Brampton Steelheads 2025 OHL Priority Selection Preview
With the 2025 OHL Priority Selection commencing on Friday, it is a good time for a brief run-through of the Brampton Steelheads draft outlook. After another successful season, the Trout are in a prime position to add talent to the roster next season with not one, but two selections in the first round. With the possibility of star players graduating next season, Brampton’s scouting department has been working around the clock to find young talent to support their 2025 NHL Draft Eligible core.
The Steelheads are in a rare position for OHL teams, with back-to-back picks in the middle of round one. Due to their strong season, finishing in the top 5 of the Eastern Conference, the Steelheads will hold the 15th pick of the first round. Additionally, the Steelheads hold the 14th overall pick after last draft’s first round selection Adam Valentini decided not to commit. The Steelheads traded Valentini’s signing rights to Kitchener on September 5th in exchange for a fifteenth-round pick in 2028 and three conditional picks in 2028 (2nd, 3rd and 4th round pick). Brampton was also awarded the compensatory pick in this year’s priority selection. As per league rules, the picks automatically slot in one spot below where they selected the defected player. As a result, the Steelheads were awarded their compensatory pick as the 14th overall selection in the 2025 OHL Priority Selection.
In a draft class viewed to be deeper than last year’s group, Steelheads’ Head Coach and General Manager James Richmond, Associate General Manager Michael Doyle, and their entire scouting department have been diligently preparing and searching to find the next generation of players that will wear the blue and white.
It will be the second time in franchise history that the Steelheads will select at pick 14, with the first time coming back in 2017 when they selected Thomas Harley. With the Steelheads, the former Vaughan King developed into a star two-way defender tallying 130 points through 189 games in the blue and white. This growth earned him an NHL first-round selection, as in 2019 the Dallas Stars selected Harley with the 18th pick in the NHL Entry Draft. Since joining the Stars, Harley has continued to blossom, just recently being selected to represent Canada at the Four Nations Faceoff.
Past Five 14th overall picks in the OHL Priority Selection
2024 – Aiden O’Donnell (F) – Brantford Bulldogs
2023 – Quinn Beauchesne (D) – Guelph Storm
2022 – Ben Danford (D) – Oshawa Generals * NHL Drafted
2021 – Alex Pharand (F) – Hamilton Bulldogs * NHL Drafted
2020 – Ryan Abraham (F) – Windsor Spitfires
Past Five 15th overall picks in the OHL Priority Selection
2024 – Evan Headrick (F) – Kitchener Rangers
2023 – Jeremy Martin (F) – Flint Firebirds
2022 – Luca Testa (F) – London Knights
2021 – Luke McNamara (F) – Saginaw Spirit
2020 – Donovan McCoy (D) – Peterborough Petes
Where to Watch:
The 2025 OHL Priority Selection will once again be conducted online beginning with Rounds 1-3 on Friday, April 11th at 7:00pm followed by Rounds 4-15 on Saturday, April 12th. You can follow the entire process online at www.ontariohockeyleague.com and streaming live on OHL Live.
Round by Round Selections:
Round 1 #14
Round 1 #15
Round 2 #39 – from Barrie
Round 4 #80 – from Brantford
Round 7 #136
Round 8 #156
Round 9 #176
Round 11 #216
Round 13 #245 – from Guelph
Round 14 #276
Round 15 #296
Player Eligibility:
North American players born in 2008 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 2024 OHL Priority Selection.
Selected Players in the OHL:
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.
All other 16-year-old players selected are eligible to be called up as an “affiliated player” or “floating affiliate player” for a maximum of 10 games or for any OHL regular season or playoff games when such player’s team has been eliminated from competition for that season.
