2019 Draft Weekend Recap

Another whirlwind weekend has come and gone for the FOHL. We saw all 20 GMs, and a few assistants as well gather for a spectacular couple days that saw the Import Draft, Priority Draft and an unprecedented level of trade activity. It would be impossible to recap everything that happened, but some moves completely altered the landscape of the league. We are here to examine the top 3 additions that teams have made over the offseason and the draft weekend,

1. Ryan Merkley

2. Allan McShane

3. Steve!

The Barrie Colts came into the draft without a lot of draft capital, but also not a lot of needs. They were poised to emerge as one of the league's top teams, and cemented that status by acquiring Ryan Merkley and Allan McShane to pad a stacked lineup. They did add a solid young forward in the Import draft, but looking towards the future, adding an Assistant GM in Steve(!) aka Sean might be the biggest long term addition.

1. Liam Arnsby

2. Jacob Frasca

3. Ole Bjørgvik Holm

What the Erie Otters really needed this offseason was to lay low, and stay out of the headlines. Their previous regime was infamous for outbursts, wild trades, confusing mixed messages to other GMs and just an exhausting experience for everyone. The Otters had little to show after two seasons in the league, so adding Liam Arnsby and a couple other younger players to build around was huge for them. 

1. Ryan McGregor

2. Francesco Pinelli 

3. Yevgeni Oksentyuk

The Flint Firebirds are desperately trying to avoid being in the bottom four for a third season in a row. They're the only team in the FOHL who have yet to taste post-season action, and during the Import and Priority draft, they were seen talking to lots of teams about adding some top talent. They were able to add overager, and potential captain Ryan McGregor, but for the longevity of the franchise, they need to rely on the young star Pinelli and the savvy Import Oksentyk to take another step forward and lead them out of the basement. 

1. Nick Robertson

2. Tyler Angle

3. Fear and Respect

If the FOHL were a prison, the Guelph Storm of season 3 would be that dude in solitary confinement with 666 carved into his forehead. They're the big bad wolf. And they got even bigger. They acquired the league's most deadly sniper, Nick Robertson and a nice complimentary forward in Tyler Angle. What was being discussed a lot around the drafts were the fear of the Storm that was coming, and a lot of teams may play it rather conservative in the Western Conference because of that.

1. Experience

2. The Ottawa 67's

3. Arthur Kaliyev

The best player in Hamilton Bulldogs history never played a single game for them. Shane Wright is the most electric player the OHL has seen since John Tavares, but Wright played the "Hamilton is too polluted to play there" card, the first hockey victim of Global Warming.  You'll recall an article from last season that suggested that time is a flat circle. Arthur Kaliyev has comefull circle, he's gone from Hamilton, to Erie, to Ottawa, back to Hamilton. Normally having a player refuse to play for your team would be bad news, but it made the Bulldogs the team to beat in the East. They acquired the Ottawa 67's top guns, and all that experience and winning pedigree. 

1. Brennan Othmann

2. Jack Matier

3. Vitali Pinchuck

You won't find a more deliberate, more patient GM in the league than Billy Logan. In a world of hustling and bustling trades, Kingston is content to bide their time and strike when they think the iron is hot. They had a very deliberate, very calculated rebuild last season. Not a crash and burn, scorched earth approach, but a slow decline with a parachute and back up parachute just in case. Othmann is an excellent scoring winger to build around, and Matier is the kind of steady presence that could be a captain in K-Town some day.

1. A Babysitter
2. Connor Lockhart

3. Isaac Enright

The Rangers are in trouble. No not because Bob McKenzie is manipulating public opinion so his son can draft the best player in the draft. They're a rudderless boat in the white water rapids of the Western Conference. They got a new assistant in Nick, after the league officially took control of the historic franchise. They had a very positive weekend that will guide them in the right direct, as Connor Lockhart is a breakout candidate, and Isaac Enright has the potential to be a top 4 blueliner.

1. Apple Terms and Conditions

2. Wyatt Johnston

3. Ruben Rafkin

GM Mark Lewis has been around since the beginning, but has been noticeably absent recently. Like all us, he blindly accepted Apple's terms and conditions, and almost fell victim to a classic credit card FOHL scam. Luckily, things worked out and like Home Alone 2, he ran through the airport and made it just in time to get to the podium to draft Wyatt Johnston and Ruben Rafkin to his team. The Knights need that kind of injection of youth, and now have some pieces to build around.

1. Brandt Clarke

2. Oliver Suni

3. Braeden Kressler 

The Steelheads needed an anchor, and you can't do any better than Brandt Clarke to lead the blueline. He's a five tool stud, and has future captain written all over him. Missy has followed a traditional blueprint in the FOHL, making the Championship Finals, and then following the natural wave of rebuilding the following season. Now they're poised to take a big step forward back into the competitive circle.

1. Stability
2. Andrei Bakanov
3. Landon McCallum

The Ice Dogs have had 2 shaky GMs in 2 so-so seasons, and what they really needed was stability moving forward. GM Jeremiah has brought that instantly. Without missing a beat, he hit the scene and was able to keep up with the big dogs. He didn't need the training wheels on during the most active weekend of activity at the drafts. He brought in two forwards that will help shape the future of the organization and bring some life back to the Niagara region.

1. Assets
2. Francesco Arcuri
3. Kirill Steklov

The North Bay Battalion have assets. They have one of the deepest rosters, and then an entire B squad of talent that is going to rise this season as well. To add to that, they've been using the same strategy at this draft that paid off so well at the last draft. Home run, after home run. Of the notable names, Arcuri has the potential to be a top six C and Steklov is a big, minute eating blueliner that should shore up the blueline.

1. A New Lease on Life

2. Half a pair of Twins
3. Sirizzotti

The Oshawa Generals flew so close to the sun last season that the only option they had after not winning the Championship was to burn it all down. They traded everyone. And I mean everyone. I honestly don't even know what players they have on their team next season. What they did get though is a tremendous haul of draft picks, and that translated to an injection of youth into the system. Paul Christopoulos is a tremendous young puck mover, and Brenden Sirizzotti is one of the most electric goal scorers that could become a real superstar.  

1. A lifetime of "was the price Wright" headlines

2. Danny Zhilkin

3. Hugo Has

The Ottawa 67's sent shockwaves through the draft day activities when it was announced they acquired exceptional status player Shane Wright. He didn't want to report to Hamilton, reportedly because the city stinks like shit (source needed), but Ottawa has that fresh smell of dark gravy wafting over from Quebec that the Wright family reportedly approved of. He sent his entire All Star squad to Hamilton, but it was a win-win for both squads. They get the best player ever, and Zhilkin has a lot of upside, to go with Hugo Has. A nice foundation to build around.

1. Martin Chromiak
2. Mason McTavish

3. Jake Grimes

Owen Sound needed a big weekend, after really rough season the fans endured. It has been 10 years since the Attack faithful haven't attended post-season games, so they needed to show the loyal season ticket holders that it was all worth it, and boy did they knock out a grand slam. Mason McTavish looks like a savvy veteran on the ice, and Chromiak looks like a star in the making. They made some other big news when they signed Jake Grimes, a veteran OHL coach to take over as bench boss.

1. Aidan Dudas
2. Brett Harrison
3. Ryan Winterton

The Petes faithful endured another trying season, but the payoff was worth it over this weekend, where the Petes selected twice in the first round. They picked up Brett Harrison, a guy that could be a great scoring center, and a leader on the ice, and then got Ryan Winterton through Guelph, and also acquired his older brother Jacob as well. They made some big waves on the trade front as well by re-acquiring Aidan Dudas as well, a player that new head coach Adam Foote hinted might be the captain come puck drop.

1. Deni Goure

2. Christian Purboo

3. Kalle Loponen 

Having a rather quiet weekend, after a rather exciting offseason is par the course right now for Saginaw. They made it all the way to the league finals, and they are in good position to take another run at it again next year. They didn't have a huge bag of assets to work with, but were able to add a solid netminder, a promising young center in Goure and then an NHL drafted blueliner in Loponen.

1. "Enlightenment"

2. Goalie Controversy 

3. Some Insider Information Sleepers

After another handful of gummy bears washed down with a tallboy, GM OHLInsiders stumbled to the draft podium and took one of the best prospects at his position the OHL has seen in decades. Benjamin Gaudreau was officially a member of the Sarnia. The only problem, they drafted goaltender Arthur Silovs the day before, creating a goaltender controversy for the ages. In all likelihood, the younger Gaudreau will need to sit for a season while the Latvian tends the net. Oh yeah, they also swung for the fences on a lot of "sleeper" picks, but something tells me Sarnia might know something we don't know. 

1. SDA

2. Ty Voit

3. Nick Malik

The Greyhounds really did well for themselves this offseason. They have had a model rebuild, winning the championship in season one, tearing it down season two and putting the pieces in place to rebound with another run in season three. They added boom-or-bust dyanmic winger Ty Voit, added the son of legendary shootout- goal-scorer Marek Malik, and one of the league's best playmakers, SDA. The Greyhounds are back baby.

1. Akil Thomas

2. Jacob Ingham

3. Chase Stillman

Coach Mike Babcock -shakes head in disappointment-, and assistant coach Bill "Turn off that damn rap music" Peters weren't supposed to have a team in the basement of the OHL. In fact, when both were fired from the NHL and stories of their decades of abuse surfaced, only one person thought they would be the perfect fit for a group of teenagers. Selling his soul to the devil, GM Don was hoping for a championship. Well, now the pieces are in place. Akil Thomas is a legit top line addition, Ingham should be one of the top goalies in the league, and Chase Stillman is a shifty forward with rich hockey blood.

1. Kari Piiroinen

2. Colby Saganiuk
3. Ville Ottaveinen

The Spitfires took their shot last season and came close, but ultimately empty handed. It was time to start the rebuild, and they picked up a boat load of draft picks by sending talent out of town. That's exactly what the doctor ordered, as the slow process of the rebuild begins. They get an exciting, although risky pick of Saganiuk, while their two imports should help stabilize a young squad in the Wild West next year.