Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League (OHL) today conducted the 2025 OHL Under-18 Priority Selection for U18 AAA hockey players in Ontario.
Eligibility for the 2025 OHL Under-18 Priority Selection included all U18 players (2007 and 2008 birth years) not currently on an OHL Member Team Protected List who were carded with an Ontario based U18 AAA Hockey Club or an accredited Hockey Canada sport school within the Ontario Hockey Federation, Hockey Eastern Ontario or Hockey Northwestern Ontario in the current season.
A total of 51 players were selected from 32 different teams and included 28 forwards, 12 defencemen and 11 goaltenders. 47 of the 51 players selected were born in 2008 with the remaining four born in 2007.
Winners of the Under-18 Priority Selection Draft Lottery back on March 26, the Peterborough Petes used the first overall selection to take 6-foot, 182Ib. Ottawa Myers Automotive centreman Sebastian Dzieciol. He joins first overall OHL Priority Selection choice Kaden McGregor in giving Hockey Eastern Ontario consecutive first overall picks to the Petes.
The Guelph Storm selected North Bay Trappers centreman Benjamin Brunton with the second overall choice while the Ottawa 67’s took Toronto Marlboros forward Declan Torrance at third. The Sarnia Sting made Olivier Romain of the Toronto Marlboros the first defenceman chosen at fourth overall before the Saginaw Spirit made Lucas Tsioutsioulas of the Ajax-Pickering Raiders the first goaltender chosen at 12th overall.
All OHL member teams were required to draft a minimum of two players, however to enhance opportunities specifically for goaltenders, clubs selecting a goaltender with one of their selections had the option to select another player (skater only) in a third round.
The Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL) led the way with 20 players selected while the Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) followed with 17. The Minor Hockey Alliance of Ontario (ALLIANCE) had five players hear their names called while Hockey Eastern Ontario (HEO) had four, the Northern Ontario Hockey Association (NOHA) had three while a pair of accredited Hockey Canada sports schools saw two players chosen.
The OMHA’s Markham Waxers led all teams with five players selected followed by the GTHL’s Toronto Marlboros, Reps Hockey Club, Toronto Red Wings and ALLIANCE’s Elgin-Middlesex Canucks with three respectively.
The OHL Under-18 Priority Selection was conducted in partnership with RinkNet as picks were submitted online by OHL member clubs and displayed in real time at ontariohockeyleague.com. The selections were also streamed live on OHL Live.
Announced in January 2017, the concept of the OHL Under-18 Priority Selection was developed with full support from Hockey Canada’s three Ontario Branches including the Ontario Hockey Federation (OHF), Hockey Eastern Ontario (HEO), and Hockey Northwestern Ontario (HNO).
