The Barrie Colts have potentially added some new faces for next season following the Ontario Hockey League's Under-18 Priority Selection.
The league conducted its seventh annual U18 draft on Wednesday for 'AAA' players in Ontario. The draft is open to players who are not currently on an OHL team's protected list who were carded with an Ontario-based U18 'AAA' club or an accredited Hockey Canada sport school within the Ontario Hockey Federation, Hockey Eastern Ontario or Hockey Northwestern Ontario in the current season.
Fifty-one players were selected from 31 different teams, including 26 forwards, 14 defenseman and 11 goaltenders. Forty-eight of the 51 players selected were born in 2006.
The Colts made three picks in the U18 draft.
In the first round, with the 17th-overall pick, Barrie selected right-winger Luke McSorley from the Toronto Marlboros. McSorley had 21 points (12G, 9A) this season in the Greater Toronto Hockey League and 63 penalty minutes.
With their second-round pick, the Colts grabbed goalie Mario Zganjer, also from the Toronto Marlboros.
In the third round, Barrie grabbed Russian-born defenceman David Musaev from the Toronto Red Wings.
As for the local U18 'AAA' club, the Barrie Jr. Colts sent one player off to the OHL as left-winger Nathan Leek was selected 11th overall. The Alliston native was picked by the Peterborough Petes after putting up 60 points (29G, 31A) in 34 games with Barrie. He also picked up 14 points in the ETA playoffs.
As winners of the draft lottery on March 29, the Erie Otters used their first-overall selection to take six-foot-two Nepean Raiders centre Brett Hammond, who recorded 55 points (29G, 26A) in 37 games this past season.
All OHL member teams were required to draft a minimum of two players, however to enhance opportunities specifically for goaltenders, clubs selecting a netminder with one of their selections had the option to select another player in a third round, as long as it was a skater.
In the inaugural OHL U18 Draft in 2017, the Barrie Colts selected Victor Hadfield with the first-overall pick. Hadfield played in 124 games as a Colt from 2017 to 2020, tallying 33 points (10G, 23A).
