Oa Candidates for 2025 2026

[FrontalLobe]

You're probably going to see quite a few guys that were planning on being freshman in 2025-26 push that out a year and more 05's commit over the summer. That's where those spots will open up. These commitment years are just arbitrary/flexible. I think a lot of fans penciling in OA's need to be ready that quite a few of them aren't going to be there come the fall.

Exactly. Thank you. Finally someone that gets it. Commitments mean next to nothing - 100 percent arbitrary. NCAA teams get kids to commit early and all that means is they are not able to engage in talks with any other teams. It does not guarantee them a spot with the team they make the commitment to at all. There are dozens and dozens of players who have signed commitments in the past and have never even laced up in an NCAA uniform let alone a game. in fact, a lot of times the schools are the ones that decommit if they find better options. A lot of the young kids that recently chose to play USHL, BCHL, and private schools that signed commitments will be impacted by the new ruling heavily. A lot of schools are now throwing cash at kids with 4-5 years OHL experience already so the years the younger kids were hoping to go to school will either be delayed or the schools will decommit. Watch and see.

 

[OHL4Life]

Exactly. Thank you. Finally someone that gets it. Commitments mean next to nothing - 100 percent arbitrary. NCAA teams get kids to commit early and all that means is they are not able to engage in talks with any other teams. It does not guarantee them a spot with the team they make the commitment to at all. There are dozens and dozens of players who have signed commitments in the past and have never even laced up in an NCAA uniform let alone a game. in fact, a lot of times the schools are the ones that decommit if they find better options. A lot of the young kids that recently chose to play USHL, BCHL, and private schools that signed commitments will be impacted by the new ruling heavily. A lot of schools are now throwing cash at kids with 4-5 years OHL experience already so the years the younger kids were hoping to go to school will either be delayed or the schools will decommit. Watch and see.

yup, it works both ways. if a kid is commited for 2026 but will be a top 10 nhl draft pick they will move him ahead. if they are a 2025 commit but they can bring in a 20 year old, they will push him back. i would put zero into when kids are going to school unless they are truly elite top 60 nhl draft picks.

 

[Wolfman Jack]

yup, it works both ways. if a kid is commited for 2026 but will be a top 10 nhl draft pick they will move him ahead. if they are a 2025 commit but they can bring in a 20 year old, they will push him back. i would put zero into when kids are going to school unless they are truly elite top 60 nhl draft picks.

So does a player like Mews have a guaranteed spot after his commitment or can he be pushed back another year of development in the OHL. Do you consider him a truly elite top 60 NHL Draft pick? Offensively he dropped off after being dealt to Sudbury. Secondly he is not strong defensively. Will that be a player his NCAA team give a ton of ice to? Yes he is 19 but that don't mean much if you have stronger options. So even if he does make it how much would a kid like Mews like being a bottom pairing. The only way a kid like Mews enjoys whatever he gets there is because he has already resigned to the fact that he is good enough to play in the NHL and is just looking to get his schooling in with a US college .

WJ

 

[OHL4Life]

So does a player like Mews have a guaranteed spot after his commitment or can he be pushed back another year of development in the OHL. Do you consider him a truly elite top 60 NHL Draft pick? Offensively he dropped off after being dealt to Sudbury. Secondly he is not strong defensively. Will that be a player his NCAA team give a ton of ice to? Yes he is 19 but that don't mean much if you have stronger options. So even if he does make it how much would a kid like Mews like being a bottom pairing. The only way a kid like Mews enjoys whatever he gets there is because he has already resigned to the fact that he is good enough to play in the NHL and is just looking to get his schooling in with a US college .

WJ

he wouldnt have committed im may if hes getting pushed back. hes the one that pushes other players back. michigan isnt recruting him now if they have concerns, they are recruting him today because they want him in the lineup next year.

a player who was suppose to come in this year will now be bounced to next year, and a kid that was going next year will fall back another year.

 

[leafs4life94]

Are there any NCAA deadlines when it comes to commitments/de-commitments/commitment deferrals or can the player/team decide at any point to change their start year?

 

[OHL4Life]

Are there any NCAA deadlines when it comes to commitments/de-commitments/commitment deferrals or can the player/team decide at any point to change their start year?

it would be up to the individual team

 

[FrontalLobe]

So does a player like Mews have a guaranteed spot after his commitment or can he be pushed back another year of development in the OHL. Do you consider him a truly elite top 60 NHL Draft pick? Offensively he dropped off after being dealt to Sudbury. Secondly he is not strong defensively. Will that be a player his NCAA team give a ton of ice to? Yes he is 19 but that don't mean much if you have stronger options. So even if he does make it how much would a kid like Mews like being a bottom pairing. The only way a kid like Mews enjoys whatever he gets there is because he has already resigned to the fact that he is good enough to play in the NHL and is just looking to get his schooling in with a US college .

WJ

I would think Mews would definitely be guaranteed a spot as they are through NIL money at him and he has already proven himself at CHL level. I'm talking about the kids that go to prep schools like St. Andrews or play in the OJHL that commit to schools early. Most of them being kids who may not have even made their OHL/CHL teams in their rookie years. Their are many kids in our area who have played on teams like Wellington Dukes and Trenton Golden Hawks that were offered commitments over the years and then never stepped foot on the ice with the NCAA team.

 

[Wolfman Jack]

he wouldnt have committed im may if hes getting pushed back. hes the one that pushes other players back. michigan isnt recruting him now if they have concerns, they are recruting him today because they want him in the lineup next year.

a player who was suppose to come in this year will now be bounced to next year, and a kid that was going next year will fall back another year.

He struggles defensively so it will be interesting how it turns out. I get it the 16-17 year olds kids committing will be better served going into the CHL now instead of these prep schools. Most of them I get will now have more competition to have their commitment fulfilled
WJ.

 

[frontsfan67]

Cross off Ethan Hay playing in the OHL next year. Just committed to University of Miami.

 

[DCruickshank]

Anyone else hearing rumors of OA'S being phased out after the upcoming season???

 

[HUSH10]

Anyone else hearing rumors of OA'S being phased out after the upcoming season???

It's the opposite. They are considering extra OAs. The talk is 4 OAs if one is a goalie.

 

[the dog]

Barrie goaltender Sam hillebrandt off to Ohio state next year

 

[Icedogs452]

I wouldn’t be surprised if the IceDogs keep AA and try and get 2 upgrades on the other two spots maybe they keep one of Wysick or Scott

If the IceDogs keep 2 OA I think it would be AA and Paris. Wycisk and Scott aren’t good enough and the D was atrocious. IceDogs have bigger problems though .

 

[dogs777]

If the IceDogs keep 2 OA I think it would be AA and Paris. Wycisk and Scott aren’t good enough and the D was atrocious. IceDogs have bigger problems though .

I don’t think anyone expect AA is really good enough to be an OA on a contender which is what they wanted to be (even though no one actually believed they could)

 

[Juniorhockeyguru]

Who are the admins for this forum? Hilarious.

 

[Squirrel88]

Chromiak confirmed to be back for Rangers as a import/OA as per Josh Brown in the Waterloo Regin Record.

 

[Corso]

Hearing that the exemption for O/A goalies isn't going to happen. I wonder what the league will decide on the question of O/A in general. Will there be enough quality 20 year olds to fill three spots?

 

[OMEGARAZER]

Will there be enough quality 20 year olds to fill three spots?

I think the quality will be the issue, there will always be plenty of players who do not care about school at all, regardless of how bad a direction that is.

 

[AGranderson]

71 OA skaters currently ready to return, let’s take a look at there 24/25 stats and see who the leaders are and who the big fishes might be come OA deadline day. Or even maybe off season trades

RW Marco Mignosa 85pts 58GP
RW Charlie Paquette 70pts 68GP
RW Alex Pharand 59pts 65GP
LW Ethan Miedema 57pts 66GP
RW Dylan Edwards 56pts 66GP
LW Sam McCue 55pts 55GP
RW Justin Cloutier 54pts 68GP
C Cooper Foster 53pts 55GP
RW Christopher Thibodeau 50pts 57GP
D Matthew Mania 46pts 66GP
D Mitch Young 45pts 60GP
RW Chase Coughlan 43pts 65GP
D James Petrovski 41pts 68GP
C Brad Gardiner 38 Pts 66GP
LW Adam Zidlicky 36pts 53GP
D Alexis Daviault 36pts 64GP
RW Matthew Buckley 35pts 67GP
RW Nic Sima 35pts 62GP
C Jack Dever 34pts 57GP
LW Mike Levin 34pts 62GP
D James Guo 34pts 62GP
RW Matthew Soto 34pts 58GP
C Alex Assadourian 32pts 38GP
LW Mason Zebeski 32pts 58GP
D Jakub Chromiak* 32pts 54GP
LW Declan Waddick 32pts 61GP
LW Ondrej Molnar* 31pts 49GP
C Sebastien Gervais 31pts 57GP
RW Calvin Crombie 31pts 55GP
LW Chris Barlas 31pts 67GP
D Maleek McGowan 30pts 56GP
D Martin Matejicek* 29pts 68GP
C Luke McNamara 28pts 63GP
LW Matthew Wang 28pts 68GP
D Urban Podrekar* 27pts 65GP
LW Quinton Page 24pts 60GP
C Ben Pickell 24pts 64GP
D Zackary Sandhu 24pts 64GP
D Cal Uens 23pts 68GP
LW Brennan Faulkner 23pts 65GP
RW Noah Powell 22pts 28GP
RW Kaeden Johnston 22pts 63GP
D Lucas Moore 21pts 68GP
D Grayson Tiller 20pts 67GP
C Noah Nelson 20pts 63GP
D Wyatt Kennedy 20pts 65GP
LW Chris Grisolia 19pts 55GP
C Cam Mercer 19pts 63GP
RW Mathieu Paris 19pts 30GP
D Will Bishop 17pts 62GP
C Daylen Moses 17pts 60GP
D Noah Roberts 17pts 65GP
RW Lucas Di Giantommaso 16pts 57GP
D Josef Eichler* 16pts 63GP
LW Ethan Martin 16pts 52GP
D Andrew Wycisk 15pts 57GP
LW Owen Outwater 14pts 26GP
D Blair Scott 13pts 67GP
D Bronson Ride 13pts 68GP
RW Bradley Horner 13pts 57GP
LW Michael Derbridge 11pts 44GP
D Gavin Ewles 10pts 49GP
RD Nathan Sauder 9pts 67GP
LW Noah Aboflan 8pts 33GP
D Jack O'Brien 7pts 40GP
LW Alex Messier 6pts 57GP
D Matthew Jenken 6pts 27GP
LW Tayjon Street 5pts 62GP
D Brayden Velliaris 2pts 35GP
D Tanner Winegard 2pts 37GP
LW JJ Franceschetti 1pts 28GP

 

[I Loveallsports]

71 OA skaters currently ready to return, let’s take a look at there 24/25 stats and see who the leaders are and who the big fishes might be come OA deadline day. Or even maybe off season trades

RW Marco Mignosa 85pts 58GP
RW Charlie Paquette 70pts 68GP
RW Alex Pharand 59pts 65GP
LW Ethan Miedema 57pts 66GP
RW Dylan Edwards 56pts 66GP
LW Sam McCue 55pts 55GP
RW Justin Cloutier 54pts 68GP
C Cooper Foster 53pts 55GP
RW Christopher Thibodeau 50pts 57GP
D Matthew Mania 46pts 66GP
D Mitch Young 45pts 60GP
RW Chase Coughlan 43pts 65GP
D James Petrovski 41pts 68GP
C Brad Gardiner 38 Pts 66GP
LW Adam Zidlicky 36pts 53GP
D Alexis Daviault 36pts 64GP
RW Matthew Buckley 35pts 67GP
RW Nic Sima 35pts 62GP
C Jack Dever 34pts 57GP
LW Mike Levin 34pts 62GP
D James Guo 34pts 62GP
RW Matthew Soto 34pts 58GP
C Alex Assadourian 32pts 38GP
LW Mason Zebeski 32pts 58GP
D Jakub Chromiak* 32pts 54GP
LW Declan Waddick 32pts 61GP
LW Ondrej Molnar* 31pts 49GP
C Sebastien Gervais 31pts 57GP
RW Calvin Crombie 31pts 55GP
LW Chris Barlas 31pts 67GP
D Maleek McGowan 30pts 56GP
D Martin Matejicek* 29pts 68GP
C Luke McNamara 28pts 63GP
LW Matthew Wang 28pts 68GP
D Urban Podrekar* 27pts 65GP
LW Quinton Page 24pts 60GP
C Ben Pickell 24pts 64GP
D Zackary Sandhu 24pts 64GP
D Cal Uens 23pts 68GP
LW Brennan Faulkner 23pts 65GP
RW Noah Powell 22pts 28GP
RW Kaeden Johnston 22pts 63GP
D Lucas Moore 21pts 68GP
D Grayson Tiller 20pts 67GP
C Noah Nelson 20pts 63GP
D Wyatt Kennedy 20pts 65GP
LW Chris Grisolia 19pts 55GP
C Cam Mercer 19pts 63GP
RW Mathieu Paris 19pts 30GP
D Will Bishop 17pts 62GP
C Daylen Moses 17pts 60GP
D Noah Roberts 17pts 65GP
RW Lucas Di Giantommaso 16pts 57GP
D Josef Eichler* 16pts 63GP
LW Ethan Martin 16pts 52GP
D Andrew Wycisk 15pts 57GP
LW Owen Outwater 14pts 26GP
D Blair Scott 13pts 67GP
D Bronson Ride 13pts 68GP
RW Bradley Horner 13pts 57GP
LW Michael Derbridge 11pts 44GP
D Gavin Ewles 10pts 49GP
RD Nathan Sauder 9pts 67GP
LW Noah Aboflan 8pts 33GP
D Jack O'Brien 7pts 40GP
LW Alex Messier 6pts 57GP
D Matthew Jenken 6pts 27GP
LW Tayjon Street 5pts 62GP
D Brayden Velliaris 2pts 35GP
D Tanner Winegard 2pts 37GP
LW JJ Franceschetti 1pts 28GP

Molnar and Di Gi won't be in the league

 

[Bra Wavers]

D Martin Matejicek* 29pts 68GP
is signed to play with a pro team in Czechia