[{"id":173729,"date":"2026-06-13T18:42:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T22:42:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/?p=173729"},"modified":"2026-06-13T19:15:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T23:15:41","slug":"battalion-tabs-17-recruits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/article\/battalion-tabs-17-recruits","title":{"rendered":"Battalion tabs 17 recruits"},"content":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, Ont. \u2014 The North Bay Battalion made 16 picks Saturday as the first in-person Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection since 2000 wrapped up at Slush Puppie Place.<\/p>\n

North Bay, with 17 picks, chose nine forwards, comprising four centres, three left wingers and two right wingers, six defencemen and two goaltenders over the 15-round process, which started Friday night.<\/p>\n

The 20 OHL clubs selected 301 skaters and goaltenders, with all being 2010 births except for eight born in 2009 and four in 2008.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst and foremost, the City of Kingston, the Kingston Frontenacs and the OHL all need to be commended on putting on a great show this weekend,\u201d said Adam Dennis, Battalion president and director of hockey operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs far as the Priority Selection goes for the Battalion, we walked away feeling very pleased about how the two days turned out. We knew coming in it was a deep draft, and we were able to fill a lot of our needs while adding some top-end players at each of their individual positions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe look forward to building relationships with each one of them and taking part in their development.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the first round Friday night, the Troops selected goaltender Owen Loftus of the Don Mills Flyers U16s with the 11th overall choice.<\/p>\n

With its first pick Saturday, the Battalion chose left-shot centre Alexandre Saulnier of the Ottawa Jr. 67’s U16s in the second round, 35th overall. A six-foot-two, 192-pound resident of Ottawa, Saulnier recorded five goals and 19 assists for 24 points in 17 regular-season games and added 10 points, including six goals, in 12 playoff games. He turned 16 on April 16 after incurring a groin injury last season.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe can be hard to play against and has a good offensive tool set,\u201d general manager John Winstanley said of Saulnier.<\/p>\n

The Troops had two picks in the third round and used the first, 48th overall, on right winger Austin Ottenhof the Quinte Red Devils U16s. Ottenhof, a five-foot-10, 161-pound resident of Odessa, Ont., produced 14 goals and 21 assists for 35 points in 31 games. He turned 16 on June 7.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to bring a fun player to watch with a physical style and a good defensive-zone support to the team, with a scoring touch,\u201d said Ottenhof. who noted he was \u201clearning tons each minute\u201d about North Bay.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve known that there\u2019s fishing and snowmobiling up there and great support to the team with fans.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Battalion\u2019s second third-rounder, 60th overall, was Drew Hulbert, a left-shot defenceman who was a Don Mills teammate of Loftus. A five-foot-11, 191-pound Toronto resident who turned 16 on May 4, Hulbert had 11 points, including four goals, in 16 games. He dealt with a thumb injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a shutdown defenceman who plays against the other teams\u2019 top lines,\u201d noted Winstanley. \u201cHe blocks shots. He\u2019s in the way constantly. The best thing from his coaches is that this guy\u2019s an ox and a machine. He\u2019s in incredible shape.\u201d<\/p>\n

The club, without a pick in the fourth round, used its fifth-round selection, 92nd overall, on right-shot rearguard Sebastien Fortin of the Vaughan Kings U16s. A five-foot-10, 194-pounder from Woodstock, Ont., who turns 16 on Sunday, Fortin had 12 goals and nine assists for 21 points in 32 games.<\/p>\n

North Bay applied its first of two sixth-round picks, 112th overall, to left winger Spencer Greenhalgh, an Ottawa resident who contributed 27 goals and 37 assists for 64 points in 51 games for the Florida Alliance 15s. Greenhalgh, five-foot-10 and 157 pounds, turned 16 on March 25.<\/p>\n

The Battalion\u2019s second sixth-rounder, 117th overall, was another left winger, Ethan Bridges of the Huron-Perth Lakers U16s. A six-foot, 177-pounder from Stratford, Ont., who turned 16 on April 1, Bridges had 46 points, including 16 goals, in 30 games.<\/p>\n

Defenceman Gavin Henry of the Credit River Capitals U16s was chosen in the seventh round, 132nd overall. Henry, a five-foot-11, 155-pound right shot who hails from Georgetown, Ont., scored nine goals and added 30 assists for 39 points in 34 games. He turns 16 on Aug. 3.<\/p>\n

The Battalion took another blueliner in the eighth round, choosing Colten Wilkinson, a left shot from the Toronto Nationals U16s with the 152nd overall pick. Wilkinson, a six-foot-four, 205-pound resident of Holland Landing, Ont., scored three goals and earned five assists for eight points in 31 games. He turns 16 on Aug. 17.<\/p>\n

Left-shot centre Ryder Nobes of the Markham Majors U16s was the ninth-round pick, 172nd overall. Nobes had 22 goals and 21 assists for 43 points in 33 games. A five-foot-six, 147-pounder from Brooklin, Ont., he turns 16 on Aug. 11.<\/p>\n

In the 10th round, North Bay picked Ethan Davidson, a right-shot defenceman from the Central Ontario Wolves U16s with the 192nd overall choice. A resident of Nestleton, Ont., who turned 16 on Feb. 22, Davidson, six-foot-one and 189 pounds, contributed four goals and 16 assists for 20 points in 33 games.<\/p>\n

The Battalion\u2019s 11th-rounder, 212th overall, was right-shot rearguard Tayden Smith of the Sudbury Wolves U16s. Smith, six feet and 176 pounds, scored eight goals and added 21 assists for 29 points in 34 games. He had one assist in four games with the junior A Kirkland Lake Gold Miners of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League. The Sudbury resident turned 16 on Jan. 3.<\/p>\n

The Troops used the first of two 12th-round picks, 227th overall, on right winger Carter Trudell of the Windsor Jr. Spitfires U16s. A five-foot-11, 160-pound resident of Belle River, Ont., Trudell had 36 points, including 17 goals, in 27 games. He turned 16 on Jan. 13.<\/p>\n

The club\u2019s second choice in the round, 232nd overall, was left-shot centre Dylan Dawe of the Halton Hurricanes U16s. Dawe, five-foot-10 and 167 pounds, produced 10 goals and 12 assists for 22 points in 33 games. The Inglewood, Ont., resident turns 16 on Sept. 8.<\/p>\n

Kingston resident Simon Godin, a goaltender, was chosen in the 13th round, 252nd overall, from the Greater Kingston Jr. Gaels U16s. Godin had a 3.29 goals-against average in 17 games. Measuring six feet and 155 pounds, he turns 16 on July 9.<\/p>\n

In the 14th round at No. 272, the Battalion tabbed another Don Mills skater in left winger Lucas Wellenreiter. A five-foot nine, 180-pound resident of Waterdown, Ont., who turned 16 on March 5, he had nine goals and 13 assists for 22 points in 31 games. Older brother Nick Wellenreiter played 113 games with the Troops through last season, scoring 34 goals and adding 49 assists for 83 points.<\/p>\n

The Battalion\u2019s final selection, 292nd overall, was left-shot centre Aidan Duchesne of the North Bay Trappers U16s. The five-foot-eight, 132-pound resident of North Bay had 12 goals and 22 assists for 34 points in 29 games. He turned 16 on Feb. 18.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, Ont. \u2014 The North Bay Battalion made 16 picks Saturday as the first in-person Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection since 2000 wrapped up at Slush Puppie Place.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":579,"featured_media":173775,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[694],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-173729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-694","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2026\/06\/13181510\/AlexandreSaulnier1.png",1600,900,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173729","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/579"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173729"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173729\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":173728,"date":"2026-06-12T23:48:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T03:48:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/?p=173728"},"modified":"2026-06-12T23:48:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T03:48:53","slug":"loftus-becomes-lofty-pick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/article\/loftus-becomes-lofty-pick","title":{"rendered":"Loftus becomes lofty pick"},"content":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, Ont. \u2014 The North Bay Battalion made goaltender Owen Loftus\u00a0 of the Don Mills Flyers U16s its first-round pick Friday night in the Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection, held at Slush Puppie Place, home of the Kingston Frontenacs, in front of an enthusiastic crowd.<\/p>\n

It marked a return of the Priority Selection to a live, in-arena format after 25 years of being conducted via the Internet.<\/p>\n

Loftus was taken with the 11th selection in the 15-round process in which North Bay has a total of 17 picks. The second through 14th rounds are to be held starting at 9 a.m. Saturday.<\/p>\n

Loftus, a Toronto resident who measures six-foot-one and 163 pounds and who turned 16 on April 29, said he had no firm expectations entering the process.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know what to expect, to be honest,\u201d said the first goaltender taken in the first round in franchise history. \u201cI think you could say I was surprised to be picked anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having had discussions with several clubs, once the Battalion made its choice, Loftus was fully on board.<\/p>\n

\u201cI talked to a few, probably 10. I love North Bay. North Bay were great. They\u2019ve got such a good organization, such a good group of people. Honestly, the whole O is built with great organizations and great people, so getting picked to any of these teams, particularly North Bay, is just a huge honour for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam Dennis, Battalion president and director hockey of operations, introduced alternate governor Charles Abbott to make the selection. Among others, including OHL commissioner Bryan Crawford, they were joined on stage by Battalion alumni Jay McClement, Ty Nelson and Dom DiVincentiis, a goaltender with whom Loftus had a later chat.<\/p>\n

As the Greater Toronto Hockey League does not publish individuals\u2019 statistics, there were no numbers to report.<\/p>\n

The process can be followed online at www.ontariohockeyleague.com, is being streamed live\u00a0on\u00a0OHL Live<\/a> and can be seen across Ontario on YourTV, Rogers TV and Eastlink community stations.<\/p>\n

Players registered in Ontario and a number of U.S. states in the OHL\u2019s draw area, primarily those born in 2010 but extending to 2007, are eligible to be chosen.<\/p>\n

The Oshawa Generals took centre Kane Cloutier of the Vaughan Kings U16s with the No. 1 pick. Oshawa won a weighted lottery among the four non-playoff teams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, Ont. \u2014 The North Bay Battalion made goaltender Owen Loftus\u00a0 of the Don Mills Flyers U16s its first-round pick Friday night in the Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection, held at Slush Puppie Place, home of the Kingston Frontenacs, in front of an enthusiastic crowd.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":579,"featured_media":173773,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[694],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-173728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-694","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2026\/06\/12220019\/LoftusInLine.png",1600,900,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/579"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173728\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":173727,"date":"2026-06-11T16:07:39","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T20:07:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/?p=173727"},"modified":"2026-06-11T16:07:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T20:07:39","slug":"battalion-to-get-selective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/article\/battalion-to-get-selective","title":{"rendered":"Battalion to get selective"},"content":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, Ont. \u2014 The Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection returns to a live, in-arena format at 7 p.m. Friday when the first round gets under way at Slush Puppie Place, home of the Kingston Frontenacs.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been 26 years since the last such event, hosted in 2000 by what then were the Mississauga IceDogs. Since 2001, the process has been conducted via the Internet.<\/p>\n

This year also marks a return to June, after years in which the Priority Selection was held in May and, more recently, April. The first round is Friday night, with the rest of the 15-round process, primarily for eligible U16 players in Ontario and parts of the U.S. but including those up to 2007 birth years, to be conducted starting at 9 a.m. Saturday.<\/p>\n

The OHL\u00a0website<\/a> and league social media channels will provide coverage throughout the weekend.<\/p>\n

The North Bay Battalion has the 11th selection in the first round after taking centre Cam Warren of the Toronto Jr. Canadiens U16s at No. 6 last year.<\/p>\n

Teams pick in inverse order of the previous season\u2019s merged final standings, with the non-playoff clubs exercising the first four picks in accordance with the results of a weighted lottery, which was won this year by the Oshawa Generals.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve always got to look for that best player available, in my opinion, especially in the early rounds, because it\u2019s talent that you potentially won\u2019t get later on,\u201d Adam Dennis, the Battalion\u2019s director of hockey operations, said this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, in saying that, for me very important is the runway for some of these players, especially with the new landscape. Right now we\u2019re still kind of adjusting to the new changes, so it makes for a bottleneck, and the players that we draft, say the majority of them, will not see games next season, but it\u2019s important to try to map out some needs in the future that we may have and some holes that may open up a year out from now.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo just trying to balance all those things, but you can\u2019t pass up on talent.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201cnew landscape\u201d followed the National Collegiate Athletic Association\u2019s Division I council voting Nov. 7, 2024, to make Canadian Hockey League players eligible for competition starting in 2025-26.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year we did not draft an American,\u201d noted Dennis. \u201cIt was not necessarily by design, but we felt very strongly of our Ontario list, and we thought that we benefited from it. We got guys like (centre) Jax Pereira, (goaltender) Cole Vreugdenhil, (left winger) Lincoln Edwards, who were guys that we had rated in the top two, three rounds, and we were able to grab them in the fourth and fifth.\u201d<\/p>\n

After trades, North Bay has 17 picks, with single selections in the first and second rounds, two in the third and none in the fourth. The Battalion has one pick in each of the last 11 rounds, except for the sixth and 12th, in each of which it holds two.<\/p>\n

In the second round, the Troops will exercise what originally was the Flint Firebirds\u2019 selection, acquired June 2 from the Saginaw Spirit in a swap of picks. North Bay\u2019s own second-rounder went to the Niagara IceDogs in a Dec. 12, 2022, trade for centre Pasquale Zito.<\/p>\n

The Guelph Storm\u2019s third-rounder was acquired from Niagara on June 13, 2025, in a trade that saw left winger Reyth Smith join the IceDogs, while the Kitchener Rangers\u2019 third-round choice was received five days later from the Owen Sound Attack for right winger Jacob Therrien.<\/p>\n

The Troops\u2019 own third- and fourth-round picks were dealt to Niagara in acquiring defenceman Bronson Ride on Jan. 7, 2024.<\/p>\n

The Windsor Spitfires\u2019 sixth-round selection was obtained Aug. 8, 2024, when rearguard Tnias Mathurin went to Windsor, and the Battalion got Saginaw\u2019s 12th-rounder when it dealt defenceman Zach Wilson to the Spirit on Oct. 6 last year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, Ont. \u2014 The Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection returns to a live, in-arena format at 7 p.m. Friday when the first round gets under way at Slush Puppie Place, home of the Kingston Frontenacs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":579,"featured_media":173762,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[694],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-173727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-694","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2026\/06\/08130340\/PS.png",1600,900,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/579"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173727\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":173726,"date":"2026-06-10T15:11:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T19:11:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/?p=173726"},"modified":"2026-06-10T15:22:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T19:22:30","slug":"new-schedule-teased","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/article\/new-schedule-teased","title":{"rendered":"New schedule teased"},"content":{"rendered":"

NORTH BAY, Ont. \u2014 The Ontario Hockey League has made several announcements this week about aspects of the 2026-27 schedule, which is to be released in full next Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Preliminary announcements include home openers, Rivalry Week and a limited number of interleague games against teams from the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, with two games featuring the North Bay Battalion.<\/p>\n

North Bay is to open the season at home at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18, against the Barrie Colts before a visit at 6:05 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20, to the Oshawa Generals for their home opener.<\/p>\n

The Battalion\u2019s opponent during Rivalry Week, an early-season promotion that debuted last year, is the Sudbury Wolves. In the event, which sees paired teams play two games, one in each centre, North Bay plays host to Sudbury at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, and the Battalion goes to Sudbury for 7:05 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23.<\/p>\n

Last year, the Battalion faced Barrie while Sudbury opposed the Soo Greyhounds. Barrie makes up the loss of the North Bay connection by playing the Owen Sound Attack.<\/p>\n

An expanded interlock with the QMJHL sees the Battalion play home and away against the Val-d\u2019Or Foreurs. The Foreurs are to visit Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens on Sunday, Nov. 1, and North Bay travels to Val-d\u2019Or on Jan. 22.<\/p>\n

To maintain a 68-game schedule while incorporating the Val-d\u2019Or games, the Battalion will play the Kingston Frontenacs twice instead of four times.<\/p>\n

There are a total of eight interleague games, increased from four last season, with all counting toward results in both leagues. In repeat meetings, Sudbury opposes the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and the Ottawa 67\u2019s play the Gatineau Olympiques. The other new competition has Kingston battling the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NORTH BAY, Ont. \u2014 The Ontario Hockey League has made several announcements this week about aspects of the 2026-27 schedule, which is to be released in full next Tuesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":579,"featured_media":173770,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[694],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-173726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-694","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2026\/06\/10012445\/RivalryWkCover.png",1600,900,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/579"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173726"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173726\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":173725,"date":"2026-06-08T20:54:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T00:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/?p=173725"},"modified":"2026-06-08T21:54:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T01:54:29","slug":"battalion-tabs-dale-marks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/article\/battalion-tabs-dale-marks","title":{"rendered":"Battalion tabs Dale, Marks"},"content":{"rendered":"

NORTH BAY, Ont. \u2014 The North Bay Battalion made left winger Grady Dale of the BioSteel Sports Academy U18s its first-round pick Monday night in the Ontario Hockey League Under-18 Priority Selection.<\/p>\n

The Battalion took right winger Wyatt Marks of the Waterloo Wolves U18s in the second round of the 10th annual process, held for the first time in advance of the OHL Priority Selection, to be conducted Friday night and Saturday at Kingston. The Troops didn\u2019t choose a goaltender and thus didn\u2019t have a third-round pick.<\/p>\n

Dale, chosen 11th overall, had 30 goals and 49 assists for 79 points with 14 penalty minutes in 55 games with BioSteel, based in Windsor. He had one goal in as many games with the junior A Leamington Flyers of the Ontario Junior Hockey League.<\/p>\n

Dale played in 2024-25 with the North Bay Trappers U16s, producing 20 goals and 24 assists for 44 points with 50 PiM in 31 games. He had one goal and two assists for three points in four OHL Cup tournament games at Toronto, playing for the Northern Ontario Hockey Association entry.<\/p>\n

A five-foot-10, 178-pound Sudbury resident, he turns 17 on Aug. 30.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrady is a player who competes with purpose every shift,\u201d said Battalion general manager John Winstanley. \u201cHis skill, hockey IQ and drive to get better stood out throughout the scouting process.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re proud to select a player of his calibre and are excited about the impact he\u2019ll have.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 14 games with Waterloo last season, including five at the Telus Cup national tournament, Marks, chosen 31st overall, scored six goals and earned two assists for eight points with 32 PiM. He recorded one assist in one game with the junior B Elmira Sugar Kings of the Greater Ontario Hockey League.<\/p>\n

The six-foot, 156-pound Waterloo resident turned 17 on Feb. 22.<\/p>\n

Winstanley said Marks, who missed most of last season while recovering from shoulder surgery, \u201cis a player we targeted because of his talent, determination and commitment to getting better every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe competes hard, plays the game the right way and embodies the culture we\u2019re building. We\u2019re proud to welcome Wyatt to our organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

Defenceman Jonathan Kapageridis was the only member of the 2025-26 Battalion to have been chosen in the U18 event. Acquired by North Bay in a trade Jan. 8, 2025, he was taken second overall by the Sarnia Sting from the Don Mills Flyers U18s in 2024.<\/p>\n

The 20 clubs, connected to the OHL office in Toronto, made their selections via the Internet. Picks were made in inverse order of the overall standings from 2025-26, with the four non-playoff teams exercising their first choices in accordance with the weighted lottery that determined the selection order for the first four picks in the upcoming Priority Selection.<\/p>\n

The Oshawa Generals had the No. 1 pick and selected centre Ethan Cava of the Seventh Fire Secondary School Eagles U18s from Thunder Bay, Ont.<\/p>\n

Clubs were required to make picks through two rounds, with any team choosing a goaltender having the option to make a third selection, who had to be a skater. A total of 40 skaters and 12 goaltenders were selected.<\/p>\n

All U18 players not on a Canadian Hockey League team\u2019s protected list who were carded with an Ontario-based AAA hockey club or an accredited Hockey Canada sport school within the Ontario Hockey Federation, Hockey Northwestern Ontario or Hockey Eastern Ontario in 2025-26 were eligible for selection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NORTH BAY, Ont. \u2014 The North Bay Battalion made left winger Grady Dale of the BioSteel Sports Academy U18s its first-round pick Monday night in the Ontario Hockey League Under-18 Priority Selection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":579,"featured_media":173765,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[694],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-173725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-694","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2026\/06\/08193440\/Dale.png",1600,900,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/579"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173725\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":173724,"date":"2026-06-02T10:30:44","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T14:30:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/?p=173724"},"modified":"2026-06-02T11:13:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T15:13:16","slug":"troops-get-second-rounder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/article\/troops-get-second-rounder","title":{"rendered":"Troops get second-rounder"},"content":{"rendered":"

NORTH BAY, Ont. \u2014 The Ontario Hockey League\u2019s North Bay Battalion has acquired a second-round pick in the 2026 OHL Priority Selection in a trade with the Saginaw Spirit, the club announced Tuesday.<\/p>\n

North Bay sent its first-round pick in the 2026 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft and a second-rounder in the 2029 OHL Priority Selection to Saginaw for the Flint Firebirds\u2019 second-round selection this year, Saginaw\u2019s 2029 fifth-round choice and the Spirit\u2019s third-rounder in the CHL Import Draft this year.<\/p>\n

With all three Battalion imports, numbering centre Evgeny Dubrovtsev, left winger Arseny Pronin and defenceman Alexander Karmanov, set to return next season, the Troops won\u2019t exercise the Import Draft third-rounder, which Saginaw couldn\u2019t keep while acquiring the first-round choice.<\/p>\n

The 2029 second-rounder received by Saginaw originally belonged to the Owen Sound Attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter much discussion within our management group, we felt that, with all three imports from last year returning, we had the ability to find some added value with our import selection this year,\u201d said Adam Dennis, Battalion director of hockey operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdding an early pick in the upcoming proceeding in Kingston was important given the strength of the top 60 prospects in the 2010 age group. We look forward to welcoming another future Battalion prospect to our talent pool.\u201d<\/p>\n

The OHL Priority Selection is to be held June 12-13 with all teams assembled at Kingston. The last 25 annual events were conducted via the Internet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NORTH BAY, Ont. \u2014 The Ontario Hockey League\u2019s North Bay Battalion has acquired a second-round pick in the 2026 OHL Priority Selection in a trade with the Saginaw Spirit, the club announced Tuesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":579,"featured_media":173748,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[694],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-173724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-694","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2026\/04\/14150906\/AdamDennis1.png",1600,900,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/579"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173724"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173724\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":173721,"date":"2026-04-21T16:14:43","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T20:14:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/?p=173721"},"modified":"2026-04-21T16:14:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T20:14:43","slug":"procyszyn-signs-with-ducks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/article\/procyszyn-signs-with-ducks","title":{"rendered":"Procyszyn signs with Ducks"},"content":{"rendered":"

NORTH BAY, Ont. \u2014 The Anaheim Ducks have signed Ethan Procyszyn of the North Bay Battalion to a three-year entry-level contract, the National Hockey League club announced Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Anaheim selected centre Procyszyn in the third round, 68th overall, of the 2024 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n

Procyszyn, a six-foot-three, 192-pound resident of Wasaga Beach, Ont., led the Battalion in points production in 2025-26, scoring 31 goals and earning 28 assists for 59 points with 94 penalty minutes in 65 games.<\/p>\n

His Ontario Hockey League totals over four seasons are 257 games, 85 goals, 92 assists, 177 points and 261 PiM. In 43 playoff games, he had nine goals, six assists, 15 points and 32 PiM.<\/p>\n

The Battalion chose Procyszyn, who turns 20 on July 11, in the first round, 20th overall, of the 2022 OHL Priority Selection from the North Central Predators U16s.<\/p>\n

He has served as the Troops\u2019 captain for the last one and a half seasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cEthan gave everything to this team for the past four years through his hard work, dedication and leadership,\u201d said Adam Dennis, director of hockey operations. \u201cWe\u2019re thrilled that he has earned his first professional contract with the Ducks and have no doubt there\u2019s a long career ahead for this young man.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs much as he\u2019ll be missed, we look forward to watching him take this next step in his career.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NORTH BAY, Ont. \u2014 The Anaheim Ducks have signed Ethan Procyszyn of the North Bay Battalion to a three-year entry-level contract, the National Hockey League club announced Tuesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":579,"featured_media":173737,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[694],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-173721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-694","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2026\/04\/21112944\/EthanProcyszyn.png",1600,900,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/579"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173721\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":173687,"date":"2026-04-21T13:57:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T17:57:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/?p=173687"},"modified":"2026-04-24T10:52:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T14:52:28","slug":"cali-named-to-canadas-u18s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/article\/cali-named-to-canadas-u18s","title":{"rendered":"Cali named to Canada’s U18s"},"content":{"rendered":"

NORTH BAY, Ont. \u2014 Ryder Cali of the North Bay Battalion has been named to Canada\u2019s roster for the Under-18 World Championship, Hockey Canada announced Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The addition of Cali brings to 10 the number of Ontario Hockey League players on the roster for the tournament, to be held at Bratislava and Trencin, Slovakia, starting Wednesday and running until May 2.<\/p>\n

Canada faces Slovakia at noon ET Wednesday, Latvia, Norway and Finland in group play as it seeks to win a third consecutive championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cFollowing a competitive camp, we are pleased to announce this group of 25 players who will begin the 2026 IIHF U18 Men\u2019s World Championship for Canada,\u201d said general manager Alan Millar, who spent 12 years in the OHL as general manager of the Guelph Storm and Sarnia Sting and director of hockey operations of the defunct Toronto St. Michael\u2019s Majors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are excited about our group\u2019s competitiveness, talent and character as we prepare to open the tournament tomorrow against the host Slovaks. This team will represent Canada and their respective home towns with pride and humility.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are 14 forwards, eight defencemen and three goaltenders on the Canadian roster.<\/p>\n

Cali, who played centre and left wing with the Battalion in 2025-26, left for Slovakia after the Troops lost 5-3 last Wednesday night to the visiting Brantford Bulldogs, who captured their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal in four games. He scored a shorthanded goal in a 6-2 exhibition victory Sunday over Czechia.<\/p>\n

Cali scored 16 goals and earned 20 assists for 36 points in 47 games this season, being named the OHL\u2019s Rookie of the Week for the period ended Oct. 19. He had one goal and three assists for four points in 10 playoff games.<\/p>\n

A resident of Penetanguishene, Ont., Cali was a first-round pick, 18th overall, by the Soo Greyhounds in the 2024 OHL Priority Selection from the Markham Majors U16s. After he declined to report, North Bay acquired his rights in a trade Sept. 13, 2024. Playing in 2024-25 with the junior A Milton Menace, he was called up to the Battalion for five games, in which he didn\u2019t register a point.<\/p>\n

Cali, who turns 18 on Sept. 6, is No. 25 in final rankings of North American-based skaters by the National Hockey League\u2019s central scouting department in advance of the NHL Draft to be held June 26-27 at Buffalo.<\/p>\n

\u201cRyder is someone who has come in at a young age and has really impressed us with the daily discipline he brings to honing his craft,\u201d said Adam Dennis, the Battalion\u2019s director of hockey operations. \u201cHe was impactful in his first OHL season here in North Bay and is very deserving of this opportunity to represent Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe look forward to watching him compete in Slovakia and wish him and his teammates all the best in their quest for gold.\u201d<\/p>\n

A total of 16 tournament games, including Canada\u2019s group games, the quarterfinals, semifinals and medal games, are to be televised nationally by TSN and RDS.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NORTH BAY, Ont. \u2014 Ryder Cali of the North Bay Battalion has been named to Canada\u2019s roster for the Under-18 World Championship, Hockey Canada announced Tuesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":579,"featured_media":173736,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[694],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-173687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-694","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2026\/04\/21112901\/RyderCali.png",1600,900,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/579"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173687"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173687\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":173686,"date":"2026-04-17T15:06:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T19:06:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/?p=173686"},"modified":"2026-04-17T15:06:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T19:06:25","slug":"troops-look-back-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/article\/troops-look-back-forward","title":{"rendered":"Troops look back, forward"},"content":{"rendered":"

NORTH BAY, Ont. \u2014 With players\u2019 exit interviews under way, Friday was a day not only for reflection but also looking forward for the North Bay Battalion.<\/p>\n

The Battalion was eliminated from the Ontario Hockey League playoffs Wednesday night in a 5-3 loss to the visiting Brantford Bulldogs, the OHL regular-season champions who completed a sweep of the teams\u2019 best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series.<\/p>\n

That followed a first round in which fifth-place North Bay defeated the fourth-place Peterborough Petes 4-2 in games while Brantford swept the eighth-place Sudbury Wolves.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think any time as a coach and a staff we come into it, we try to maximize the group,\u201d said coach Ryan Oulahen. \u201cDid I think that we could maybe give Brantford a better run? I did. I thought we had a chance.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe things needed to align a little bit better in that we lost (Kaden) Pitre, which is a big injury, for that series, and Peterborough took a lot out of us, and they were able to get through Sudbury real fast. I think if things were evened out that way, we probably would have had a better chance in Game 1 for sure, and you never know what can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bulldogs put their stamp on the series with an 8-1 romp in the opener, followed by a 4-1 victory in the second game, both at Brantford, before a 3-2 win in double overtime in Game 3 at Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens.<\/p>\n

The Battalion, outscored 31-24 in its 10 postseason games, received exceptional goaltending from Jack Lisson and Mike McIvor. Lisson played in eight games, starting seven, in which he posted a 4-4 won-lost record, a 2.64 goals-against average, a .924 save percentage and two shutouts. Two of his losses came in overtime.<\/p>\n

McIvor played in four games, starting three, with a record of 0-2, a 2.46 GAA and a .931 save percentage. One loss was an overtime decision.<\/p>\n

McIvor, who turned 20 on March 22, indicated an openness to playing as an overager in 2026-27.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love my billets. I love the coaches. I love my teammates. I really want to be here. My rookie year we made it pretty far, and if I can come back next year I feel like I want to go out not losing to the Brantford Bulldogs in the second round. If I come back, I want to win something.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what the plan is yet for next year, but I do love this city and I do enjoy my time here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oulahen said it \u201cwould be a luxury to have\u201d McIvor back, while Adam Dennis, director of hockey operations, noted: \u201cNot only is he a great goalie, he\u2019s a great leader, so to have a player like that returning next year is very promising.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dennis confirmed that the Battalion\u2019s imports, Evgeny Dubrovtsev, Arseny Pronin and Alexander Karmanov, will be back.<\/p>\n

Dubrovtsev was a first-round choice in the Canadian Hockey League Import Draft last July, while the Troops have five players taken in the first round of the OHL Priority Selection, including Shamar Moses from the 2023 process and Cam Warren from 2025.<\/p>\n

Others, all selected in 2024, are Parker Vaughan, Ryder Cali and Ryder Carey, the only Battalion first-rounder in the trio. Vaughan was selected by the Barrie Colts and Cali by the Soo Greyhounds.<\/p>\n

Vaughan led North Bay in playoff scoring with a team-high five goals and two assists for seven points, while Warren had four goals and two assists for six points. Captain Ethan Procyszyn, who\u2019s expected to play professionally next season in the system of the National Hockey League\u2019s Anaheim Ducks, scored four goals and added one assist for five points.<\/p>\n

Cali and Kent Greer each contributed one goal and three assists for four points, and Dubrovtsev produced a team-leading four assists.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NORTH BAY, Ont. \u2014 With players\u2019 exit interviews under way, Friday was a day not only for reflection but also looking forward for the North Bay Battalion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":579,"featured_media":173720,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[694],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-173686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-694","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2026\/04\/17143337\/McIvorBattlesBulldogs.png",1600,900,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/579"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173686"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173686\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":173685,"date":"2026-04-16T13:37:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T17:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/?p=173685"},"modified":"2026-04-16T13:37:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T17:37:11","slug":"nhl-ranks-three-troops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/article\/nhl-ranks-three-troops","title":{"rendered":"NHL ranks three Troops"},"content":{"rendered":"

NORTH BAY, Ont. \u2014 Ryder Cali tops three members of the North Bay Battalion in final rankings released Thursday by the National Hockey League\u2019s central scouting department.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

A total of 62 Ontario Hockey League performers received ratings on a list of 224 North American-based skaters.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Vaughan, who measures six-foot-one and 194 pounds, scored 14 goals and added 19 assists for 33 points in 68 games this season.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Karmanov, who turned 18 on March 22, had two assists in 20 games. He stands seven feet tall and weighs 280 pounds.<\/p>\n

The top-rated OHL skater is Soo defenceman Chase Reid at No. 2. He is followed at sixth by Brantford centre Caleb Malhotra.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The top-ranked OHL goaltender is Ryder Fetterolf of the Ottawa 67\u2019s at No. 11.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NORTH BAY, Ont. \u2014 Ryder Cali tops three members of the North Bay Battalion in final rankings released Thursday by the National Hockey League\u2019s central scouting department.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":579,"featured_media":173715,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[694],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-173685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-694","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2026\/04\/16125508\/RyderCaliScouting.png",1600,900,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/579"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173685\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-battalion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}]