[{"id":41539,"date":"2026-04-01T14:42:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T18:42:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-otters\/?p=41539"},"modified":"2026-04-01T14:42:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T18:42:55","slug":"release-erie-otters-awarded-second-overall-in-2026-ohl-priority-selection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-otters\/article\/release-erie-otters-awarded-second-overall-in-2026-ohl-priority-selection","title":{"rendered":"RELEASE: Erie Otters Awarded Second Overall in 2026 OHL Priority Selection"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

Erie, Pennsylvania — <\/b>The results are in from the OHL Draft Lottery and the Erie Otters are thrilled to have been awarded the second overall pick in the 2026 OHL Priority Selection.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Following the OHL’s Draft Lottery process, the Erie Otters have been awarded the second overall pick in the OHL Priority Selection. This selection marks a huge milestone in the Otters development process and brings plenty of excitement around the organization heading into a landmark season of Otters hockey with the team celebrating their 30th<\/sup>\u00a0season in the Ontario Hockey League.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
This will mark the fourth time in team history that the Otters have held the second overall pick with the last time coming in 2022 when Erie drafted Malcolm Spence<\/b>. The Mississauga native having a strong three seasons in the Flagship City, playing a huge part in Erie’s return to the postseason over the past two seasons, wearing an ‘A’ as alternate captain and scoring over 32 goals in 2024-25 before heading to the University of Michigan for the 2025-26 season. Spence’s time in Erie saw him selected in the second round of the NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers in 2025.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The other two times Erie picked second, they selected Greg McKegg <\/b>in 2008 and Dylan Strome <\/b>in 2013. McKegg played in Erie for parts of four OHL seasons, playing in over 230 games, where he captained the Otters for two of them, including a hard-fought 2010-11 season where he scored 49 goals. McKegg was selected in the third round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft and has gone on to play over 230 games in the National Hockey League. Strome was the heart and soul to Erie’s four-straight 50-win seasons, taking part in all of them. Strome played in over 200 games for the Otters and was also the captain of the 2015-16 Otters. A postseason hero, Strome would tally 34 points on his way to leading Erie to their second OHL championship. Erie’s all-time leading scorer would be picked third overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft and has gone on to play nearly 600 games in the National Hockey League.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
This trio of players serves as the example of the elite players who the Otters are known to develop and what fans can expect from the next wave of talent making its way to the Flagship City.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
General Manager Dave Brown <\/b>spoke about the importance of this pick and what it means for the Otters organization, building something special around truly elite talent, with the blueprint in place.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
“The draft period is an exciting phase during which we see new players such as Jake Murray, Tyler Cooper, Lydon Cabral and AJ Gladman become part of our lineup and shape what lies ahead,” Brown <\/b>said. “The draft acts as the cornerstone for constructing the future. Prior to the draft, scouts and staff put in extensive work, observing over 2,000 games live during the winter despite challenging arena conditions. The draft invites everyone to participate in guiding your organization’s course for the upcoming year.”<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
Head Coach Kris Mallette <\/b>spoke about the impact this pick will have on the 2026-27 Otters and how it will make the team better.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

\u201cAdding talent of this caliber doesn\u2019t just fill a hole in our roster, it injects a new level of skill and competitiveness that makes everyone around them better,” Mallette <\/b>said. “Next season we expect this pick to step in and provide a spark but the real value is the long term foundation they provide with our current players.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
The 2026 OHL Priority Selection marks the 31st\u00a0in team history and the kick-off to the Otters’ 30th\u00a0Season Celebration, with more details to come in the upcoming months on what will be an unforgettable year of Otters hockey, both on and off the ice.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
This is the sixth consecutive season the OHL has implemented the Draft Lottery, with the first iteration taking place in the 2021 OHL Priority Selection. This marks the third time Erie has had a lottery pick in this era (2022, 2023) and the second time the Otters have had the second overall pick (2022).<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The weighted system used by the OHL gave Erie a 30 percent chance of being awarded the first overall pick after Erie finished 19th in the OHL standings, with their highest chance being the second pick in the draft.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The OHL Priority Selection will be held in-person this season at Slush Puppie Place in Kingston on June 12 and 13, with Erie picking second on day one.<\/div>\n
\n
Player Eligibility\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
North American players born in 2010 and non-overage players that were not registered with an Ontario based U16 AAA team from protected OHL territories are eligible for selection in the 15 rounds of the 2026 OHL Priority Selection.\u00a0<\/i><\/div>\n
Selected Players in the OHL\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
OHL Member Teams are permitted to register a maximum of four 16-year-old players selected in the OHL Priority Selection. Those 16 year old players that are allowed to be signed are the first two 16-year-old players selected and a maximum of two additional 16-year-old wild carded players in any round of the OHL Priority Selection.\u00a0<\/i><\/div>\n
All other 16-year-old players selected are eligible to be called up as an \u201caffiliated player\u201d or \u201cfloating affiliate player\u201d for a maximum of 10 games or for any OHL regular season or playoff games when such player\u2019s team has been eliminated from competition for that season.\u00a0<\/i><\/div>\n
Keep up with the #2 overall pick and all<\/u>\u00a0the Otters picks and results on OttersHockey.com<\/a>\u00a0or across the Otters’ social media. For all results of the 2026 Priority Selection, please head to OntarioHockeyLeague.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/i><\/div>\n
For the latest Otters news, visit OttersHockey.com<\/a>, or follow the team on Facebook (Facebook.com\/erieottershockey<\/a>), Twitter (@ErieOtters), and Instagram (@ErieOtters).\u00a0<\/i><\/div>\n
For further information on the Erie Otters and for media inquiries, please contact Trevor Kubeja at trevorkubeja@ottershockey.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/i><\/div>\n
\u00a0###<\/div>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””] Erie, Pennsylvania — The results are in from the OHL Draft Lottery and the Erie Otters are thrilled to have been awarded the second overall pick in the 2026 OHL Priority Selection. Following the OHL’s Draft Lottery process, the Erie Otters have been awarded the second overall pick in the OHL Priority Selection.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":569,"featured_media":41545,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[367],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-41539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-367","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2026\/03\/30124658\/SECOND.png",1080,1350,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-otters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-otters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-otters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-otters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/569"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-otters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-otters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41539\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-otters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-otters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-otters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-otters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":41529,"date":"2026-03-16T13:00:05","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T17:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-otters\/?p=41529"},"modified":"2026-03-16T12:06:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T16:06:49","slug":"weekend-preview-final-four","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-otters\/article\/weekend-preview-final-four","title":{"rendered":"WEEKEND PREVIEW: Final Four"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Erie, Pennsylvania —\u00a0<\/strong>It’s the final week of the regular season as the Otters prepare for a four-game week to conclude the year, with three of the four games being played away from the EIA.<\/span><\/p>\n

It all begins Tuesday as the Otters head to Windsor for a St. Patrick’s Day clash with the Spitfires. Wednesday will see the team head to Sarnia to battle the Sting. The Otters return home Saturday for\u00a0Fan Appreciation Night\u00a0<\/strong>against the Guelph Storm. The season concludes Sunday in St. Catharines as the Otters head to the Meridian Centre to take on the IceDogs.<\/p>\n

AHEC YEAH!<\/b><\/p>\n

NWPA AHEC\u2019s Weekend Preview brings the latest news, promotions, and what YOU need to know before YOU go further into the new <\/span>year<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Northwest Pennsylvania Area Health Education Centre is a non-profit organization committed to helping communities in Northwest Pennsylvania meet their primary health care needs and enhance the quality of health in our region, especially the rural and underserved communities.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018AHEC\u2019 maintains partnerships with community, government, and educational agencies and institutions that will connect students to careers, professionals to communities, and communities to better health.<\/span><\/p>\n

Head to<\/span> nwpaahec.org<\/b><\/a> to learn more or to apply!<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0LAST TIME OUT<\/b><\/p>\n

The Otters would begin their weekend with a home contest against the Kingston Frontenacs, the one and only time the team from the “Limestone City” would make their way to Erie. The visitors would get on the board just 25 seconds into the game following an other-worldly deflection from Maleek McGowan. The Otters would answer swiftly with\u00a0Ulysses Lombardi\u00a0<\/strong>striking to make it a 1-1 game. Erie would add a short-handed goal just moments later with\u00a0Julius Saari\u00a0<\/strong>scoring to give the Otters a 2-1 lead they would take into the second period. The Fronts would grow into the game, dominating the second and tying the game at 2-2 heading to the third. In the final frame, Kingston would take the lead before a late power play goal from\u00a0Tyler Cooper\u00a0<\/strong>would send the game to overtime. In the extra period, Kieren Dervin would be the hero and the Frontenacs would take the extra point.<\/p>\n

Saturday would see the Niagara IceDogs make their final visit of the season to Erie as the teams would take to green ice to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day weekend. The visitors would score the game’s first goal before\u00a0Evan Headrick\u00a0<\/strong>would get the Otters back to even at 1-1. Niagara would add another to make it a 2-1 game heading into the second period. From here, the IceDogs would take over, scoring five more times and routing the Otters on home ice by a final of 7-1.<\/p>\n

FOUR GAMES, ONE WEEK<\/b><\/p>\n

Erie kicks off their final week of the season by heading to Windsor for a St. Patty’s Day tilt with the Spitfires.<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s then off to Sarnia for a mid-week clash with the Sting on Wednesday from Progressive Auto Sales Arena.<\/p>\n

Erie then heads home for their final game of the season at Erie Insurance Arena as they take on the Guelph Storm.<\/p>\n

The Otters will end their regular season with a Sunday afternoon visit to the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines to battle the IceDogs in game 68\/68.<\/p>\n

WHO TO WATCH<\/b><\/p>\n

It has been a bit of a roller coaster for Otters forward Evan Headrick since being acquired from the Kitchener Rangers but he’s hoping his eighth goal of the season Saturday will spark a big end of the season. Headrick is in just his second OHL season but with injuries in his rookie year, this has been his first true year in major junior hockey. Headrick still has a big future ahead of him in navy and gold and he’s hoping he’s able to finish strong and come back stronger when the team gets ready for camp in August.<\/p>\n

It has been an outstanding year for Otters defenseman Julius Saari and he’s heated up offensively lately as he looks to end his season on a high-note. Saari has two goals in his last three games and points in three of his last four. The Finnish blueliner has been a steady presence all season for the Otters, even in a season that has had its ups and downs. The Otters are looking forward to having number 6 back in their lineup next season and he’s looking to end the year the right way.<\/p>\n

KNOW THE FOE<\/b><\/p>\n

The Windsor Spitfires are first-up for the Otters on the week and this is a team the Otters have had their troubles with this season. The Spits are one of a few teams that are truly all-in, bringing in big names at the trade deadline like\u00a0Jakub Fibigr, Alex Pharand\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Nathan Villeneuve<\/strong>. Lately however, the Spits have been dealing with injuries to key players like\u00a0Ethan Belchetz\u00a0<\/strong>and Villeneuve. In their absence , it’s been players like\u00a0Caden Harvey, Beksultan Makysh\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0John McLaughlin\u00a0<\/strong>carrying the offensive load. Not to mention, the outstanding goaltending they’ve gotten this season from\u00a0Joey Costanzo<\/strong>, Windsor is sure to be a tough nut to crack for the Otters.<\/p>\n

Erie heads to Sarnia to take on the Sting next, a team the Otters have had some success against, especially at home. Sarnia, like Erie, is also out of the playoff picture as they look forward to next season and adding a top-four pick. The Sting have gotten nice years out of guys like\u00a0Beckham Edwards\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Alessandro Di Iorio\u00a0<\/strong>as expected but perhaps a bit more out of left field has been the season that\u00a0Easton Walos\u00a0<\/strong>has had, leading the Sting in scoring. Sarnia is a team that can play a physical style and should be an interesting test as the Otters look to exact a bit of revenge for a 9-1 beating they took the last time they crossed the Blue Water Bridge just after the trade deadline.<\/p>\n

The Guelph Storm are next up for the Otters as they close out the home schedule with a visit from the 2027 Memorial Cup hosts. The Storm are set to make their return to the postseason and hoping to build momentum to gain experience for a rather young team looking to make their mark.\u00a0Tyler Hopkins\u00a0<\/strong>has been an excellent add for the Storm with players like veteran forward\u00a0Ethan Midema\u00a0<\/strong>also having a strong season. In net,\u00a0Zachary Jovanovski\u00a0<\/strong>has been strong and busy, playing in 50 games for Guelph entering the weekend. The Storm have high-hopes next season but look to shock the world making their way to the postseason, the Otters stand in their way for what is Guelph’s final regular season game.<\/p>\n

The Otters will end their season with a team they know quite well in the Niagara IceDogs as they pay a visit to the Meridian Centre. These two just met last Saturday at the EIA with the IceDogs victorious by a 7-1 score. The IceDogs are still missing forward Ryan Roobroeck,\u00a0<\/strong>however,\u00a0Riley Patterson\u00a0<\/strong>continues to lead the way with a terrific season up-front. The IceDogs look to use this final test to their advantage as they prepare for the postseason and a match-up with either Barrie or Ottawa.<\/p>\n

HOW TO WATCH, LISTEN, & FOLLOW ALONG<\/b><\/p>\n

The new home of Otters hockey is Flo Hockey!<\/span><\/p>\n

Delivering a high-quality viewing experience, Flo Hockey provides access to more than 700 OHL games, and games from the QMJHL, AHL, ECHL, and more, streamed across a range of platforms, including PC and Tablet on Safari and Google Chrome web browsers, as well as iOS and Android mobile devices.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fans can also see the NHL\u2019s stars of tomorrow on the Amazon Fire, Apple TV, V and Roku platforms \u2013 right from the comfort of their homes!<\/span><\/p>\n

For more information, head to<\/span> flohockey.tv<\/b><\/a>!<\/b><\/p>\n

:<\/b><\/p>\n