In 2001, the Ontario Hockey League conducted the annual Priority Selection process by way of the Internet for the first time in league history.
The new process allowed for eligible players and their families, as well as fans across the league to follow the process in real time online.
The 2024 OHL Priority Selection will once again be conducted online beginning with Rounds 1-3 on Friday, April 12th at 7:00pm followed by Rounds 4-15 on Saturday, April 13th. You can follow the entire process online at www.ontariohockeyleague.com and streaming live on OHL Live. Both days of the Priority Selection will be aired across the province on YourTV, Rogers tv and Eastlink community stations. Fans can also watch on OHL Action Pak ch. 466 (East) and 677 (West).
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.
OHL Central Scouting
The Central Scouting Bureau of the Ontario Hockey League is an information service and support organization designed to provide the Member Teams with a reference in regards to the players available for selection in the annual “Priority Selection Process.”
The primary objective of OHL Central Scouting is to identify, rate and rank players to be eligible for the Priority Selection, according to their OHL potential. OHL Member Teams combine player data received from the Central Scouting Bureau with evaluations from their team scouting staffs to make their player selections.
The OHL Central Scouting Bureau has been evaluating players since the 1975-76 season.
OHL Central Scouting Staff
Chief Scout – Darrell Woodley
GTA – Chris Marchese
Central Ontario – John Finlay
Northern Ontario – Blaine Smith
Western Ontario – James Kennedy
Ottawa and District – Blake Callaghan
Golden Horseshoe – Dan Wood
Michigan – Kevin Hess
PA/NY/NJ – Joshua Romano