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OHL Draft Preview

By Ontario Minor Hockey Association, 03/27/16, 3:15PM EDT

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OMHA players to watch heading into the OHL Draft

The Ontario Minor Hockey Association is proud to continue its rich tradition of developing homegrown talent for selection in the Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection draft on April 9, 2016.
 
Players from across the Minor Midget age group are eligible to be chosen in the OHL Draft. Last year, three players from the OMHA were selected in the first round of the OHL Draft and 76 were taken overall.
 
The OHL consists of 20 teams located across Ontario and Michigan. They are a member of the Canadian Hockey League and one of the main suppliers of players to the NHL.

Players to Watch

Busby is a fun player to watch. A very intelligent player and excellent skater, he makes skating with the puck a work of art. His skill level is as good as any defenceman in the OMHA and he is effective on both sides of the puck. He is poised to be a very high OHL Priority Selection in 2016 and his team won a bronze medal at the Minor Midget championships.

Corcoran is probably the most valuable player on his team this year. He split the year as a right-winger and as a defenceman. When his teammate Busby was representing Canada at the World Youth Olympics, he moved to the backend on a more permanent basis. Having to fill in for such a great player at such a pivotal time of year is not easy, but Corcoron flourished as his team did not skip a beat won bronze at the OMHA Minor Midget Championships and participated in the OHL Cup.

Blessed with good size and great athletic ability, Corocoran is a very good skater with a nice long stride. He understands the finer points of the game and has a good skill set. He has a bomb for a shot and plays a very heavy physical game.

Dubbed by one Minor Midget coach as ‘the most dangerous player with the puck in the ETA', Dellandrea may sometimes go unnoticed but by the end of the game he will be most definitely noticed on the scoresheet. At 5’11” and 172 lbs., he is not overly flashy, instead he relies on his hockey IQ and probably the best snap-shot in the ETA.

Dudas is absolutely electrifying and a player that keeps fans on the edge of their seats every time he has the puck on his stick. A tremendous skater, he has high-end skill, and has the ability to shred opposing defenceman with his elite-level one-on-one ability. He may be small in stature at 5'8" and 155lbs., but in the ‘new-game’ that has a focus on speed, skill, and work ethic, Dudas has all of these in spades and as a result will be an early pick in the 2016 OHL Priority Selection.

Widely touted as one of the best, if not the best OHL Prospect in the ETA, Dunkley gave scouts a sneak-peek with what to expect as a call-up with Quinte last season. On route to the OMHA Minor Midget AAA Championship, he capped off an impressive run with the 99-age-group scoring the game winner in overtime to capture the title for the Red Devils. Dunkley is the prototypical ‘new forward’ in hockey. Cut from the mold of such NHL players as Sidney Crosby and Steven Stamkos, Dunkley is not overly tall at 5’10” but he is strong and thick with a low centre of gravity. He protects the puck well and is hard to knock off the puck. In addition, he has high-end skill and looks to make a difference every time he is on the ice.

The Minor Midget age group had plenty of offensive dynamos this season and Hillis may very well have been the best of the best. Blessed with elite level skill and hockey sense, he generates offence on a shift-by-shift basis. He finished at the top of the points chart in the ETA and was a huge factor in the team's OMHA Championship and OHL Cup victory. Hillis will be a top pick in the OHL Priority Selection and projects to be a top point getter at the Major Junior level.

At 15 years old, it is a challenge to project pro upside but Holmes has as much of it as any player in the SCTA. A great combination of size, skating ability and skill, he competes hard and is equally effective on both sides of the puck. He is expected to go early in the OHL Draft.

Ingham was one of the best goalies in the OMHA this season. In a day in age where so many goalies play the butterfly technique or a hybrid of it, one of the issues with younger goalies is to keep their upper body erect enough to cover the top half of the net – Ingham is very good at doing this. In addition, his athleticism is elite, he anticipates the game well and has excellent rebound control. He ended the year with a 9-3-3 record.

McCourt is an example of the altered role of defencemen – how they are called on to transition, lead the attack, and generate offence. He has all the tools needed to be a successful defenceman – he is a very good skater, has very good skills, and thinks and processes the game well. He competes and wants to consistently make a positive influence in the game.

If you want to see what it looks like to be launched out of a rocket on ice, watch McMaster as he grabs the puck and goes on the attack with it. He is probably the best skater in the SCTA and in addition to this, his skill set is very good and he has a high compete level. He scored the most goals and had the highest total points in the SCTA and is a big factor in the North Stars high-octane offence.

Roberts is one of the best prospects to come out of Owen Sound in quite some time. At 15 years old, already standing at 6’3” and hitting the scales at 205 lbs he is a man amongst boys. He uses his size to win space, push the opposition off the puck and protect the puck once he has possession of it. He skates extremely well for a player of his size and his skill level and hockey smarts are off the charts. Roberts is undoubtedly the leader of the Highlanders and he is consistently counted on to generate offence for his team and make big plays at important stages of the game. Look for him to go early in the 2016 OHL Priority Selection.

An offensively gifted rearguard, Robertson led the ETA in defenceman scoring. He has all the tools to be an impact player at the OHL level. He has good size, skates very well, has very good skill, and he processes the game at an elite level. He seems to get better and better and as he continues to fill-out his 6’1” frame he projects to be a top-pairing defenceman at the next level.

Sheppard, who started playing goaltender when he was in PeeWee, has a lot of upside. He is huge, standing at 6’3” and 210 lbs. but he moves like a goalie half of his size. Calm and cool in the net, he is very good at using his size by consistently taking the correct angles on shooters. In addition, his butterfly is technically sound.

At close to 6’ and possessing high-end ability, Wismer is one of the best OHL prospects in the SCTA this season. Like many of the great ones, what separates him is his hockey intellect and ability to anticipate and process the game in a timely and efficient manner. He is one of the main ingredients in a powerhouse Jr. Bulldogs team.

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