Ontario Hockey Federation Announces Exceptional Player Status for Michael Misa

Cambridge, ON – The Ontario Hockey Federation today announced the results of the review by Hockey Canada in consideration of the application by Michael Misa, determining that the player is to be granted “exceptional player” status and therefore is eligible for the Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection.

The process was administered by the Ontario Hockey Federation with a Hockey Canada Special Evaluation Panel assembled to evaluate Misa’s hockey and academic documentation and to assess his level of maturity in reaching their decision. 

“Having administered this process since 2005 with John Tavares, Aaron Ekblad, Connor McDavid, Sean Day and Shane Wright, I am continuously amazed by the well-rounded nature of those granted exceptional status,” said OHF Executive Director Phillip McKee. “His constant success both in the classroom and on the ice has demonstrated that Michael Misa is well deserving to be among those who have been granted status in the past.” 

Born February 16, 2007, the 15-year-old Misa is a 5-foot-10, 150-pound forward for the Mississauga Senators U16 AAA team, where he scored 16 goals and 27 assists for 43 points in 27 games during the GTHL regular season. The Senators recently lifted the OHL Cup, where Misa scored 10 goals and 10 assists for 20 points in seven games while also becoming the first player to record a hat-trick in the Championship Final. These numbers saw Misa break the OHL Cup scoring record previously held by Connor McDavid while earning Tournament MVP honours in the process. 

“It’s a huge honour to be counted among names like Connor McDavid and John Tavares to have received exceptional status from Hockey Canada,” said Misa. “I try not to compare myself to those superstars, and just focus on being the best I can be and improve my game every day. 

“The OHL Cup was a tremendous team effort,” Misa added, reflecting on his record-setting performance. “We had to battle through some playoff disappointment and came through on the other side stronger as a team and got the job done together.” 

Misa becomes just the sixth player to be granted “exceptional player” status in the Ontario Hockey League, following John Tavares (Toronto Marlboros, 2005), whose application formed the modern Exceptional Player process, defenceman Aaron Ekblad (Sun County Panthers, 2011), forward Connor McDavid (Toronto Marlboros, 2012), defenceman Sean Day (Detroit Compuware, 2013) and forward Shane Wright (Don Mills Flyers, 2019). The trio of Tavares, Ekblad, and McDavid were all chosen first overall in the OHL Priority Selection and later first overall in the NHL Draft while Wright is a top prospect for the 2022 NHL Draft in July.