NHL ranks three Troops
NORTH BAY, Ont. — Ryder Cali tops three members of the North Bay Battalion in final rankings released Thursday by the National Hockey League’s central scouting department.
Centre Cali is joined by right winger Parker Vaughan and defenceman Alexander Karmanov on the list prepared in advance of the 2026 NHL Draft, to be conducted June 26-27 at Buffalo, again in a decentralized format.
A total of 62 Ontario Hockey League performers received ratings on a list of 224 North American-based skaters.
Cali, who also played left wing this season, is rated No. 25, marking him as a potential first-round pick. He scored 16 goals and earned 20 assists for 36 points in 47 games after missing time to injury.
A first-round pick, 18th overall, by the Soo Greyhounds in the 2024 OHL Priority Selection from the Markham Majors U16s, Cali had his rights acquired in a trade Sept. 13, 2024. The Penetanguishene, Ont., resident, who stands six-foot-one and weighs 219 pounds, turns 18 on Sept. 6.
Vaughan is ranked 83rd as a possible third-rounder. The Battalion acquired him in a Jan. 5, 2025, trade with the Barrie Colts, who selected him fifth overall in 2024 from the Elgin Middlesex Canucks U16s. The St. Thomas, Ont., resident turned 18 on March 6.
Vaughan, who measures six-foot-one and 194 pounds, scored 14 goals and added 19 assists for 33 points in 68 games this season.
Karmanov is at No. 214, ranked in the seventh and final round, although the projections do not include Europeans. The Battalion acquired the rights to the native of Chisinau, Moldova, from the junior B Brantford Titans in November after he was a third-round pick in the Canadian Hockey League Import Draft last July by the Brantford Bulldogs.
Karmanov, who turned 18 on March 22, had two assists in 20 games. He stands seven feet tall and weighs 280 pounds.
The top-rated OHL skater is Soo defenceman Chase Reid at No. 2. He is followed at sixth by Brantford centre Caleb Malhotra.
In addition, a list of 37 North American-based goaltenders, including 10 OHLers, was released, along with European-based international lists of 149 skaters and 23 goaltenders.
The top-ranked OHL goaltender is Ryder Fetterolf of the Ottawa 67’s at No. 11.
The Western Hockey League has 69 skaters ranked, while the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League has 35, giving the CHL a total of 166. Nine WHL goaltenders and six QMJHL counterparts help produce 25 ranked CHL goalies, accounting for all but 12 listed.
Players are first-time eligible for the NHL Draft in the year they turn 18, unless they were born Sept. 16 or later, in which case they must wait until the following year.
