Toronto, Ont. – The Ontario Hockey League is proud to announce that 63 OHL players have been included on NHL Central Scouting’s November ‘Players to Watch’ List for the 2022 NHL Draft scheduled to take place July 7-8 in Montreal, Quebec.
Forwards Shane Wright of the Kingston Frontenacs and Matthew Poitras of the Guelph Storm remain ‘A’ rated prospects, and are joined this month by Storm centreman Danny Zhilkin and Saginaw Spirit blueliner Pavel Mintyukov in the top tier of draft eligible talent.
“Some players who are true first-year draft eligible players or did not have the opportunity to play in 2020-21 have been able to establish their game and others have displayed continued improvements and developments,” director of NHL Central Scouting Dan Marr said. “This update provides the opportunity to highlight some players whose game is trending in the right direction.”
NHL Central Scouting’s Joey Tenute had positive things to say about Zhilkin and Mintyukov, the OHL’s two newest additions to the ‘A’ category.
“It’s very evident just by watching him that Zhilkin is ahead of the curve at this point from a lot of prospects; he really plays a mature game,” said Tenute, who played four OHL seasons between Barrie and Sarnia from 2000-04. “He’s a top line player that plays in all situations for Guelph, so he’s a big part of his team and he’s a very strong skater.
“He had a good U-18 Worlds and showed his ability to play up and down the lineup while filling multiple roles in that tournament.”
Mintyukov has played big minutes for the Spirit this season, joining the franchise as the 52nd overall pick of the 2020 CHL Import Draft.
“I think [Mintykov’s] a very polished player,” Tenute said. “Coming over from Russia, and playing in a new league with new teammates, you don’t always know how quick a player is going to adapt but he’s a guy who’s come in and has had an immediate impact. He’s a top pairing defenceman who plays in every situation, crunches minutes, and excels on the power play.”
An additional 19 OHL players were assigned ‘B’ ratings indicating a potential second or third round selection while 40, including five goaltenders, received ‘C’ designations indicating a potential fourth, fifth or sixth round candidate.
Nineteen of 20 OHL teams were represented on the list led by the London Knights with seven players ranked, the Guelph Storm with six including two ‘A’ rated skaters as well as the Niagara IceDogs and North Bay Battalion with five each.
The list includes 45 OHL forwards, 13 defencemen and five goaltenders.
2021 NHL Central Scouting November Players to Watch List – OHL
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
| RATING | PLAYER | POS. | TEAM |
| A | Pavel Mintyukov | LD | Saginaw Spirit |
| A | Matthew Poitras | RC | Guelph Storm |
| A | Shane Wright | RC | Kingston Frontenacs |
| A | Danny Zhilkin | LC | Guelph Storm |
| B | Liam Arnsby | RC | North Bay Battalion |
| B | Owen Beck | RC | Mississauga Steelheads |
| B | Michael Buchinger | LD | Guelph Storm |
| B | Aidan Castle | RW | Niagara IceDogs |
| B | Jorian Donovan | LD | Hamilton Bulldogs |
| B | Jackson Edward | LD | London Knights |
| B | Pano Fimis | RC | Niagara IceDogs |
| B | Ruslan Gazizov | RW | London Knights |
| B | Isaiah George | LD | London Knights |
| B | David Goyette | LC | Sudbury Wolves |
| B | Hunter Haight | RC | Barrie Colts |
| B | Jake Karabela | LC | Guelph Storm |
| B | Paul Ludwinski | LC | Kingston Frontenacs |
| B | Bryce McConnell-Barker | LC | Soo Greyhounds |
| B | Ty Nelson | RD | North Bay Battalion |
| B | Servac Petrovsky | LC | Owen Sound Attack |
| B | Vinzenz Rohrer | RW | Ottawa 67’s |
| B | Matyas Sapovaliv | LC | Saginaw Spirit |
| B | Spencer Sova | LD | Erie Otters |
| C | Ryan Abraham | LC | Windsor Spitfires |
| C | Sam Alfano | RW | Peterborough Petes |
| C | Braeden Bowman | RW | Guelph Storm |
| C | Brett Brochu | G | London Knights |
| C | Gavin Bryant | LC | Owen Sound Attack |
| C | Brice Cooke | LW | Niagara IceDogs |
| C | Brody Crane | LW | London Knights |
| C | Luca Del Bel Belluz | LC | Mississauga Steelheads |
| C | Kocha Delic | LC | Sudbury Wolves |
| C | Justin DeZoete | LC | Peterborough Petes |
| C | Rodwin Dionicio | LD | Niagara IceDogs |
| C | Dom DiVincentiis | G | North Bay Battalion |
| C | Lucas Edmonds | RW | Kingston Frontenacs |
| C | Jacob Frasca | RC | Barrie Colts |
| C | Vsevolod Gaidamak | LC | Ottawa 67’s |
| C | Cedrick Guindon | LC | Owen Sound Attack |
| C | Gavin Hayes | RW | Flint Firebirds |
| C | Beau Jelsma | LC | Barrie Colts |
| C | Evan Konyen | RW | Sudbury Wolves |
| C | Kirill Kudryavtsev | LD | Soo Greyhounds |
| C | Artem Kulakov | LD | Erie Otters |
| C | Nolan Lalonde | G | Erie Otters |
| C | Ethan Larmand | LC | Sudbury Wolves |
| C | Zakary Lavoie | RW | Mississauga Steelheads |
| C | Andrew LeBlanc | LC | Kitchener Rangers |
| C | Jacob LeBlanc | RD | Kitchener Rangers |
| C | Tnias Mathurin | LD | North Bay Battalion |
| C | Jonathan Melee | LC | Hamilton Bulldogs |
| C | Max Namestnikov | LC | Sarnia Sting |
| C | Jacob Oster | G | Guelph Storm |
| C | Tucker Robertson | RC | Peterborough Petes |
| C | Dylan Roobroeck | LC | Niagara IceDogs |
| C | Teddy Sawyer | LD | Ottawa 67’s |
| C | Charlie Schenkel | G | Soo Greyhounds |
| C | Lawson Sherk | LC | Hamilton Bulldogs |
| C | Landon Sim | RW | London Knights |
| C | Colton Smith | LW | London Knights |
| C | Brady Stonehouse | RW | Ottawa 67’s |
| C | Zander Veccia | RW | Mississauga Steelheads |
| C | Dalyn Wakely | RC | North Bay Battalion |
For the complete list along with additional scouting reports, visit NHL.com.
About the Ontario Hockey League
The Ontario Hockey League is a proud member of the Canadian Hockey League which is the world’s largest development hockey league with 60 teams in nine Canadian provinces and four American states. In addition to the OHL, the CHL is made up of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and the Western Hockey League. The CHL supplies more players to the National Hockey League and U SPORTS than any other league.
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