Michigan names to know before 2019 OHL draft
The 2019 OHL Priority Selection takes place on Saturday, April 6. Each season, MiHockey checks in with OHL scout Kevin Hess for his list of Michigan names to know for the upcoming draft; check out the ‘names to know’ list for the 2003 birth-year class below – in alphabetical order.
Bennett Barnes (Compuware U16) – Smaller, skilled player who can play all three forward spots. Plays much bigger than his size indicates. Provides energy for his team as he finishes his checks and is very effective on the forecheck. Displays good hockey sense and works hard to be on the correct side of the puck. Sees the ice well and makes the high percentage play often. Quick shot release that catches goalies by surprise when he has the puck in tight.
NHL Player he reminds me of: Brad Marchand
Owen Carlile (Oakland Jr. Grizzlies U15) – Skilled centerman who generates time and space using a combination of lateral crossovers and edge work. Finds the quiet areas well. Accurate shot with multiple release points.
NHL Player he reminds me of: Clayton Keller
Davis Codd (Little Caesars U16) – Quick and shifty centerman. Gets up to top speed quickly and does a good job of backing down defenders to get time and space to make plays. Has a very good skill set that he uses to make others around him better. Finds the quiet areas well, generating high quality scoring chances.
NHL Player he reminds me of: Max Domi
Kyle DeMarco (Oakland Jr. Grizzlies U15) – Good sized defender who is still growing into his frame. His game has progressively gotten better throughout the season. Handles the puck well and has underrated skill. Does a good job of moving his feet to find shooting lanes. Defends well, keeping his man contained along the wall. Does a good job of clearing his net-front. Wins a high percentage of his 1-on-1 battles, and then quickly scans the ice and makes the high-percentage play.
NHL Player he reminds me of: Jeff Petry
Luca Di Pasquo (Compuware U16) – Athletic goalie who plays a very technically sound game. Plays at the top of his crease and does a good job of cutting off the angle. Good skater, as his movements are clean and crisp. Controls his rebounds well. Plays the puck like a third defenseman.
NHL Player he reminds me of: Braden Holtby
Dylan Duke (Compuware U16) – Has the hockey sense and skill set to control the pace of the game. Sees the ice well and does a good job of putting pucks only where his teammates can get them. Good shot with a quick release. Has no problem going into traffic to make a play.
NHL Player he reminds me of: Jonathan Toews
Will Fox (Compuware U16) – Technically sound goaltender who plays at the top of the paint, doing a good job of cutting down the angle. Moves well and does a good job of getting squared to shots. Controls rebounds well.
NHL Player he reminds me of: John Gibson
Ty Gallagher (Compuware U16) – Two-way defender with solid puck skills. Possesses the skating ability and edge work to elude pressure. Sees the ice well and makes good outlets. Activates into the offense well.
NHL Player he reminds me of: Ryan Ellis
Gibson Homer (Fox Motors U16) – Athletic goaltender with a strong fundamental base. Moves well in and around his crease. Controls rebounds well. Plays a cool, calm game, with a quiet confidence.
NHL Player he reminds me of: Carey Price
Luke Hughes (Little Caesars U15) – Good skating defender who shows poise and patience when he has the puck. Very good on his edges and eludes pressure well. Plays a puck-moving, offensive game. Pinches hard to keep the offense going. Does a good job of moving his feet to find shot lanes. Good shot that is low and accurate, forcing the goalie to make a save.
NHL Player he reminds me of: PK Subban
Ryan Humphrey (Honeybaked U16) – Smaller, highly skilled winger that plays with a bit of an edge. Shows no problem going to the tough areas. Good skater who has very good edge control. Does a good job of shifting his weight and changing speeds to gain time and space. Has a quick release, showing a good scoring touch. Sees the ice well and playing the puck possession style of game that teams crave.
NHL Player he reminds me of: Mitch Marner
Drew Jeffers (Compuware U16) – Physical defenseman who plays a stay-at-home style game with offensive upside. Shows the value of puck possession, showing poise to make a play. Does not miss too many opportunities to finish his check.
NHL Player he reminds me of: Darnell Nurse
Dean Loukus (Calumet High School) – Very good skater with a smooth stride that eats up the ice. Has good hockey IQ, reading and reacting to the play quickly. Has a good skill set and makes plays with his feet moving. Does a good job of finding the quiet areas, getting the puck and getting it on the net quickly.
NHL Player he reminds me of: Dylan Larkin
Ryan Mast (Compuware U16) – Plays a very simple, yet highly effective game. He is strong on the puck, defending well and wins a high percentage of his puck battles. Makes a good first pass.
NHL Player he reminds me of: Keith Yandle
Austin May (Oakland Jr. Grizzlies U16) – Versatile defender that can play any style game thrown his way. Has the hockey sense and relative skill to make time and space for himself when needed. Makes good outlets, especially when under heavy pressure. Plays with a heavy stick.
NHL Player he reminds me of: Drew Doughty
Kaidan Mbereko (Little Caesars U16) – Very athletic goaltender. Plays out at the top of his paint and plays a fundamentally sound butterfly style. Competes at a high level and does a great job of not giving up on any pucks. Fights through traffic to find the puck well. Moves well around his crease, both when on his feet and when down in the butterfly slide position. Does a good job of getting himself square to most shots.
NHL Player he reminds me of: Andrei Vasilevskiy
Connor Miller (Honeybaked U15) – Good skater with good balance and knee bend that allows him to maintain a top speed for an extended period of time. Does a nice job of using his edge work and skill to create time and space off the rush. Has a scoring touch around the net. Can score goals in a variety of ways. Has a heavy shot, with a quick release that allows him to score from beyond the tops of the circles. Also has the skill and strength to score the gritty goals at the net front. Is learning to play on the defensive side of the puck and has shown improvement in this area as the season has progressed.
NHL Player he reminds me of: Blake Wheeler
Trevor Mitchell (Honeybaked U16) – Two-way defenseman that possesses good hockey IQ. Reads and reacts to the play quickly. Plays with a quick and active stick. Keeps his man to the outside and positions himself well in terms of keeping himself between his man and his goalie. Makes good outlets with time. Has shown that he understands the importance of puck possession. Is poised with the puck and makes plays.
NHL Player he reminds me of: Tyson Barrie
Sutter Muzzatti (Meijer U15) – Raw prospect that has the physical tools to be an effective power forward at the next level. Has improved in almost every aspect of his game throughout the season. Competes at a high level, doing a good job of winning his 1-on-1 puck battles. Has a heavy shot with multiple release points. Has shown good touch from tops of the circles down. Has solid puck skills that have continued to evolve over the course of the year.
NHL Player he reminds me of: Brian Boyle
Sasha Pastujov (Compuware U16) – Possesses an elite skill set. Has shown the ability to create offensive chances out of nothing. Accurate shot with a pro release. Excels in today’s puck possession-style game. Sees the ice well. Makes the players around him better.
NHL Player he reminds me of: Tyler Seguin
Kevin Perrott (Oakland Jr. Grizzlies U15) – The most improved player I have watched this season, especially in terms of his skating. Protects the puck well. Good shot with a quick release. Plays a very unselfish game, doing what it takes for his team to win.
NHL Player he reminds me of: Tom Wilson
Donovan Powell (Meijer U16) – Puck-moving, right-shot defenseman with some intriguing upside. Good skater, who can get up to top speed quickly. Possesses good four-way mobility. Has end-to-end rushing abilities. Makes a solid outlet pass. His game away from the puck has improved throughout the season.
NHL Player he reminds me of: Seth Jones
Austin Salini (Hancock High School) – Good sized forward who gets a lot out of his stride. His skating speed is deceptive. Good relative skill level. Uses a combination of weight shifts and puck protection to get the puck to the net. Competes at a high level, winning a high percentage of his 1-on-1 battles. Finishes his checks when appropriate. Heavy on the puck, using his body to protect it well. Has a heavy shot that is very accurate.
NHL Player he reminds me of: Aleksander Barkov
Vincent Salice (Oakland Jr. Grizzlies U16) – Quick, shifty centerman who displays a high hockey IQ. Possesses high end skill. Very good skater who makes plays at high speed. Quick shot release.
NHL Player he reminds me of: Tyler Johnson
Redmond Savage (Compuware U16) – Reads and reacts to the play quickly. Has good puck skills and is very smooth when making plays. Sees the ice well, showing poise and patience to let the play develop.
NHL Player he reminds me of: Johnny Gaudreau
Eddie Shepler (Honeybaked U16) – Powerful skating forward who can play all three forward positions. Gets up to top speed quickly and plays with pace. Plays an honest 200-foot game. Competes at a high level. Heavy shot with a quick release.
NHL Player he reminds me of: Matthew Tkachuk
Max Smolinski (Little Caesars U15) – Two-way defender that plays with some jam. Plays physical down below the goal line. Finishes his checks, keeps his man along the perimeter and wins a good percentage of his loose puck battles. Has displayed the value of puck possession in his game. Makes good firm passes. Does a good job of finding lanes to get the puck to the net.
NHL Player he reminds me of: Shayne Gostisbehere
Nicholas Sofikitis (Compuware U16) – Puck-moving style defenseman that plays with some jam to his game. Competes at a high level. Has the skating and skill set to escape pressure. Makes strong outlets.
NHL Player he reminds me of: Torey Krug
Jack Stolicker (Compuware U16) – Good skating forward, with a powerful stride. Tough to contain once he gets going. Is good on the cycle, protecting the puck and getting it to the net. Possesses a heavy shot, with a quick release. Uses size and skill effectively to make plays on the rush and off the cycle.
NHL Player he reminds me of: Nathan MacKinnon
Ethan Straky (Oakland Jr. Grizzlies U16) – Puck-moving defenseman with good puck skills. Displays pretty good hockey IQ. Does a good job of making decisions quickly while under pressure. Makes good outlets in all ranges. Does a good job of making plays with his feet moving.
NHL Player he reminds me of: Oliver Ekman-Larsson