OHL to Conduct First-Ever Draft Lottery in Advance of Priority Selection Presented by Real Canadian Superstore on June 4-5
Toronto, Ont. – With preparations for the 2021-22 season well underway, the Ontario Hockey League today announced that the 2021 OHL Priority Selection presented by Real Canadian Superstore will take place from June 4-5, 2021 live online at ontariohockeyleague.com.
For the first time since the implementation of the annual Priority Selection online in 2001, the event will be held over the course of two days, with Rounds 1-3 being held on Friday, June 4 beginning at 7:00pm. Rounds 4-15 will take place on Saturday, June 5 beginning at 9:00am.
“We’re very excited to welcome the next wave of promising young players to the Ontario Hockey League,” said Commissioner David Branch. “On behalf of the League, I’d like to wish all players the best of success now and going forward as you pursue your hockey goals.”
While the Priority Selection remains its customary 15 rounds in length, the League will be determining the order of selection by way of its first-ever Priority Selection Draft Lottery on Wednesday, May 5 at 7:00pm. The proceedings will be livestreamed on the OHL YouTube channel.
OHL member teams participating in the first round will have an equal chance of securing the first overall pick, with the order of selection to be determined by a computerized random number generator lottery process to be overseen by legal representative Robert Bayne of Filion Wakely Thorup Angeletti LLP.
Unlike past years, the 2021 Priority Selection will see member teams select in a serpentine arrangement, with the order of selection in the first round being reversed to begin Round 2 and alternating each round thereafter.
The 2021 OHL Priority Selection will largely see the top-ranked players born in 2005 within OHL jurisdiction eligible to be selected on June 4-5.
Both the OHL Priority Selection and Draft Lottery will be streamed on the OHL’s YouTube channel, across social media platforms Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and covered extensively at ontariohockeyleague.com.
About the Ontario Hockey League
The Ontario Hockey League is a proud member of the Canadian Hockey League which is the world’s largest development hockey league with 60 teams in nine Canadian provinces and four American states. In addition to the OHL, the CHL is made up of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and the Western Hockey League. The CHL supplies more players to the National Hockey League and U SPORTS than any other league.
