TORONTO – A total of 80 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) players have been included on the NHL Central Scouting Service’s Midterm Rankings for the 2026 NHL Draft, highlighting the league’s depth of draft-eligible talent. That figure establishes the most for the OHL on the NHL Central Scouting Midterms in the past 17 years.
The 80 OHL players (67 skaters, 13 goaltenders) are part of a larger group of 200 players from across the Canadian Hockey League, also a new benchmark dating back to 2008-09. That total includes an additional 76 current players from the Western Hockey League, and 44 from the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League.
The list features 10 OHL skaters ranked among the top 32 North American prospects, highlighting strong first-round potential across the league. Defenceman Chase Reid of the Soo Greyhounds leads all OHL skaters at fourth overall, followed by Caleb Malhotra of the Brantford Bulldogs at fifth and Ethan Belchetz of the Windsor Spitfires at ninth.
Of the 80 OHL players listed, 40 are competing in the 2026 Connor McDavid OHL Top Prospects Game presented by Enbridge Gas, set for Wednesday, January 14, in Peterborough, ON.
The Guelph Storm, London Knights, Oshawa Generals, Ottawa 67’s and Owen Sound Attack lead the OHL, each with six players listed.
The 2026 NHL Draft will be held June 26–27 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York, marking the fourth time the Buffalo Sabres have hosted the event. The NHL will again use a decentralized format, with prospects and their families attending the draft while team executives make selections remotely from their home markets. Buffalo has also served as host of the NHL’s annual scouting combine since 2015 and will welcome the league’s top draft-eligible prospects again this spring.
2026 NHL Central Scouting Midseason Rankings – OHL
Players marked with an asterisk (*) are competing in the 2026 Connor McDavid OHL Top Prospects Game.*
SKATERS (North American)
| RANK | PLAYER | POS. | TEAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Chase Reid* | D | Soo Greyhounds |
| 5 | Caleb Malhotra* | C | Brantford Bulldogs |
| 9 | Ethan Belchetz* | LW | Windsor Spitfires |
| 12 | Adam Novotny* | LW | Peterborough Petes |
| 14 | Brooks Rogowski* | C | Oshawa Generals |
| 16 | Nikita Klepov* | RW | Saginaw Spirit |
| 19 | Alessandro Di Iorio* | C | Sarnia Sting |
| 22 | Ryder Cali* | C | North Bay Battalion |
| 25 | Thomas Vandenberg* | C | Ottawa 67’s |
| 27 | Ryan Roobroeck* | LW | Niagara IceDogs |
| 38 | Alexander Bilecki* | D | Kitchener Rangers |
| 39 | Egor Barabanov* | C | Saginaw Spirit |
| 40 | Vladimir Dravecky* | D | Brantford Bulldogs |
| 41 | Colin Fitzgerald* | C | Soo Greyhounds |
| 44 | Pierce Mbuyi* | LW | Owen Sound Attack |
| 45 | Jaxon Cover* | RW | London Knights |
| 46 | Beckham Edwards* | C | Sarnia Sting |
| 47 | Cole Zurawski* | RW | Owen Sound Attack |
| 50 | Braidy Wassilyn* | LW | London Knights |
| 51 | Wesley Royston | RW | Owen Sound Attack |
| 54 | Carter Stevens | RW | Guelph Storm |
| 59 | Callum Croskery* | D | Soo Greyhounds |
| 62 | Layne Gallacher* | C | Guelph Storm |
| 82 | Lucas Ambrosio* | D | Erie Otters |
| 84 | Aiden O’Donnell | LW | Oshawa Generals |
| 87 | Nathan Amidovski* | LW | Brampton Steelheads |
| 89 | Adam Levac* | C | Peterborough Petes |
| 93 | Jasper Kuhta | C | Ottawa 67’s |
| 105 | Ondrej Ruml* | D | Ottawa 67’s |
| 110 | Brody Pepoy | RW | Saginaw Spirit |
| 112 | Jacob Xu* | D | London Knights |
| 117 | Alex Kostov* | RW | Flint Firebirds |
| 125 | Cohen Bidgood | RW | London Knights |
| 127 | Elliot Arnett | D | Owen Sound Attack |
| 130 | Ben Reisnecker* | D | Niagara IceDogs |
| 132 | Maksim Sokolovskii | D | London Knights |
| 134 | Andre Mondoux | D | Kingston Frontenacs |
| 135 | Brady Murnane* | D | Oshawa Generals |
| 141 | Parker Vaughan | RW | North Bay Battalion |
| 144 | Rylan Singh* | D | Guelph Storm |
| 151 | Eric Frossard | D | Guelph Storm |
| 152 | Harris Pangretitsch | D | Soo Greyhounds |
| 156 | Colin Feeley | D | Oshawa Generals |
| 157 | Leo Laschon* | D | Oshawa Generals |
| 160 | Joseph Salandra* | RW | Barrie Colts |
| 162 | Leon Kolarik* | LW | Peterborough Petes |
| 165 | Benjamin Wilmott | C | Barrie Colts |
| 170 | Shaan Kingwell | LW | Ottawa 67’s |
| 172 | Matej Stankoven* | C | Brampton Steelheads |
| 178 | Caden Harvey | C | Windsor Spitfires |
| 179 | Cody Wood | D | London Knights |
| 184 | Jean-Christoph Lemieux | LW | Sudbury Wolves |
| 185 | Illia Shybinskyi | LW | Guelph Storm |
| 187 | Alex McLean | C | Kingston Frontenacs |
| 189 | Dryden Allen | D | Flint Firebirds |
| 191 | Rowan Henderson* | LW | Sudbury Wolves |
| 193 | Aiden Young | LW | Peterborough Petes |
| 194 | Alexander Karmanov | D | North Bay Battalion |
| 197 | Julian Brown | D | Owen Sound Attack |
| 202 | Cooper Dennis | RW | Brantford Bulldogs |
| 203 | Justin Handsor* | D | Barrie Colts |
| 208 | Kase Kamzik | LW | Erie Otters |
| 212 | Ryder Carey | C | North Bay Battalion |
| 214 | Arseny Pronin | RW | North Bay Battalion |
| 217 | Carson Woodall | D | Windsor Spitfires |
| 221 | Nicholas Sykora | LW | Owen Sound Attack |
GOALTENDERS
| RANK | GOALTENDER | TEAM |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Zachary Jovanovski* | Guelph Storm |
| 11 | Matthew Minchak* | Kingston Frontenacs |
| 14 | Vladislav Yermolenko | Niagara IceDogs |
| 16 | Ryder Fetterolf* | Ottawa 67’s |
| 17 | Stepan Shurygin* | Saginaw Spirit |
| 19 | Ben Hrebik | Barrie Colts |
| 23 | Arvin Jaswal | Barrie Colts |
| 24 | Maksim Corovic | Brantford Bulldogs |
| 26 | Gavin Betts | Kingston Frontenacs |
| 29 | Jason Schaubel | Kitchener Rangers |
| 32 | Michael Newlove | Windsor Spitfires |
| 34 | Matthew Humphries | Oshawa Generals |
| 35 | Jaeden Nelson | Ottawa 67’s |
INTERNATIONAL SKATERS
| RANK | PLAYER | POS. | TEAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | Adam Nemec | LW | Sudbury Wolves |
For the full NHL Central Scouting Midseason Rankings, visit nhl.com.
NHL Central Scouting Midseason Rankings FAQ
What are the NHL Central Scouting Midseason Rankings?
The NHL Central Scouting Midseason Rankings are an evaluation of draft-eligible players released midway through the season, ranking North American and International skaters and goaltenders ahead of the NHL Draft.
How many OHL players were included in this year’s rankings?
A total of 80 Ontario Hockey League players were included in the NHL Central Scouting Midseason Rankings.
How many OHL skaters were ranked?
The rankings include 67 OHL skaters, made up of 66 North American skaters and one International skater currently playing in the OHL.
How many OHL goaltenders were ranked?
A total of 13 OHL goaltenders were included in the midseason rankings.
What do the rankings mean for the NHL Draft?
The rankings serve as a reference point for NHL teams but do not determine draft order. Player performance in the second half of the season, playoffs, and team interviews can influence final draft positioning.
Where and when is the 2026 NHL Draft being held?
The 2026 NHL Draft will take place June 26–27 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.
How many ranked OHL players are competing in the Connor McDavid OHL Top Prospects Game?
40 ranked OHL players are competing in the 2026 Connor McDavid OHL Top Prospects Game.
Where can fans find the complete NHL Central Scouting rankings?
The full NHL Central Scouting Midseason Rankings are available at nhl.com.
