2025-26 Season Preview: Oshawa Generals

The Oshawa Generals (41–21–4–2) claimed the Eastern Conference crown for the second straight year before once again falling to the London Knights. They enter the new season with a fresh voice behind the bench, as Mario Pouliot – who joined the staff late last year as an associate coach – takes over head coaching duties, but also with a significant question to answer in goal after the departure of veteran netminder Jacob Oster.

The crease battle will be one of the defining storylines early, but Oshawa also boasts a wave of emerging talent ready to take on bigger roles, from first-round pick Sam Roberts, to power forward Brooks Rogowski. Add in Columbus Blue Jackets 2025 draft pick Owen Griffin, who is expected to lead the offence, and the Generals’ depth and high-end talent should once again make them a contender in the Eastern Conference.

 

Recent Transactions

*- denotes conditional draft pick

DATE	TEAM	TRANSF.	TO	TEAM	TRANSF.
Jun. 26	SOO	Reid Thomas  SOO 7 2028		OSH	OSH 15 2028 OSH 2 2029

 

Futures Watch – a list of some of the new faces fans should be keeping an eye on as the team prepares for the upcoming campaign.

 

Five Questions Heading Into 2025-26:

As the Oshawa Generals set their sights on a third consecutive trip to the OHL Finals, we asked four media members who follow the team closely to weigh in on the biggest questions surrounding the upcoming season. Here’s their take:

 

1.Who is your breakout candidate?

Mike Luck (Play-by-play, Rogers TV): Sam Roberts. I’ve often said that when it comes to being drafted high into the OHL, these players were all, at one point in their careers, the best player in their center, not just the best on their team, but the best around. I’ve had the chance to watch Sam since he was 8 or 9 years old, and even at that point, he fit that description … the best player in his center. The 16th overall pick will be a key piece in the Generals ‘retooling’ for this season. And for a club that has made 13 straight playoff appearances, expectations will still be aimed at a postseason birth.

 

Shane Hollinshead (Colour Commentator, Rogers TV): Simon Wang. With nearly half a regular season (32 games) and a deep playoff run under his belt, Wang will take a bigger role within the Gens D core this season. An elite combination of size and stride, the 6-foot-6 defender should be ready to take a major jump this season.

 

Adam Dunfee (Host, Rogers TV): Brooks Rogowski. The big forward with the soft hands showed flashes of brilliance during his rookie season. Look for him to be a bigger part of the offence in 2025-26.

Jack Moore (Play-by-play, Generals Radio): Brady Blaseg. He was given some opportunities early in the year before going back to Carleton Place in the CCHL and competing for a league championship. He was given opportunities to play in every situation and can bring that experience to Oshawa in the 2025-2026 season. He was also able to join Oshawa during the playoff run and got into game action. A young defenceman with a great head on his shoulders, with high expectations for his ability to grow.

 

2. What’s the Generals’ biggest question mark entering 2025-26?

Luck: Goaltending. With Jacob Oster beginning his post-OHL career at the University of Vermont, the crease is definitely the biggest question mark for the Generals. Will 2023 2nd-round pick Isaac Gravelle be able to fill the large footprints left by Ozzy? Gravelle is the most experienced netminder on the Gens roster at 14 OHL games played, but a pair of newcomers will push him. Oshawa native Reid Thomas was acquired via a trade with the Soo, and 6-foot-5 Russian Andrei Bondarev, who has yet to take the net in action. One of these three will have to seize the reins to backstop a young Generals group.

 

Hollinshead: Trade Deadline. Back-to-back OHL Finals appearances aren’t achieved easily, nor cheaply. A late-season move saw young players and picks shipped out to bring in the likes of Colby Barlow & Andrew Gibson. What Roger Hunt and the Generals choose to do in the first half of the season and into the deadline will be very interesting. Beckett Sennecke and Ben Danford would be two of the most sought-after players by contenders come deadline time.

 

Dunfee: Goaltending. Former OHL goaltender of the year Jacob Oster is gone, so who will emerge as the team’s number one?

 

Moore: Goaltending. When you lose a 2.5-year starting goaltender who broke organizational records and won a goaltender of the year award, there are going to be questions about the replacement. Isaac Gravelle has the inside track to take over the creas, having been in the organization for the last two years and getting game action last season. But with Andrei Bondarev coming in through the import draft and Reid Thomas, the local product, being picked up in an off-season trade, who is going to win the net this season?

 

3. Who will the Generals’ top NHL Draft prospect be by the end of the season?

Luck: Brooks Rogowski. At 6-foot-6, 234lbs, it won’t be hard for scouts to spot Brooks Rogowski. After posting 11G and 23pts in his rookie campaign, Rogowski had a busy summer capturing Gold at the Hlinka Gretzky cup with Team USA, and he also announced his future commitment to Michigan State.  Expected to be a top power forward for the Gens, Rogowski will get every opportunity to showcase his abilities for NHL scouts.

 

Hollinshead: Brooks Rogowski. It was December or January of last season when I first heard the rumblings from scouts in the pregame media room…Brooks Rogowski … 2026 1st Round pick potential. 6-foot-6 with a scoring touch is hard to find, but perhaps most impressive last season was the trust he earned from the coaching staff early in the season as a rookie. Key PK time, final 5 minutes with a lead, the coaches did not shelter the rookie last season. He earned his time and made the most of it when he got it.

 

Dunfee: Brooks Rogowski

 

Moore: Brooks Rogowski. He is one of the most intriguing prospects in the 2026 NHL Draft, boasting raw size at 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds, along with excellent skating ability. An opportunity to cement a top 6 role this season and put his whole game on display this year. I’m not sure it’s a question of whether he’ll be the top prospect from the Generals, but how high he’ll go in the draft.

 

4. Which new addition are you most excited to see?

Luck: Onni Kalto. The Generals were looking for both skill and experience in the Import draft, and may have found a good mix in the Finnish 18-year-old. Kalto spent the majority of last season in the Finnish Jr league, scoring 22 points in 44 games with his U20 TPS team. However, he was called up for a handful of games in Finland’s top men’s league. All in all, Oshawa is hoping that the experience will prove helpful for a quick adjustment to the OHL game for Kalto.  On the plus side, Kalto was ranked 57th among European skaters for the last NHL draft but went without hearing his name, so the Gens are banking on re-entering the draft as a significant motivator to his game.

 

Hollinshead: Andrei Bondarev. I’ll go off the board a bit here and say Andrei Bondarev. Yes, he will likely back up Isaac Gravelle, but Import goalies always intrigue me. A 17-year-old, 6-foot-5, 245-pound import goalie? Now you’ve really got my attention. If he’s got game, which the Gens think he does, this could be a Grand Slam of an Import Pick.

 

Dunfee: Sam Roberts. Gary’s son was the Generals 1st first-round pick in 2025.

 

Moore: Onni Kalto. I’m really looking forward to how Onni Kalto transfers his game from Finland to Canada and how he meshes with the group. Oshawa has had success with Lauri Sinivouri and Rasmus Kumpulainen, who have been their top import picks in the past two years from Finland. I am excited about how this one works out.

 

5. Who will the Generals’ MVP be in 2025-26?

Luck: Owen Griffin. The OHL is considered the best development league in hockey, and transitioning into the league isn’t an easy task.  Just look at the progression of Owen Griffin, a prolific scorer in minor hockey. Griffin struggled to get going in his rookie campaign.  But to his credit, he didn’t fold under the rigours of an OHL schedule; instead, he worked on his defensive side of the game, while the Gens patiently waited for his offensive side to shine again.  And the wait paid off with a 22G and 51Pt campaign.  It earned Griffin a 5th-round selection by the Columbus Blue Jackets.  This is the year when Griffin’s progression is expected to hit another level.  The space provided by the departure of stars like Barlow and Ritchie will give Griffin the spotlight of top minutes and power-play time to excel and reach MVP status.

 

Hollinshead: Owen Griffin. The aforementioned trade deadline possibilities, along with the new hockey world we are entering, make this a challenging question to answer. Who will be here after Game 68 is the first question. From there, who will have the biggest impact? All things being equal, Owen Griffin is a great choice here. He will be the team’s #1 centre out of camp and is a player who has every opportunity to take another major leap this season. Poise, patience and vision will stand out with the puck, but his attention to detail defensively is what will earn him rave reviews with staffs around the league. He will be an all-situations player for the Gens.

 

Dunfee: Owen Griffin. After struggling in his rookie season, Griffin broke out in 2024-25 with 22 goals and 51 points. He was even better in the postseason, where he led the playoffs with 16 goals.

Moore: Owen Griffin. He is poised for a big season this year. A big step in the second half of 2025 and into the playoffs, which then saw him get drafted by the Columbus Jackets in the NHL Entry Draft. With the question mark around when/if Beckett Sennecke will return, Owen Griffin is the next man up to lead the offensive charge.