OHL talent shines at 2023 NHL Prospect Showcases

A total of 160 OHL players attended NHL Rookie Camps this past weekend. With seven prospect tournaments taking place across the continent, here is a look at some of the League’s standout performers.

NHL Prospects Tournament (Traverse City, MI)

Participating teams: Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, and Toronto

London Knights forward Easton Cowan was the standout representative from the OHL in Michigan over the weekend. The Maple Leafs 2023 first-round pick finished the tournament with six points in three games, including a two goals, and four assists for the blue and white.

The Columbus Blue Jackets were victors of the annual showcase, a team that included OHL products in Nolan Lalonde (Erie Otters), Luca Pinelli (Ottawa 67’s), Kocha Delic (Sudbury Wolves) and Nicholas DeAngelis (Windsor Spitfires) along with graduates Cameron Butler (Oshawa Generals), Luca Del Bel Belluz (Sarnia Sting), Sean McGurn (London Knights), Ben Roger (Kingston Frontenacs) and Pavel Cajan (Kitchener Rangers).

YEEE-HAWW 🤠 pic.twitter.com/7wkBHbZrGI

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) September 17, 2023

Prospects Challenge (Buffalo, NY) 

Participating teams: Boston, Buffalo, Montreal, New Jersey, Ottawa, and Pittsburgh

Windsor Spitfires graduate Brett Harrison scored three times as the Boston Bruins played to a 1-1 mark in Buffalo.

2022 fourth-round pick Cedrick Guidon found the back of the net at the Prospects Challenge, as the Owen Sound Attack forward contributed a goal in the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 win over the Bruins on Saturday.

MTL 1, BOS 1

Cédrick Guindon nivelle la marque en avantage numérique!

Cédrick Guindon scores on the PP to tie it up!#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/MW5gzd7ooW

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) September 16, 2023

Southeast Rookie Showcase (Estero, FL)

Participating teams: Carolina, Florida, Nashville, and Tampa Bay

Sudbury Wolves newcomer Jakub Vondras helped the Carolina Hurricanes wrap-up a 3-0 showing at the Southeast Rookie Showcase on Monday, backstopping Carolina to a 3-2 win over Nashville. Wolves grad Blake Murray joined former Saginaw Spirit forward Ryan Suzuki in the goal-scoring department for the Canes.

Sarnia Sting forward Sandis Vilmanis continued to impress in his second Rookie Showcase, as Florida’s fifth-round 2022 pick garnered the biggest highlight of the game in Saturday’s 4-2 win over Nashville. Vilmanis grabbed the puck at Florida’s blue line, skated through a pair of Nashville defenders and roofed a slick goal into the top of the net on the power play to increase the Panthers’ lead.

Sandis Vilmanis putting on a SHOW ‼️ pic.twitter.com/HMBXkoAZxd

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) September 17, 2023

Young Stars Classic (Penticton, BC)

Participating teams: Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Winnipeg

North Bay Battalion forward Matvey Petrov was a standout for Edmonton recording a goal and two assists at the Young Stars Classic, as he was the only multi-point getter for the Oilers. The 2021 sixth-round pick also earned some style points, sniping a one-timer just underneath the bar to push the Oilers into overtime on Sunday.

Petrov blasts it home 💥 pic.twitter.com/vYgTGIRxtA

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) September 17, 2023

2023 OHL Goaltender of the Year Domenic DiVincentiis remained solid in the crease in his second showcase with the Winnipeg Jets, as the North Bay netminder made 33 stops despite losing 3-1 to the Oilers on Friday. He and the Jets rebounded on Sunday, defeating the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 on a shootout winner by Kitchener Rangers graduate Danny Zhilkin.

between the pipes 🥅

DOMENIC DIVINCENTIIS pic.twitter.com/YwnfpW9E13

— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) September 15, 2023

Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase (Saint Paul, MN)

Participating teams: Chicago, St. Louis, and Minnesota

Saginaw Spirit forward Hunter Haight had a strong performance for Minnesota, tallying three points (0-3-3) over the weekend. The 2022 second-round pick had no problem showing off his physical game, playing an important role for the Wild. Oshawa Generals newcomer Rasmus Kumpulainen also scored in Sunday’s 7-4 win over Chicago. Nick Lardis (Brantford Bulldogs) had two goals in the loss for the Blackhawks.

Put a 🎀 on it Rasmus Kumpulainen 🫡#mnwild pic.twitter.com/4Z4fACxyvJ

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) September 17, 2023

2023 Rookie Series (Allentown, PA)

Participating teams: Philadelphia and NY Rangers

Oshawa Generals forward Dylan Roobroeck got the weekend off to a strong start, scoring in a Friday win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Free-agent invite Luke McNamara opened the scoring for New York on Saturday off a set-up from London Knights’ Max McCue as the Rangers locked in their second win of the weekend, defeating the Flyers once again.

McNAMARA. 🔄 pic.twitter.com/PXhHejbY4t

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) September 16, 2023

2023 Rookie Faceoff (Las Vegas, NV)

Participating teams: Vegas, Anaheim, Arizona, Colorado, Los Angeles, and San Jose

London Knights newcomer Kasper Halttunen joined Barrie Colts grad Ethan Cardwell with a goal as the San Jose Sharks defeated Vegas 5-1 on Saturday.

2023 second-round pick Carey Terrance had a solid performance despite the Ducks 5-3 loss to the Avalanche on Sunday, finishing the matchup with his first NHL pre-season goal, as well as an assist.

🚨 Carey Terrance! 🚨

He follows up a shot from King and gives us the 1-0 lead.

STREAM: https://t.co/0ZxyIuEzWo pic.twitter.com/crpXldd32W

— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) September 17, 2023