JAKE O’BRIEN LEADS BULLDOGS 2023 DRAFT CLASS
BRANTFORD, ONTARIO. The Brantford Bulldogs welcomed 14 draft selections between Friday night and Saturday led by the 8th overall selection Jake O’Brien and four total picks in the first 4 rounds.
The captain of the Toronto Jr. Canadiens, OHL Cup Champion and OHL Cup MVP, Jake O’Brien arrives in Brantford as a born leader who has won at every level. Leading the OHL Cup in scoring with an incredible 17 points in 7 games, O’Brien brings next level hockey intelligence in the middle of the ice to go along with his high-end offensive potential. Following Matthew Strome & Ryan Winterton as the third 8th overall selection in Bulldogs history, O’Brien has seen the path blazed in front of him and has the potential to be the next great-eight in Bulldogs history.
Next on the clock at #34, the Bulldogs stayed in the GTHL taking forward Dylan Tsherna from the Don Mills Flyers. Recording 34 points in 31 games, Tsherna brings a hard-nosed style to the Bulldogs and mixed with his strong skating and offensive ability has the potential to be an immediate contributor at the OHL level.
With the 54th & 58th overall selections, the Bulldogs turned North to the Peterborough Petes U16 selecting electric forward Joshua Avery & dynamic defenseman Ben Radley. Avery is coming off an incredible season, posting 31 goals & 32 assists for 63 points in 35 games in the regular season and continued right on, dominating the playoffs with 15 points in 8 games and another 6 points in 6 games in the OHL Cup. Confident & skilled with the puck Avery brings the potential to be a star for the Bulldogs. On the blueline, Radley brings a diverse skill set, both skilled and physical at 6’0’’/170. Radley posted 14 goals & 32 assists for 46 points in 36 games to lead the Petes backend to an OMHA Championship.
To open Day 2, the Bulldogs went local in the 4th round selecting Simcoe defenseman Cam Hankai from the Hamilton Jr. Bulldogs. Skating in 37 regular season games, Hankai recorded 9 goals & 18 assists for 27 points, adding another pair in 9 playoff games. Hankai also stepped up to the GOJHL level skating in a game with the Welland Canadiens as an underage player.
In the 6th round, with the 109th overall selection, the Bulldogs looked to hit the home run shot, taking gifted centerman Cooper Dennis from the Bishop Kearney Selects 15’s in Rochester, New York. The Ithica, NY product had a brilliant 2022-23 season posting an incredible 124 points on 59 goals & 65 assists in 83 games.
With the 129th overall selection, in the 7th round, the Bulldogs turned east to towering Kemptville 73’s U18 left-winger Parker Holmes. At 6’3”/219, is an imposing figure with a physical style but can fill the scoresheet playing against older competition. With 25 goals & 24 assists for 49 points in 41 regular season games, Holmes continued to elevate his game in the playoffs with 4 goals & 9 assists for 13 points in 11 games. Miserable to play against with his combination of size and skill, Holmes will be one to watch when the Bulldogs host the team’s development camp.
Back on the clock with the 169th overall pick in the 9th round, defenseman Niko Krmpotic of the Halton Hurricanes was next to hear his named called by the Bullodgs. The 6’0”/167 product of Georgetown elevated his game as the season went along, finishing with 4 goals & 15 assists for 19 points in 36 games before posting 5 assists through 8 playoff games.
The Bulldogs went to the GTHL once again in the 10th round, selecting skillful center Briir Long of the Mississauga Senators with the 189th overall pick. Moving from his North Bay home, where he starred for the Trappers U15 side a year ago, Long posted 10 goals & 14 assists for 24 points in 28 regular season games followed by a strong OHL Cup performance where Long finished 3rd on his team with 3 goals & 4 assists for 7 points.
Going local again in the 11th round, the Bulldogs selected 5’10”/160 center Evan Bradacs from the Brantford Jr. 99ers U16. Bradacs led the 99ers in scoring by 16 points through the season posting 21 goals & 23 assists for 44 points in 32 games. Carrying his team offensively, Bradacs was the only 99er to post better than 20 goals or 30 points.
The Bulldogs looked between the pipes for the only time in the draft in the 12th round, selecting Hamilton Jr. Bulldogs crease keeper, Logan Snyder 229th overall. Snyder was lights out during the regular season and playoffs posting a 1.86 regular season GAA in 19 starts with 4 shutouts followed by a 1.81 GAA in 5 playoffs starts with an additional pair of shutouts. Following in the footsteps of Marco Costantini, Matteo Drobac & David Egorov before him, Snyder also suited up for a pair of Hamilton Kilty B’s games posting a 1 win, a 2.11 GAA & .944 save percentage, catching the eye of Bulldogs scouts.
Owen Fitzgerald rounded out the Peterborough Petes U16 trio for the Bulldogs in the draft, being selected in the 13th round, 249th overall. Joining teammates Joshua Avery & Ben Radley in the Bulldogs draft class from the Petes, Fitzgerald is coming off a strong season & playoffs where the playmaking forward posted 14 goals & 23 assists for 37 points in 27 games followed by 5 goals & 4 assists for 9 points in 8 playoff games on route to winning the OMHA Championship.
Following the path blazed by the likes of Isaac Nurse & Mark Duarte before him the Bulldogs selected Hamilton Huskies power forward Jacob Uhm with the 269th overall selection in the 14th round. Uhm found his stride in the ALLIANCE playoffs, after posting 7 goals & 5 assists for 12 points in 33 regular season games, the rugged left-wing piled up 4 goals & 10 assists for 14 points in 14 playoff games.
Closing out the draft for the Bulldogs in the 15th round, the team selected Caysen Craig 289th overall from the Cambridge Winterhawks. Craig closed his draft season posting 4 goals & 6 assists for 10 points in the regular season, followed by 2 goals & an assist for 3 points in 5 playoff games.
The Brantford Bulldogs are extremely proud to welcome each of these 14 new prospects to the organization and look forward to seeing them develop in Black & Gold.
