Ontario Hockey League teams draft a record 10 Huron-Perth Lakers

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Ontario Hockey League teams drafted 10 Huron-Perth Lakers players, a record for the triple-A organization.

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Three members of the Alliance under-16 champions went in the first round.

Erie, with Stratford Warriors’ assistant general manager Mark Nelson as its director of evaluation, picked Lakers forward Jake Murray, from Meaford, 12th overall. After a 15-goal, 25-point regular season, Murray added 10 goals and 17 points in a playoff run that ended at the OHL Cup.

“Jake is a big, strong, powerful centerman,” Otters’ director of hockey operations Scott Grieve said in a statement. “He is a leader and plays with a ton of passion. Jake drives the net hard and thrives in dirty areas. He is hard to play against and wears his heart on his sleeve.”

Kingston used its 17th overall pick to nab defenceman Matthew Henderson. The Sarnia-born blue-liner had 26 points in 30 games with the Lakers in the regular season and added nine points in 11 playoff games.

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“Matthew is a strong competitor and rarely gets beat one on one, takes the body when he has to and has a good active stick,” the Frontenacs said in a statement. “He is one of only five defencemen on his team, so he plays a ton and never really seems too fatigued, as he is an effortless skater.”

Kitchener picked Lakers forward and alternate captain Kane Barch 22nd overall.

“Kane is a high-end player that brings energy and compete every shift,” Rangers general manager Mike McKenzie told the team’s website. “He is the type of player you win hockey games with and can play the game any way you want him to, whether it is a skill or gritty game.”

Barch, from Grand Bend, had 23 goals and 59 points in 30 games this season, with 17 of those points coming in 11 playoff games. He added four points in five OHL Cup games.

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“I am very proud to be a Ranger,” he said. “I know the success they have obtained in the past and I am looking forward to get started with the organization (and) community.”

Lakers’ defenceman D’Andrea Dante will join Henderson in Kingston after getting drafted in the fourth round, 71st overall. Dante, also from Sarnia, had six goals and 14 points in the regular season and two goals and six points in the playoffs and OHL Cup.

Jesse Debruyn went five picks later to Windsor. Debruyn, a defenceman from Exeter, tallied 14 goals and 23 points in 46 regular season and playoff games.

“Underrated player,” Spitfires general manager Bill Bowler told the Windsor Star. “We think this is a steal. Makes a great first pass, doesn’t complicate the game, brings everything and has a calmness and physicality to his game.”

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Peterborough selected Daniel Tout in the sixth round. The Kincardine defenceman had three goals and 12 points in 43 games in 2024-25.

“We’re excited about the players that we were able to select on both Friday and Saturday,” Petes general manager and vice-president of operations Michael Oke said in a story posted to the team’s website. “These players have shown over the course of the past season that they have the skills and qualities required to compete for a spot on the Petes.”

Huron-Perth winger Clark DeBoer, from Bluevale, went in the seventh round, 140th overall, to Sarnia. DeBoer had 15 goals and 34 points in the regular season and playoffs.

Erie drafted Lakers’ goalie Vaughn Barr in the 10th round, 194th overall.

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The St. Marys netminder posted a 1.03 goals-against average in 14 regular season games and a 1.49 GAA in six playoff games. He played in three OHL Cup games and finished with a 2.02 GAA and .933 save percentage.

Brandt Rooyakkers, a forward with this year’s team, went to Peterborough in the 13th round, 244th overall. The centre from Ilderton had 10 goals and 28 points in 2024-25 and made his Junior B debut with Komoka.

Finally, the Soo Greyhounds drafted Cullen Kerslake in the 14th round, 270th overall, after the defenceman from Centralia had three goals and 22 points in 46 total games with the U16 team.

A total of 303 players from 88 programs were selected in the 15-round draft. The U16 Lakers accounted for more than a quarter of Alliance players chosen.

“As we move forward with open borders (between associations), we are focusing on development and putting coaches in place that can move our organization forward and continue to have success at the U16 draft level and U18 program,” Lakers president Gary Van Bakel said. “We are in a really good spot and have a great reputation for developing players ready to take the next step in their hockey development.”

cosmith@postmedia.com

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