I liked some other D ahead of him. Size obviously is a factor and projecting next level effectiveness but Im not sold.

 

[Daneurism]

General , Brock Otten really liked this kid. Says on twitter he thinks he could step right into any OHL blue line and right fit in. Guess everyone has different opinions on players but that is his. What did you see in his game that was lacking just out of interest? Always good to have a different view.

A lot of guys in this thread see the top guys half a dozen to a dozen times, myself included. Chayka had a really great game in the ohl cup finals, and played a good ohlcup in general. I can definitely see being enamoured with him if you haven't seen him have a bad game. Correct me if i'm wrong, but Brock's impression was based only on the ohlcup. Just trying to add some perspective here.

Along the same lines, there were players who didn't close out the season in an inspiring fashion, but are still top players(Gucciardi comes to mind).

 

[Daneurism]

Had this thought watching O'Rourke vs Chayka: Chayka needs to reign his game in(overhandling, losing position too frequently) and O'Rourke needs to take over more often.