52 OHL PLAYERS INCLUDED ON NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING PLAYERS TO WATCH LIST FOR JANUARY

Toronto, Ont. – The Ontario Hockey League is proud to announce that 52 players with OHL ties have been included on NHL Central Scouting’s January ‘Players to Watch’ List for the 2021 NHL Draft.

A total of four skaters received ‘A’ ratings indicating a potential first round NHL Draft selection. Guelph Storm defenceman Daniil Chayka, Barrie Colts blueliner Brandt Clarke, Peterborough Petes forward Mason McTavish and Kitchener Rangers centreman Francesco Pinelli all maintained the ‘A’ rank assigned to them back on October’s Players to Watch List.

A total of four skaters climbed from ‘C’ ratings back in October to ‘B’ in January including Owen Sound Attack forward Deni Goure, Hamilton Bulldogs forward Ryan Winterton, first overall CHL Import Draft Selection Matvei Petrov of the North Bay Battalion as well as London Knights defenceman Logan Mailloux. Other ‘B’ rated skaters include Brett Harrison (Oshawa Generals), Wyatt Johnston (Windsor Spitfires), Brennan Othmann (Flint Firebirds), Chase Stillman (Sudbury Wolves), Nick DeGrazia (Sudbury Wolves) and 2020 CHL Import Draft Selections Artyom Grushnikov (Hamilton Bulldogs) and Daniil Sobolev (Windsor Spitfires). Goaltenders Benjamin Gaudreau (Sarnia Sting), Tristan Lennox (Saginaw Spirit), Joe Vrbetic (North Bay Battalion) and CHL Import Draft Selection Alexei Kolosov (Erie Otters) were assigned ‘B’ ratings.

An additional 30 skaters and three netminders received ‘C’ ratings indicating a potential fourth, fifth or sixth round candidate.

All 20 OHL member teams were represented on the list led by the London Knights and Ottawa 67’s with five each. The Erie Otters, Hamilton Bulldogs and Sarnia Sting each trailed with four players assigned rankings.

The list includes 26 OHL forwards, 19 defencemen and seven goaltenders. Eleven of the players listed (denoted by an asterisk) have yet to play a game in the Ontario Hockey League but have committed to their respective member team for the 2020-21 season.

2021 NHL Central Scouting January ‘Players to Watch List – OHL Skaters

RANK	PLAYER	TEAM	POSITION
A	Daniil Chayka	Guelph Storm	D
A	Brandt Clarke	Barrie Colts	D
A	Mason McTavish	Peterborough Petes	C
A	Francesco Pinelli	Kitchener Rangers	C
B	Nick DeGrazia	Sudbury Wolves	C
B	Deni Goure	Owen Sound Attack	C
B	Artyom Grushnikov*	Hamilton Bulldogs	D
B	Brett Harrison	Oshawa Generals	C
B	Wyatt Johnston	Windsor Spitfires	C
B	Logan Mailloux	London Knights	D
B	Brennan Othmann	Flint Firebirds	LW
B	Matvei Petrov*	North Bay Battalion	RW
B	Daniil Sobolev*	Windsor Spitfires	D
B	Chase Stillman	Sudbury Wolves	C
B	Ryan Winterton	Hamilton Bulldogs	RW
C	Francesco Arcuri	Kingston Frontenacs	C
C	Jack Beck	Ottawa 67’s	RW
C	Josh Bloom	Saginaw Spirit	LW
C	Ethan Burroughs	Owen Sound Attack	RW
C	Ethan Cardwell	Barrie Colts	RW
C	Nolan Dann	Sarnia Sting	RW
C	Ethan Del Mastro	Mississauga Steelheads	D
C	Isaac Enright	Niagara IceDogs	D
C	Vsevolod Gaidamak*	Ottawa 67’s	C
C	Ranvir Gill-Shane	Ottawa 67’s	D
C	Avery Hayes	Hamilton Bulldogs	RW
C	Jacob Holmes	Soo Greyhounds	D
C	Braeden Kressler	Flint Firebirds	C
C	Artyom Kulakov*	Erie Otters	D
C	Dmitry Kuzmin*	Flint Firebirds	D
C	Kasper Larsen*	Mississauga Steelheads	D
C	Connor Lockhart	Erie Otters	C
C	Ryan Mast	Sarnia Sting	D
C	Jack Matier	Ottawa 67’s	D
C	Bryce Montgomery	London Knights	D
C	Connor Punnett	Barrie Colts	D
C	Ben Roger	London Knights	D
C	Colby Saganiuk*	Erie Otters	RW
C	Lawson Sherk	Hamilton Bulldogs	C
C	Brenden Sirizzotti	Ottawa 67’s	RW
C	Matthew Sop	Kitchener Rangers	LW
C	Kirill Steklov	London Knights	D
C	Oliver Suni	Oshawa Generals	LW
C	Ty Voit	Sarnia Sting	RW
C	Brian Zanetti*	Peterborough Petes	D

2021 NHL Central Scouting January ‘Players to Watch List – OHL Goalies

RANK	GOALTENDER	TEAM
B	Benjamin Gaudreau	Sarnia Sting
B	Alexei Kolosov*	Erie Otters
B	Tristan Lennox	Saginaw Spirit
B	Joe Vrbetic	North Bay Battalion
C	Brett Brochu	London Knights
C	Pavel Cajan*	Kitchener Rangers
C	Nick Malik	Soo Greyhounds

*– indicates player committed to OHL for 2020-21

Players have been identified using the following criteria:

• A Rating – Indicates a first round candidate
• B Rating – Indicates a second or third round candidate
• C Rating – Indicates a fourth/fifth/sixth round candidate

For the complete list, visit NHL.com.