O’BRIEN, AVERY & EGOROV NAMED TO CONNOR MCDAVID OHL TOP PROSPECT GAME presented by Enbridge
BRANTFORD, ONTARIO. On Thursday, December 5th the rosters for the inaugural Connor McDavid OHL Top Prospects Game, presented by Enbridge, were announced with the host Brantford Bulldogs having significant involvement on the ice, on the bench and in the support staff for Team East!
Leading the way for the Bulldogs is Bulldogs sophomore centerman Jake O’Brien. Coming off a brilliant rookie season in which he set numerous club rookie records, led the OHL in five rookie scoring categories and was named 2023-24 OHL Rookie of the Year, O’Brien has continued to be a force in the Ontario Hockey League. Skating in all 26 games on the season, O’Brien is already one off his rookie total of 13 goals have posted 12 to go along with 20 assists for 32 points. An “A” rated prospect by NHL Central Scouting, O’Brien has continued to craft his all-around game, building off his next level hockey intelligence and the Bulldogs assistant captain will surely be one of the leaders for a powerful Team East.
Joining O’Brien up front will be Bulldogs forward Josh Avery, the rookie forward made a brief cameo a season ago, skating in 7 games for the Bulldogs, recording 4 points and impressing with his offensive instincts and ability to fire the puck. Avery has continued to grow his game to become one of the Bulldogs most dogged attackers, a menace on the forecheck while turning into one of the team’s most trusted penalty killers as well. Playing in all 26 games on the season thus far, Avery has recorded a pair of goals and 5 assists and continues to earn more and more opportunity through his tremendous work ethic as the season goes along.
The Bulldogs contingent continues between the pipes as David Egorov, in his second full OHL season, gets the call for Team East. Named the HEO U18 Top Goaltender in 2021-22 and to the GOJHL Golden Horseshoe Conference All Rookie Team in 2022-23, Egorov has been a difference maker at every level which he’s played. After a rookie season learning from Matteo Drobac, Egorov has stepped to the forefront in the 2024-25 season, appearing in 13 games on the year, posting a 2.99 / .904 stat line while earning a 7-3-2-0 record to go with it. Able to both make the game look easy and come up with the show stopping, spectacular stop, “Big Save Dave” will have his moment on the big stage in the crease for Team East.
Team East will be run by the Bulldogs staff, with General Manager Matt Turek providing the guidance. The Brantford Bulldogs General Manager has had his hand heavily in crafting OHL Championship teams in 2018 & 2022 as a Scout and Director of Player Personnel before named General Manager. On the bench, Brantford Bulldogs Head Coach Jay McKee who led the team to the 2022 OHL Championship and recently surpassed 250 wins as an OHL Head Coach, will be joined by his assistants Vince Laise, who returned to the Bulldogs in 2024 after being part of coaching staff for the 2018 OHL Championship side, and Ryan Kuwabara, who also joined the club in 2024, as well as assistant coach and director of player development Laura Fortino.
The equipment and training staff will continue the Bulldogs flavour as well. Chris Cooke will return from his 3rd straight World Junior Hockey Championship & 6th major tournament with Team Canada to take care of the equipment side for Team East. The 2022 OHL Championship equipment manager will be joined by the Bulldogs 2018 & 2022 OHL Champion athletic therapist J.P. Laciak to continue the back-room staff that has been so effective for the Bulldogs as a team.
The Brantford Bulldogs are extremely excited to host the inaugural Connor McDavid OHL Top Prospects Game, presented by Enbrige, and couldn’t be prouder for all of our players, coaches and staff who have earned the right to be a part of this great initiative!
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
Toronto, ON – Forty-two OHL players on the NHL scouting radar will hit the ice in Brantford on Wednesday, January 15, 2025 for an exciting, first of its kind event for the Ontario Hockey League.
The inaugural Connor McDavid OHL Top Prospects Game presented by Enbridge Gas pits the league’s top prospects from the Eastern Conference against those of the Western Conference as NHL scouts will be out in full force at the Brantford Civic Centre to witness this highly anticipated event.
Rosters were selected by a committee that included representatives from NHL Central Scouting with input from NHL General Managers along with OHL General Managers Matt Turek (Brantford Bulldogs/Eastern Conference) and Dave Drinkill (Saginaw Spirit/Western Conference). Each team features 19 skaters and two goaltenders, with a pair of roster spots on each team filled by unsigned overage players at the request of NHL Central Scouting.
The Eastern Conference will serve as the home team and is led by three ‘A’ rated prospects on NHL Central Scouting’s preliminary players to watch list including forwards Porter Martone (Brampton Steelheads) and local star Jake O’Brien (Brantford Bulldogs) while Kashawn Aitcheson (Barrie Colts) brings physicality on the blueline. In goal, three-time Canadian gold medalist Jack Ivankovic (Brampton Steelheads) joins another local talent in David Egorov (Brantford Bulldogs). Sophomore forward Joshua Avery gives the host Brantford Bulldogs three players competing in the game.
The Eastern Conference will be staffed by representatives from the Brantford Bulldogs including Head Coach Jay McKee and assistants Vince Laise, Ryan Kuwabara and Laura Fortino. Support staff includes Athletic Therapist JP Laciak and Equipment Manager Chris Cook.
Across the ice, the Western Conference features A-rated talent in a quartet of former high-end OHL Priority Selection choices in forwards Michael Misa (Saginaw Spirit), Malcolm Spence (Erie Otters) and Brady Martin (Soo Greyhounds) with Matthew Schaefer (Erie Otters) on the back end.
The Western Conference is staffed by representatives from the reigning Memorial Cup champion Saginaw Spirit including Head Coach Chris Lazary along with assistants Jake Grimes and Garrett Rutledge. Support staff includes Athletic Trainer Andrew Plate and Equipment Manager Lester Tiu.
The Saginaw Spirit lead all clubs with four players selected to the game followed by the Barrie Colts, Brampton Steelheads, Brantford Bulldogs, Erie Otters, Kitchener Rangers and Owen Sound Attack with three each.
Tickets are now on sale for this brand new event, but don’t delay as they’ll move fast with the holidays right around the corner! Stay tuned to ontariohockeyleague.com and @OHLHockey (X), @ohlofficial (Instagram) and @OHLHockey (Facebook) as we learn more about these tremendous young players pursuing their hockey dream!
About the Ontario Hockey League
The Ontario Hockey League (OHL) has long been regarded as the number one development league in the world, continuing to serve as a leading supplier of talent for the National Hockey League. The OHL consists of 20 teams, with 17 located in Ontario, two in the state of Michigan and one in the state of Pennsylvania. A proud member of the Canadian Hockey League, the OHL is also a leading provider of hockey scholarships, with over 330 graduates receiving OHL Scholarships to pursue a post-secondary education of their choice in 2023-24, resulting in a collective investment of over $3.9 million by OHL member teams.
