Oshawa, Ont. – The 2023 OHL Development Combine presented by Dairy Farmers of Ontario wrapped up on Sunday at the Tribute Communities Centre, with Team Stamkos coming away as champions of the annual event.
76 draft eligible prospects had the opportunity to showcase their on-ice skills in a series of games played before scouts and general managers to assist in their evaluation prior to the OHL Priority Selection presented by Real Canadian Superstore to be held on Friday, April 21 and Saturday, April 22.
The games brought an end to the two-day event that also included on and off-ice skills testing on Saturday. (Top finishers below)
Saturday’s events included on and off-ice testing. Off-ice drills conducted by Elite Training Systems consisted of vertical and horizontal jumps, pro-agility sprints, grip strength and pull-ups. The on-ice portion included skills testing on both players and goaltenders performed by Game Ready Testing.
Team Stamkos won the OHL Combine championship as a result of finishing with the most points accumulated between Saturday’s testing results and Sunday’s game outcomes.
All four teams were joined behind the bench by special guest coaches that included OHL personnel in Jeff Kyrzakos (Asst. GM & Asst. Coach, Mississauga Steelheads) and Rico Phillips (OHL Director, Cultural Diversity & Inclusion) for Team Stamkos, Ryan Kuwabara (Head Coach, Niagara IceDogs) and Tom Watson (Scout, Flint Firebirds) for Team Lindros, Brandon Shaw (Assistant Coach, Niagara IceDogs) and Greg Hammell (Head Scout, Saginaw Spirit) for Team Subban along with Chris Longo (Assistant Coach, Kingston Frontenacs) and Kevin Hess (USA Scout, OHL & NHL Central Scouting) for Team Ekblad.
Final Team Standings:
Team Stamkos (Blue) = 774 Testing + 90 Games = 864 points
Team Lindros (Red) = 779 Testing + 10 Games = 789 points
Team Subban (White) = 661 Testing + 70 Games = 731 points
Team Ekblad (Gold) = 700 Testing + 0 Games = 700 points
Standings are based on a point system where individual player testing results contributed to the team’s total score. Players are ranked by position and scored according to rank (1-36 for forwards, 1-24 for defencemen, 1-16 for goalies). During Sunday’s games teams scored 10 points per half win, 25 points per game win, and 50 points per half shutouts.
Sunday’s OHL Combine Game Results:
Game 4 – Team Stamkos 9, Team Ekblad 4
Team Stamkos earns 45 points as a result of the victory
Team Stamkos scoring:
Dylan Tsherna (Don Mills Flyers) – 2G, 1A
Chase Del Colombo (Toronto Nationals) – 2G, 1A
Adam Smeeton (Don Mills Flyers) – 1G, 2A
Gabriel Smith (Toronto Marlboros) – 1G, 1A
Aiden Young (London Jr. Knights) – 1G, 1A
Peter Legostaev (Smiths Falls Bears) – 1G
Mason Goodfellow (Kingston Jr. Gaels) – 1G
Tyler Vorstadt (Whitby Wildcats) – 1A
Jack Nesbitt (Lambton Jr. Sting) – 1A
Lucas Moore (Peterborough Petes) – 1A
Casey Bridgewater (Halton Hurricanes) – 1A
Team Ekblad scoring:
Luca Moreno (Toronto Jr. Canadiens) – 2G
Shamar Moses (Don Mills Flyers) – 1G, 1A
Cooper Bordeaux (Detroit Little Caesars) – 1G
John Lumsden (Peterborough Petes) – 1A
Jayden Connors (Mississauga Senators) – 1A
Lucas Prud’homme (Renfrew Wolves) – 1A
Game 3 – Team Subban 6, Team Lindros 5
Team Subban earns 35 points and Team Lindros earns 10 points
Team Subban scoring:
Ethan Czata (Mississauga Rebels) – 2G, 2A
Ethan Brassard (Mississauga Senators) – 3A
Andrew Mondoux (Toronto Titans) – 1G, 1A
Ryan Brown (York-Simcoe Express) – 1G
Dryden Allen (Southern Tier Admirals – 1G
Jake Crawford (York-Simcoe Express) – 1G
Shawn Costello (Mississauga Senators) – 1A
P.J. Fagan (Don Mills Flyers) – 1A
Vasily Serov (Vaughan Kings) – 1A
Harry Nansi (Nepean Raiders) – 1A
Team Lindros scoring:
Joseph Cadorin (Toronto Marlboros) – 2G, 1A
Carson Harmer (Huron-Perth Lakers) – 1G, 1A
Jordan Charron (Cambridge Hawks) – 1G, 1A
Cristian Giancola (Halton Hurricanes) – 1G
Jeremy Martin (Toronto Marlboros) – 1A
Ben Radley (Peterborough Petes) – 1A
Game 2 – Team Subban 6, Team Ekblad 3
Team Subban earns 35 points as a result of the victory
Team Subban scoring:
Ethan Brassard (Mississauga Senators) – 2G
Shawn Costello (Mississauga Senators) – 2G
P.J. Fagan (Don Mills Flyers) – 1G, 1A
Vasily Serov (Vaughan Kings) – 1G
Harry Nansi (Nepean Raiders) – 2A
Ethan Czata (Mississauga Rebels) – 2A
Zach Houben (Huron-Perth Lakers) -1A
Justin Handsor (York-Simcoe Express) – 1A
Team Ekblad scoring:
Cayden Smith (York-Simcoe Express) – 1G, 1A
Jimmy Lombardi (Don Mills Flyers) – 2A
Shamar Moses (Don Mills Flyers) – 1G
Lucas Prud’homme (Renfrew Wolves) – 1G
Jayden Connors (Mississauga Senators) – 1A
Josh Avery (Peterborough Petes) – 1A
Game 1 – Team Stamkos 8, Team Lindros 3
Team Stamkos earns 45 points as a result of the victory
Team Stamkos scoring:
Tanner Lam (Halton Hurricanes) – 2G, 1A
Dylan Tsherna (Don Mills Flyers) – 1G, 3A
Jaiden Newton (Whitby Wildcats) – 1G, 1A
Tyler Vorstadt (Whitby Wildcats) -1G, 1A
Casey Bridgewater (Halton Hurricanes) – 1G
Gabriel Smith (Toronto Marlboros) – 1G
Aiden Young (London Jr. Knights) – 1G
Jack Nesbitt (Lambton Jr. Sting) – 1A
Team Lindros scoring:
Joseph Cadorin (Toronto Marlboros) – 1G, 1A
Carson Harmer (Huron-Perth Lakers) – 1G
Artem Frolov (Vaughan Kings) – 1G (Penalty Shot)
Saturday’s OHL Combine Testing Results:
Off-Ice Testing Top Performers:
Players with at least three first-place finishes in different testing categories for their respective teams:
1. Casey Bridgewater (Team Stamkos/Halton Hurricanes) – 6
2. Carson Harmer (Team Lindros/Huron-Perth Lakers) – 5
3. Tristan Boudreau (Team Lindros/Renfrew Wolves) – 4
T-4. Lucas Prud’homme (Team Ekblad/Renfrew Wolves) – 3
T-4. Wesley Royston (Team Lindros/York-Simcoe Express) – 3
T-4. P.J. Fagan (Team Subban/Don Mills Flyers) – 3
Team Lindros’ Owen Edwards (Whitby Wildcats) led all goaltenders at the Combine with five first place finishes in off-ice testing.
On-Ice Testing Top Performers:
Top 5 Forwards:
1. Will McFadden (Team Subban/Peterborough Petes)
2. Jeremy Martin (Team Lindros/Toronto Marlboros)
3. Chase Del Colombo (Team Stamkos/Toronto Nationals)
4. Wesley Royston (Team Lindros/York-Simcoe Express)
5. Jaiden Newton (Team Stamkos/Whitby Wildcats)
Top 5 Defencemen:
1. Casey Bridgewater (Team Stamkos/Halton Hurricanes)
2. Isaac Oldenhoff (Team Stamkos/York-Simcoe Express)
3. James Barr (Team Ekblad/Burlington Eagles)
4. P.J. Fagan (Team Subban/Don Mills Flyers)
5. Jayden Connors (Team Ekblad/Mississauga Senators)
Top 5 Goaltenders:
1. Aleksei Medvedev (Team Stamkos/Vaughan Kings)
2. Reece Herman (Team Ekblad/Quinte Red Devils)
3. Kayden Newton (Team Lindros/Halton Hurricanes)
4. Erik Maki (Team Lindros/Peterborough Petes)
T-5. Owen Edwards (Team Lindros/Whitby Wildcats)
T-5. Jaeden Nelson (Team Lindros/Toronto Marlboros)
Be sure to tune into the 2023 OHL Priority Selection presented by Real Canadian Superstore this coming Friday, April 21st at 7:00pm as Rounds 1-3 air live across the province on Your TV, Rogers tv, Eastlink, Cable 14 and Shaw Spotlight community stations as well as the Rogers Super Sports Pak. Day 2 gets underway on Saturday, April 22nd, with coverage of Rounds 4-15 beginning at 9:00am. The Priority Selection will be streaming for free in its entirety on OHL Live.
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.
OHL Writers 