Selections take priority
NORTH BAY, Ont. — The North Bay Battalion has traded sixth- and 15th-round picks in the 2025 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection to the Sarnia Sting for future sixth- and seventh-rounders, the club announced Monday.
North Bay dealt a sixth-round selection that originally belonged to the Flint Firebirds and the Windsor Spitfires’ 15th-round choice for Sarnia’s sixth in 2027 and its seventh in 2028.
The Priority Selection is to be conducted remotely from the 20 teams’ headquarters with three rounds Friday night and 12 on Saturday. The Battalion has 15 picks in the 15 rounds.
North Bay will exercise the sixth overall selection, the highest the club has picked since taking Ty Nelson with the No. 1 choice in 2020. This year marks the first time since 2021, when there had been no season because of covid, that the Battalion isn’t involved in playoffs during the Priority Selection.
“The last few years, we’ve had a lot going on,” Adam Dennis, director of hockey operations, said Sunday. “We’ve had some games during the draft, so we’ll be able to really dial in. We’ve got a pick in the first and the second round higher than we’ve had in previous years, and we look forward to adding to our core.
“I think, more than anything, this is going to be a really competitive team to make next year. We don’t lose a lot of guys, and the young guys that we feel have lot of promise get a year older. The league gets a little bit worse around them as the 19- and 20-year-olds will graduate, so we’re looking forward to having them back, but the work’s really just starting.”
The Battalion will exercise its own selections in the first, second, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, 10th, 11th, 12th and 14th rounds.
North Bay doesn’t have its own third-rounder, which was sent to the Niagara IceDogs on Dec. 12, 2022, for Pasquale Zito. The Battalion’s fourth-round choice was traded to Sarnia in acquiring Sandis Vilmanis, Andrew LeBlanc and Jacob LeBlanc on Jan. 6, 2024, and its 15th-rounder went to Windsor.
The Battalion holds a fourth-round pick that originally belonged to the Ottawa 67’s, acquired Oct. 10 in the trade that sent Dalyn Wakely to the Barrie Colts. The Troops also have Ottawa’s fifth-rounder, which was received from Windsor for Zito on Jan. 9, 2024.
North Bay holds the Saginaw Spirit’s eighth-round choice from a swap of picks in 2022. The Battalion’s own 13th-rounder is with Windsor, while the Troops hold Windsor’s 13th from the Aug. 8 trade of Tnias Mathurin.
The inventory of selections could change by 3 p.m. Thursday, when a trade window for picks closes.
Teams select in reverse order of the overall standings from the 2024-25 season, with the four non-playoff teams picking in the first round in accordance with the results of a weighted lottery. The Peterborough Petes hold the first selection, followed by the Guelph Storm, Ottawa and Sarnia. The Owen Sound Attack selects fifth.
