ok, thats where I was confused...yes I agree playing for the Steelheads was never an interest for him. If he was drafted by London, Windsor, or Erie then yeah there would be a case for him to play...but you still can't assume he won't jump when so many USNDP kids do jump to the OHL after 1/2 years.
I heard it was London or bust, but Windsor may have been able to sell him. I don't think Erie is a prestige program yet, they were able to get kids after McDavid went there, but previously, players purposely avoided it (most notably Taylor Hall).
If he wasn't as highly touted I could see him jumping over at 18. But, realistically, its very rare for a highly touted kid getting ice-time to leave the program between 16 and 17. You saw Max Jones and Kirwan do it, but usually when guys leave, its more like Jenkins, who wasn't getting ice-time. Now, you do see a bunch of highly touted guys from the non-traditional college markets go CHL after they finish up like Kane (upstate New York), and Jones (Texas). The kids from the Mid-West or New England almost exclusively go NCAA.
In the end, I'd be a bit surprised if he is anywhere but the NHL in 18 months. The only question is size, but guys like Kane, Ehlers, and Marner played in the NHL as tiny teenagers.