| Noah Roberts | Brantford Bulldogs | OHL | L | D | 6’0″ | 187 | Hamilton Bulldogs | 2021 | York, ON | 2005 | Not yet rated |
Game Grade: C
Comments: Roberts is a strong left shot defender with the power to move opponents from the front of his net. Tonight he finished 5th among Brantford defensemen earning 14:01 in total ice time including 0:21 while shorthanded. He did not play on the power play. He finished -1 with 0 points, 0 shots, 1 grade ‘A’ opportunity, 1 hit, 5 giveaways, 3 takeaways and for the season he is winning 43% of his 50/50 puck battles. At this point we do not view Roberts as a potential 2024 NHL Draft pick.
| Masen Wray | Brantford Bulldogs | OHL | L | C | 6’3″ | 175 | Hamilton Bulldogs | 2022 | Amarillo, TX | 2006 | 2023-2024: C |
Game Grade: C
Comments: Wray is a long left shot forward who placed eleventh out of eleven Brantford forwards in ice time by earning 10:50 in total TOI including 1:42 while shorthanded. He did not play on the power play. On the night he finished -1 with 0 points, 1 shot, 1 grade “A” opportunity, 3 giveaways, 6 takeaways and for the season he is winning 38% of his 50/50 puck battles. Overall we like his length but feel he needs to continue gaining over strength, power and explosiveness so he can capitalize on his NHL frame.
| Daniel Chen | Brantford Bulldogs | OHL | R | D | 6’4″ | 186 | Hamilton Bulldogs | 2023 | Thornhill, ON | 2006 | Not yet rated |
Game Grade: C
Comments: Chen was drafted #7 overall by Brantford Bulldogs in the OHL U18 Priority Draft. He is a long right shot defenseman who is adjusting to his first season in the OHL. In this game he finished -1 and totaled 8:09 in ice time.
| Jake O’Brien | Brantford Bulldogs | OHL | R | C | 6’1″ | 164 | Brantford Bulldogs | 2023 | Toronto, ON | 2007 | 2024-2025: B |
Game Grade: B+
Comments: O’Brien is a high end 2007 with a chance for professional hockey in his future. In tonight’s game he finished 4th among Bulldog forwards with 20:10 in total ice time including 7:50 on the power play. He did not play while shorthanded. He was constantly around the puck with consistent second and third efforts for loose pucks. He finished +1 with 1 goal and 1 primary assist. The goal was Brantford’s second and came on a quick stick from just outside the left of crease. O’Brien did not one-time the shot but he did catch and release without stickhandling. His assist came after winning a net front battle and then deking the goalie out of the crease before leaving a soft puck in the crease for his teammate to slam home. He had 2 shots, 2 grade ‘A’ opportunities, 1/1 on face-offs, received 1 hit, a game high 10 giveaways, 4 takeaways and for the season he is winning 43% of his 50/50 puck battles. Although tonight he was credited with 10 giveaways only 1 came on a poor read at the offensive blueline while he tried to do too much. The others were dumps into the offensive zone that his teammates could not retrieve or dumped pucks out of the defensive zone to relieve Kingston’s in zone pressure. His current skating posture is a bit hunched forwards with half length quick strides. As he matures O’Brien will need to focus on core strength and focus on single leg movements so his stride lengthens and becomes more efficient. Currently O’Brien has 20 points in 24 OHL games and after being selected 8th overall in the 2023 OHL he is cementing himself as a top professional in the 2007 birth year.
| Callum Cheynowski | Hamilton Bulldogs | OHL | L | D | 6’0″ | 195 | Hamilton Bulldogs | 2022 | Welland, ON | 2006 | 2023-2024: C |
Game Grade: C
Comments: Cheynowski is a thickly built left shot defender who finished -1 and totaled 8:46 in ice time. He split the 2022/23 season between the OHL and the GOJHL with the Thorold Blackhawks. This season he has played in 19 games and has 4 assists.
| Marek Vanacker | Brantford Bulldogs | OHL | L | LW | 6’1″ | 175 | Hamilton Bulldogs | 2022 | Delhi, ON | 2006 | 2023-2024: C+ |
Game Grade: A
Comments: Vanacker is a powerful left shot forward with good acceleration and straight line speed. Tonight he finished 7th among Brantford forwards with 16:33 in total ice time including 3:10 on the power play. he did not play while shorthanded. He finished with 2 goals and 2 assists. The first goal came after catching the opposing strong side defender flat footed after turnover. he then used an explosive stride to drive wide and then used overall body strength to drive the puck to the far post while holding the defenseman off his back. He went backhand-forehand-backhand before sliding the puck five hole. His second goal came on a second effort in the high slot where he misfired on a quick stick and then jumped on a 50/50 loose puck to his right before firing a backhand high glove. Both of his assists came off of turnovers where Vanacker showed the awareness to immediately attack the seam and force the defender to make a decision. On both plays the opposing defender chose to attack him and he showed the puck skills and soft touch to find his open teammate on the opposite side of the royal road. He finished the game +2 with 2 goals, 2 assists, 4 shots, 4 grade “A” opportunities, 0/1 on face-offs, received 2 hits, had 1 shot blocked, 6 giveaways, 5 takeaways and for the season he is winning 50% of his 50/50 puck battles. Vanacker is still long and light but Neutral Zone likes the way he uses leverage to win battles and that he has 29 points in 32 games, which surpasses last year’s totals of 16 points in 55 games.
| Luca Testa | Brantford Bulldogs | OHL | L | LW | 6’0″ | 182 | London Knights | 2022 | Grimsby, ON | 2006 | 2023-2024: C+ |
Injured
Comments: Did not play. After starting with 9 goals and 12 points in his first 13 OHL games Testa has not played since November 15, 2023.
| Jakub Chromiak | Kingston Frontenacs | OHL | R | D | 5’11” | 183 | Sudbury Wolves | 2022 | Ilava, SVK | 2005 | 2023-2024: C+ |
Comments: Did not play. With Slovakia at U20 World Jr. Championships
| Christopher Thibodeau | Kingston Frontenacs | OHL | R | C | 5’9″ | 158 | Kingston Frontenacs | 2021 | Kitchener, ON | 2005 | 2023-2024: C |
Game Grade: B
Comments: Thibodeau is an undersized right shot late 2005 with elusive 1on1 puck skills, a soft first touch and deft passing skills that allow him to be a threat every time on the ice. On the night he had two primary assists with the first coming on a beautiful pass from below the goal line to an open teammate in the high slot who was able to one-time a rocket. His second was on the over time winner after carrying the puck through both the neutral zone and offensive zones for approximately 20 seconds. That may make him sound like a hun but in all honesty Thibodeau’s puck poise and game awareness made the defenders lose their man and scramble. For the night he finished 4th among Kingston forwards earning 16:40 in total ice time including 1:08 on the power play and 1:13 while shorthanded. He finished +2 with 2 primary assists, 4 shots, 2 grade ‘A’ opportunities, 4 PIMs (2 for a defensive zone hook, 2 for an inadvertent neutral zone trip), received 1 hit, 7 giveaways, 3 takeaways and for the season he is winning 38% of his 50/50 puck battles. Although skilled and offensively dangerous Thibodeau’s winning percentage of 38% is going to cause concern for NHL organizations as he may be near a point per game pace during his draft season he is only at 0.52 points per game in his OHL career while sitting at -27.
| Gabriel Frasca | Kingston Frontenacs | OHL | L | C | 6’0″ | 172 | Kingston Frontenacs | 2022 | Caledon, ON | 2006 | 2023-2024: C+ |
Game Grade: B
Comments: Frasca finished third among Kingston forwards earning 16:48 in total ice time including top power play unit ice time of 1:41 and 0:21 in shorthanded ice time. He scored the OT game winner on a quick release curl and drag snap shot through a screen that beat the opposing goalie high glove and went bar down. Frasca was charged with six giveaways and in our view three were turnovers at the offensive grey area blueline that led to transition heading towards his defensive zone. For the game he finished even with 1 goal, 1 shot, 2 grade ‘A’ opportunities, 6/13 on face-offs, received 1 hit, 6 giveaways, 3 takeaways and for the season he is winning 37% of his 50/50 puck battles. Frasca has recently returned to the line-up and this was his eighth game of his draft season. He is a talented shooter with a soft first touch but it is concerning that he is winning 37% of his 50/50 puck battles. In Neutral Zone’s opinion he is worth watching and tracking closely throughout the rest of his draft year. We will be watching for better puck management through the neutral zone and along the walls while cycling in the offensive zone. We will also be paying close attention to his 50/50 puck battle winning percentage as 37% does not lead to success in professional hockey.
| Vann Williamson | Kingston Frontenacs | OHL | R | D | 6’1″ | 177 | Kingston Frontenacs | 2022 | Ajax, ON | 2006 | 2023-2024: C |
Game Grade: B-
Comments: Williamson finished third among Kingston defenders earning 21:46 in total ice time including 3:48 while short handed. He did not play on the power play. He was on the ice for two goals against with the first coming when he got himself caught outside the dot-lane and too close to a teammate’s turnover at the offensive blueline. His poor gap management allowed the Brantford forward to beat him wide and then drive the puck to the far post for a five-hole goal. Williamson’s second minus came after failing to back up his partner at the offensive blueline on a bouncing puck. His partner kept the puck in but fired it off the on coming forwards shinpads for a breakaway. That player did not score but Williamson and his partner over pursued the puck and left a player alone in the slot for a tap in goal. Defensively he led with his stick and did show good leg drive and the power to hit & pin to end the cycle. For the game he finished -2 with 0 points, 0 shots, 1 hit, 5 giveaways, 10 takeaways and for the season he is winning 55% of his 50/50 puck battles. At this point we view Williamson is a defensive minded defenseman with limited offensive instincts that will prevent NHL teams from really keeping a close on him for the draft.
| Luke McNamara | Kingston Frontenacs | OHL | L | C | 6’2″ | 179 | Saginaw Spirit | 2021 | Mississauga, ON | 2005 | 2023-2024: C |
Game Grade: B+
Comments: McNamara is a long left shot forward who finished 9th among Kingston forwards earning 13:28 in total ice time including 0:56 on the power play. He did not play while shorthanded. He scored a goal on a quick stick one-timer after recognizing the turnover and understanding that sliding outside the right side of the royal road would give him a better angle to score. He also had the secondary assist on Kingston’s first goal after shielding the puck along the right wall and locating his weakside defenseman along the blueline. For the game he finished even with 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 shots, 1 grade ‘A’ opportunity, 4 giveaways, 3 takeaways and for the season he is winning 46% of his 50/50 puck battles. McNamara has two stats that will make NHL scouts eliminate him from their prospect watch list. The first being -11 in 13 games with Kingston since the trade from Saginaw and the other being a plus 6’2′ 2005 forward who is winning under 50% of his 50/50 puck battles.
| Tyler Hopkins | Kingston Frontenacs | OHL | L | C | 6’1″ | 170 | Kingston Frontenacs | 2023 | Campbellville, ON | 2007 | Not yet rated |
Game Grade: B
Comments: Hopkins is a 2007 with a nose for the net and a real knack for finding the quiet area in the offensive zone or transition. On the night he finished sixth among Kingston forwards earning 14:10 in ice time including playing 1:41 on the top power play unit 1:47 while shorthanded. Hopkins should nice explosiveness and strength on a first period scoring chance after receiving a pass in the neutral zone and then holding off the defender as he sprinted down the ice. He also showed a quick stick after middle driving the net on a line rush. For the night he finished +1 with 0 points, 3 shots, 3 grade ‘A’ opportunities, 3/7 on face-offs, received 1 hit, 5 giveaways, 3 takeaways and for the season he is winning 45% of his 50/50 puck battles. Hopkins was the 4th overall pick in the 2023 OHL Draft and we feel his combination size strength and an expanded shooting area gives NHL teams a real reason to watch him over the next 18 months
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images