Two OHL players have been named to Team Czechia’s roster for the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, taking place August 3-8 in Edmonton, AB.<\/p>\n
Both players are committed to the OHL for the 2026-27 season, with forward Adam Nemec<\/span><\/a> (Brantford Bulldogs) <\/span> and defenceman Jiri Gombar (Kitchener Rangers) earning spots on the 25-player roster.<\/p>\n Czechia will look to return to the podium after capturing silver medals in both 2023 and 2024. The country’s most recent Hlinka Gretzky Cup gold medal came in 2016.<\/p>\n The Czechs will compete in Group B alongside the United States, Finland and Germany, while Group A features Canada, Sweden, Switzerland and Slovakia.<\/p>\n They open the tournament against the United States on Monday, Aug. 3, before facing Germany on Tuesday, Aug. 4, and Finland on Wednesday, Aug. 5.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For more information on the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, visit <\/span>hockeycanada.ca<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Two OHL players have been named to Team Czechia’s roster for the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, taking place August 3-8 in Edmonton, AB. Both players are committed to the OHL for the 2026-27 season, with forward Adam Nemec (Brantford Bulldogs) and defenceman Jiri Gombar (Kitchener Rangers) earning spots on the 25-player roster. Czechia will look…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":575,"featured_media":299540,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[186],"tags":[{"term_id":3860,"name":"Jiri Gombar","slug":"jiri-gombar","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3860,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":3556,"name":"Adam Nemec","slug":"adam-nemec","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3556,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":8,"filter":"raw","term_order":"119"},{"term_id":2724,"name":"Brantford Bulldogs","slug":"brantford-bulldogs","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2740,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":680,"filter":"raw","term_order":"510"},{"term_id":1660,"name":"Hlinka Gretzky Cup","slug":"hlinka-gretzky-cup","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1673,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":78,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1477"},{"term_id":82,"name":"Kitchener Rangers","slug":"kitchener-rangers","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":82,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1722,"filter":"raw","term_order":"2038"},{"term_id":2673,"name":"OHL News","slug":"ohl-news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2689,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3949,"filter":"raw","term_order":"2817"}],"class_list":["post-299537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-jiri-gombar","tag-adam-nemec","tag-brantford-bulldogs","tag-hlinka-gretzky-cup","tag-kitchener-rangers","tag-ohl-news","category-186","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/07\/28134725\/Hlinka-CZE-Web.jpg",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/575"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299537"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":299541,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299537\/revisions\/299541"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/299540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":299533,"date":"2026-07-28T12:16:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T16:16:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/?p=299533"},"modified":"2026-07-28T12:16:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T16:16:20","slug":"attack-sign-2026-chl-import-pick-roderik-cernak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/article\/attack-sign-2026-chl-import-pick-roderik-cernak","title":{"rendered":"Attack sign 2026 CHL Import pick Roderik Cernak"},"content":{"rendered":" OWEN SOUND, ON<\/b> \u2013 The Owen Sound Attack have announced the signing of their 2026 first-round Canadian Hockey League Import Draft pick, Roderik Cernak, to an OHL Scholarship and Development Agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Selected <\/span>in the first round (22nd overall) of the 2026 CHL Import Draft, the 6-foot-3, 215 pound Slovakian defencemen will join the Attack after spending the majority of last season with t<\/span>he HC Slovan Bratislava U20 team. The two-way defenceman put up four goals and 10 assists for a total of 14 points during the regular season with a plus\/minus of plus-10.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m super excited to join such a great organization like the Owen Sound Attack,\u201d said Cernak. \u201cMy goal is to be an impact player right away and help my teammates in any way I can. I can\u2019t wait to get started and wear the Attack jersey for the first time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Team President and General Manager, Tyler Nother, believes that Cernak\u2019s dedication to the game and his willingness to be uncompromising in his play to be of value to the Attack.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “We would like to welcome Roderik Cernak and his family to the Owen Sound Attack Organization,” said Nother. \u201cRoderik was identified early on when evaluating what we were looking to add to our group in the CHL Import Draft. Roderik is a hardnosed, right shot defenseman who is willing to do what his team needs to win games, and make it hard on the opposition’s forwards night in and night out. We are very excited to assist in his transition to the North American game and to help him develop into a pro prospect.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Attack’s Head Coach, Keenan Reynolds, notes Cernak’s physicality as a defender as one of the vital aspects of his game.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cCernak is a smooth-skating, physically imposing defender who is at his best when playing an aggressive brand of hockey and making life difficult for the opposing team\u2019s top players,\u201d said Reynolds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Cernak also joins Team Slovakia teammate, Lucian Bernat, as the second CHL Import Draftee signed to the Attack during the off-season.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" OWEN SOUND, ON \u2013 The Owen Sound Attack have announced the signing of their 2026 first-round Canadian Hockey League Import Draft pick, Roderik Cernak, to an OHL Scholarship and Development Agreement.\u00a0 Selected in the first round (22nd overall) of the 2026 CHL Import Draft, the 6-foot-3, 215 pound Slovakian defencemen will join the Attack after…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":575,"featured_media":299535,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[186],"tags":[{"term_id":3859,"name":"Roderik Cernak","slug":"roderik-cernak","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3859,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1"},{"term_id":2673,"name":"OHL News","slug":"ohl-news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2689,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3949,"filter":"raw","term_order":"2817"},{"term_id":86,"name":"Owen Sound Attack","slug":"owen-sound-attack","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":86,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1372,"filter":"raw","term_order":"2909"},{"term_id":890,"name":"Prospects","slug":"prospects","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":901,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1729,"filter":"raw","term_order":"3018"}],"class_list":["post-299533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-roderik-cernak","tag-ohl-news","tag-owen-sound-attack","tag-prospects","category-186","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/07\/28121605\/Cernak-Web.jpg",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/575"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299533"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":299536,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299533\/revisions\/299536"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/299535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":299529,"date":"2026-07-28T11:23:05","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T15:23:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/?p=299529"},"modified":"2026-07-28T11:23:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T15:23:05","slug":"knights-sign-forward-luca-santala","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/article\/knights-sign-forward-luca-santala","title":{"rendered":"Knights sign forward Luca Santala"},"content":{"rendered":" LONDON, ON –<\/strong> The London Knights have announced that forward Luca Santala has signed an OHL Scholarship and Development Agreement with the hockey club.<\/p>\n Santala was selected by the Knights in the second round, 40th overall, of the 2026 CHL Import Draft. Already generating significant attention from NHL scouts, Santala is currently projected to be selected 12th overall in the 2027 NHL Draft according to Daily Faceoff’s early draft rankings.<\/p>\n The 6-foot-2 forward spent the 2025-26 season with Kiekko-Espoo in Finland, recording 12 points in 25 games at the U20 level while adding 22 points in 17 games with the club’s U18 team. Santala also represented Finland internationally, including at the 2026 IIHF Under-18 World Championship where he recorded six points in five games.<\/p>\n Capable of playing both centre and wing, Santala brings a combination of size, skill and hockey sense to the Knights lineup. His offensive instincts, strong two-way game and ability to create scoring opportunities have established him as one of the premier young players in his age group, making him one of the most exciting young prospects set to arrive in the Ontario Hockey League.<\/p>\n The signing adds another highly skilled piece to London’s roster as the club continues preparations for the 2026-27 season.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" LONDON, ON – The London Knights have announced that forward Luca Santala has signed an OHL Scholarship and Development Agreement with the hockey club. Santala was selected by the Knights in the second round, 40th overall, of the 2026 CHL Import Draft. Already generating significant attention from NHL scouts, Santala is currently projected to be…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":575,"featured_media":299531,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[186],"tags":[{"term_id":3858,"name":"Luca Santala","slug":"luca-santala","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3858,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"2"},{"term_id":96,"name":"London Knights","slug":"london-knights","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":96,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2207,"filter":"raw","term_order":"2181"},{"term_id":2673,"name":"OHL News","slug":"ohl-news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2689,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3949,"filter":"raw","term_order":"2817"},{"term_id":890,"name":"Prospects","slug":"prospects","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":901,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1729,"filter":"raw","term_order":"3018"}],"class_list":["post-299529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-luca-santala","tag-london-knights","tag-ohl-news","tag-prospects","category-186","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/07\/28112244\/Santala-Web.jpg",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/575"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299529"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":299532,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299529\/revisions\/299532"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/299531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":299526,"date":"2026-07-28T10:32:58","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T14:32:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/?p=299526"},"modified":"2026-07-28T10:32:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T14:32:58","slug":"2026-ohl-in-the-system-tampa-bay-lightning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/article\/2026-ohl-in-the-system-tampa-bay-lightning","title":{"rendered":"2026 OHL In The System: Tampa Bay Lightning"},"content":{"rendered":" This 32-part series will spotlight OHL players who are either signed to an NHL or AHL contract or are recently drafted, and are 25 years old or younger with 50 or fewer NHL games played.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Join us for OHL in the System!<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Today, we take a closer look at the Tampa Bay Lightning\u2019s prospect pool.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Stepan Shurygin<\/b><\/a> (G) \u2013 Saginaw Spirit (2025-26)<\/b><\/p>\n Selected: 6th Round, 186th Overall (2026)<\/b><\/p>\n OHL Career Stats: 59 GP, 3.79 GAA, .888 SV%, 24-27-3-4<\/b><\/p>\n Age: 19<\/b><\/p>\n Selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the sixth round (186th overall) of the 2026 NHL Draft, Stepan Shurygin became the third OHL goaltender chosen. The 6-foot-4 Saginaw Spirit netminder faced a league-high 1,704 shots during the 2025-26 season and finished with a .888 save percentage.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ethan Czata<\/b><\/a> (C) \u2013 Niagara IceDogs (2023-26), Guelph Storm (2025-26)<\/b><\/p>\n Selected: 2nd Round, 56th Overall (2025)<\/b><\/p>\n Signed: <\/b>Jul. 23, 2025<\/b><\/a>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n OHL Career Stats: 193 GP, 53G, 72A, 125 PTS, -62<\/b><\/p>\n Age: 19<\/b><\/p>\n Originally selected fifth overall by the Niagara IceDogs in the 2023 OHL Priority Selection, Ethan Czata enters his fourth OHL season after being acquired by the Guelph Storm this offseason. The former IceDogs captain has recorded 125 points (53-72\u2013125) in 193 regular-season games.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Grant Spada<\/b><\/a> (D) \u2013 Guelph Storm (2023-26)<\/b><\/p>\n Selected: 7th Round, 212th Overall (2025)<\/b><\/p>\n OHL Career Stats: 126 GP, 6G, 21A, 27 PTS, -19<\/b><\/p>\n Age: 19<\/b><\/p>\n In his second full OHL season, Grant Spada established career highs offensively, recording 21 points (6-15\u201321) in 61 regular-season games.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Marco Mignosa<\/b><\/a> (RW) \u2013 Soo Greyhounds (2021-26)<\/b><\/p>\n Selected: 7th Round, 215th Overall (2025)<\/b><\/p>\n Signed (ATO): <\/b>Apr. 21, 2026<\/b><\/a>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n OHL Career Stats: 303 GP, 116G, 173A, 289 PTS, +32<\/b><\/p>\n Age: 21<\/b><\/p>\n Spending his entire OHL career with the Soo Greyhounds, Marco Mignosa saved his best season for last, recording a career-high 89 points (35-54\u201389) in 65 regular-season games before adding 17 points (7-10\u201317) in 10 playoff contests. A finalist for the Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy as the OHL’s Overager of the Year, the Vaughan, Ont., native also set a Greyhounds franchise record with 14 career shorthanded goals. Mignosa concluded his junior career by signing an amateur tryout agreement with the Syracuse Crunch and is committed to Penn State University for the 2026-27 season.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Kaden Pitre<\/b><\/a> (C) \u2013 Flint Firebirds (2022-26), North Bay Battalion (2025-26)<\/b><\/p>\n Selected: 6th Round, 181st Overall (2024)<\/b><\/p>\n OHL Career Stats: 204 GP, 57G, 81A, 138 PTS, +1<\/b><\/p>\n Age: 20\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Acquired by the North Bay Battalion in late November, Kaden Pitre recorded 44 points (18-26\u201344) in 49 regular-season games split between the Battalion and Flint Firebirds. The Stouffville, Ont., native is committed to Penn State University for the 2026-27 season.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ethan Hay<\/b><\/a> (C) \u2013 Flint Firebirds (2021-24), Saginaw Spirit (2023-25), Kingston Frontenacs (2024-25)<\/b><\/p>\n Selected: 7th Round, 215th Overall (2025)<\/b><\/p>\n OHL Career Stats: 252 GP, 50G, 52A, 102 PTS, -20<\/b><\/p>\n Age: 21<\/b><\/p>\n Beginning his collegiate career at Miami University, Ethan Hay recorded 16 points (4-12\u201316) in 35 games with the RedHawks. The former Memorial Cup champion earned AHCA\/Krampade All-American Scholar honours while also being named an NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sam O\u2019Reilly<\/b><\/a> (C) \u2013 London Knights (2022-26), Kitchener Rangers (2025-26)<\/b><\/p>\n Acquired: <\/b>July 8, 2025<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n OHL Career Stats: 191 GP, 77G, 121A, 198 PTS, +103<\/b><\/p>\n Age: 20<\/b><\/p>\n Sam O\u2019Reilly was named the OHL\u2019s Most Outstanding Player and to the CHL\u2019s First All-Star team after making an immediate impact with the Kitchener Rangers following a mid-season move from the London Knights. The 20-year-old from Toronto recorded 43 points and a +31 rating in 28 games with Kitchener, helping the Rangers finish atop the Western Conference standings for the first time since 2008. O\u2019Reilly also won 58% of his faceoffs and was recognized in the OHL Coaches Poll as the Western Conference\u2019s smartest player, best faceoff man, and best defensive forward. He carried that form into the spring, earning both OHL Playoff MVP and Memorial Cup MVP honours while leading Kitchener to a Memorial Cup title. With that sweep, he became just the fourth player in CHL history to win regular-season, playoff, and Memorial Cup MVP honours in the same season. The championship also marked his second straight Memorial Cup title after winning with London a year earlier, placing him among a rare group of players to win back-to-back Memorial Cups with different teams. Originally selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the first round (32nd overall) of the 2024 NHL Draft, O’Reilly is expected to make his professional debut with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch in 2026-27.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jack Pridham<\/b><\/a> (C) \u2013 Kitchener Rangers (2024-26)<\/b><\/p>\n Acquired: <\/b>June 1, 2026<\/b><\/a>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n OHL Career Stats: 113 GP, 73G, 71A, 144 PTS, +60<\/b><\/p>\n Age: 20<\/b><\/p>\n Returning to Kitchener for his overage season, Jack Pridham played a key role in the Rangers’ championship campaign. He led the club with 90 points (46-44\u201390) in 65 regular-season games, earning the Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy as the OHL’s Overager of the Year. Pridham then added 26 points (7-19\u201326) during Kitchener\u2019s run to OHL and Memorial Cup titles and was named to the Memorial Cup All-Star Team. Originally selected in the ninth round (177th overall) of the 2021 OHL Priority Selection, Pridham was later drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the third round (92nd overall) of the 2024 NHL Draft. His NHL rights were acquired by the Tampa Bay Lightning this offseason, and he is committed to the University of Denver for the 2026-27 season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tomorrow on OHL In The System: We’ll take a look at the OHL talent inside the Buffalo Sabres organization.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Explore the Tampa Bay Lightning\u2019s OHL pipeline, featuring Stepan Shurygin, Marco Mignosa and Sam O\u2019Reilly in the latest edition of OHL in the System.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":575,"featured_media":299528,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[186],"tags":[{"term_id":3073,"name":"OHL in the System","slug":"ohl-in-the-system","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3073,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":91,"filter":"raw","term_order":"2811"},{"term_id":2673,"name":"OHL News","slug":"ohl-news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2689,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3949,"filter":"raw","term_order":"2817"}],"class_list":["post-299526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-ohl-in-the-system","tag-ohl-news","category-186","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/07\/28103235\/Web-1-3.jpg",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/575"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299526"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299526\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":299527,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299526\/revisions\/299527"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/299528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":299521,"date":"2026-07-27T18:15:45","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T22:15:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/?p=299521"},"modified":"2026-07-28T13:51:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T17:51:24","slug":"five-ohl-players-named-to-united-states-roster-for-2026-hlinka-gretzky-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/article\/five-ohl-players-named-to-united-states-roster-for-2026-hlinka-gretzky-cup","title":{"rendered":"Five OHL players named to United States roster for 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup"},"content":{"rendered":" Five OHL players have been named to the United States roster for the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, taking place Aug. 3-8 in Edmonton, AB<\/p>\n Windsor Spitfires forward Ty Bergeron, Kingston Frontenacs forward Nolan Snyder, Niagara IceDogs forward Michael Tang, Flint Firebirds goaltender Mason Courville and Peterborough Petes forward Gerry DiCunzolo were selected following USA Hockey\u2019s Hlinka Gretzky Cup Selection Camp at TRIA Rink in St. Paul, Minnesota.<\/p>\n Bergeron and Tang are both set to make their OHL debuts in 2026-27 after signing with Windsor and Niagara, respectively, earlier this summer.<\/p>\n The 23-player U.S. roster includes 13 forwards, seven defencemen and three goaltenders. Fifteen members of the team previously represented the United States at the 2025 Under-17 Four Nations Tournament, where the Americans earned a second-place finish.<\/p>\n Team USA will compete in Group B alongside Czechia, Finland and Germany, while Group A includes Canada, Sweden, Switzerland and Slovakia. The United States will also face Slovakia in a pre-tournament game on Aug. 1st.<\/p>\n The Americans enter the tournament as defending champions after defeating Sweden 5-3 in the 2025 gold medal game. The United States has won the Hlinka Gretzky Cup twice, capturing titles in 2003 and 2025.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For more information on the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, visit <\/span>hockeycanada.ca<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Five OHL players have been named to the United States roster for the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, taking place Aug. 3-8 in Edmonton, AB<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":299542,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[186],"tags":[{"term_id":63,"name":"Flint Firebirds","slug":"flint-firebirds","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":63,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1347,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1334"},{"term_id":3348,"name":"Gerry 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Spitfires","slug":"windsor-spitfires","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":62,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1654,"filter":"raw","term_order":"3690"}],"class_list":["post-299521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-flint-firebirds","tag-gerry-dicunzolo","tag-hlinka-gretzky-cup","tag-kingston-frontenacs","tag-mason-courville","tag-michael-tang","tag-niagara-icedogs","tag-nolan-snyder","tag-ohl-news","tag-peterborough-petes","tag-ty-bergeron","tag-windsor-spitfires","category-186","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/07\/28135049\/Hlinka-USA-Web.jpg",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299521"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299521\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":299543,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299521\/revisions\/299543"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/299542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":299510,"date":"2026-07-27T16:21:48","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T20:21:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/?p=299510"},"modified":"2026-07-27T16:22:55","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T20:22:55","slug":"sarnia-sting-sign-import-forward-jonas-gulbrandsen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/article\/sarnia-sting-sign-import-forward-jonas-gulbrandsen","title":{"rendered":"Sting sign import forward Jonas Gulbrandsen"},"content":{"rendered":" SARNIA, ON –<\/strong> The Sarnia Sting are pleased to announce that the club has signed forward Jonas Gulbrandsen to a Standard Player Agreement.<\/p>\n Selected 71st overall in the second round of the 2026 CHL Import Draft, Gulbrandsen joins the Sting after spending the 2025-26 season with the Stavanger Oilers U20 program in his hometown of Stavanger, Norway.<\/p>\n The 2008-born centerman brings an impressive combination of size and skill to the Sting lineup. Standing 6-foot-5 and weighing 229 pounds, Gulbrandsen recorded 18 goals and nine assists for 27 points in just 18 games with the Stavanger Oilers U20 during the 2025-26 campaign.<\/p>\n “I’m incredibly excited to join the Sarnia Sting organization,” said Gulbrandsen. “From the first conversations, I felt the team believed in me, and I can’t wait to get to Sarnia, meet my teammates, and get to work. Go Sting!”<\/p>\n Gulbrandsen becomes the latest addition to a Sting roster that continues to take shape ahead of the 2026-27 Ontario Hockey League season. His combination of physical presence, offensive ability, and two-way potential provides another exciting piece for the club’s future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SARNIA, ON – The Sarnia Sting are pleased to announce that the club has signed forward Jonas Gulbrandsen to a Standard Player Agreement. Selected 71st overall in the second round of the 2026 CHL Import Draft, Gulbrandsen joins the Sting after spending the 2025-26 season with the Stavanger Oilers U20 program in his hometown of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":575,"featured_media":299515,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[186],"tags":[{"term_id":3857,"name":"Jonas Gulbrandsen","slug":"jonas-gulbrandsen","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3857,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"3"},{"term_id":2673,"name":"OHL News","slug":"ohl-news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2689,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3949,"filter":"raw","term_order":"2817"},{"term_id":890,"name":"Prospects","slug":"prospects","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":901,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1729,"filter":"raw","term_order":"3018"},{"term_id":75,"name":"Sarnia Sting","slug":"sarnia-sting","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":75,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1385,"filter":"raw","term_order":"3270"}],"class_list":["post-299510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-jonas-gulbrandsen","tag-ohl-news","tag-prospects","tag-sarnia-sting","category-186","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/07\/27162039\/Gulbrandsen-3.jpg",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/575"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299510"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299510\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":299517,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299510\/revisions\/299517"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/299515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":299505,"date":"2026-07-27T16:09:52","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T20:09:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/?p=299505"},"modified":"2026-07-27T16:09:52","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T20:09:52","slug":"ohl-helping-hands-meet-the-barrie-colts-equipment-assistant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/article\/ohl-helping-hands-meet-the-barrie-colts-equipment-assistant","title":{"rendered":"OHL Helping Hands: Meet the Barrie Colts\u2019 Equipment Assistant"},"content":{"rendered":" Around the Barrie Colts’ dressing room, there is one person who never fails to brighten the mood.<\/span><\/p>\n Whether he’s lending a hand around the rink, sharing a laugh with players and staff, or greeting everyone with a smile, Kyle Collins has become an integral part of the Colts organization. Since joining the club during the 2021-22 season, his enthusiasm and positivity have made him much more than a game-day helper.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Creating a strong culture has always been a priority for the team and Collins has become one of the biggest reasons that culture continues to thrive.<\/span><\/p>\n “Kyle has been in Barrie since the 2021-22 season, and since day one he has proven to be such an important part of the team,” said former Head Equipment Manager Morgan Payne. “He comes in and works hard on any task given. He always comes to the rink in a good mood and can put smiles on everyone’s faces regardless of whether we win the game or not.”<\/span><\/p>\n “In Barrie, our team culture is a large part of our identity, and it extends so much further than just the players \u2013 it extends to the organization as a whole, and Kyle is an extremely large part of the family,” Payne said.<\/span><\/p>\n One tradition, in particular, perfectly captures what Collins means to the Colts.<\/p>\n His birthday falls during the OHL Playoffs each spring, and for the past two years the team has made sure to celebrate with him. After telling Collins they couldn’t make it to his birthday party this year, the players surprised him by showing up together, solidifying a memory that has become an annual tradition.<\/p>\n “<\/span>My favourite memories of the years in Barrie are how Kyle is able to bring everyone around him together,” Payne said. “One example is his birthday. It is always during the playoffs, and he invited the entire team to his birthday party. The players all said they couldn’t come because they wanted to surprise him, and the whole team showed up for him.”<\/span><\/p>\n For Collins, it was a moment he’ll never forget.<\/span><\/p>\n “My favourite memory was either winning Game 6 against Brantford on my birthday and putting the puck in the puck case, or when everyone on the team surprised me at my birthday party this year,” he said.<\/span><\/p>\n We couldn't miss celebrating a special birthday \ud83e\udd73<\/p>\n Last night, we helped our Equipment Assistant, Kyle Collins, celebrate his 21st birthday! pic.twitter.com\/EJQJSkjrUU<\/a><\/p>\n — Barrie Colts (@OHLBarrieColts) May 3, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n