The reigning Ontario Hockey League champions produced quite the swath of brand new National Hockey League prospects as four London Knights were chosen in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft in Las Vegas, Nev., from June 28-29.
The first night saw Sam Dickinson and Sam O’Reilly chosen as both became first-round draft picks.
On Day 2, Jared Woolley and William Nicholl heard their names called.
That brings the number of NHL prospects on the projected 2024-25 Knights roster to eight.
In all, 39 players were chosen from OHL teams.
London defenceman Sam Dickinson went 11th overall to the San Jose Sharks and now joins fellow future Shark and Knights teammate Kasper Halttunen as part of San Jose’s prospect pool.
Dickinson had a tremendous season with the Knights and willed them back in the third period of the Memorial Cup final as he assisted on one goal and then scored to tie the game at the biggest time on the biggest stage that junior hockey can provide.
Mark Edwards of Hockeyprospect.com said that after Macklin Celebrini went first overall to San Jose, the top end of the draft became very unpredictable.
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“When I’m talking with different team scouts and with our own crew and doing our own list, you hear a lot of the same names but in different orders.”
Edwards said that what Dickinson will bring is a complete package.
“Dickinson is an incredible skater and a really smart player but there has been a real improvement in his offensive game. He was playing against top players on other teams as a 16-year old in the OHL final. I can’t say enough good things. I don’t think there is an elite part about his game but everything is very good across the board.”
Dickinson recorded 70 points in 68 games for the Knights.
The Edmonton Oilers closed out the first round as they traded up to pick Knights forward Sam O’Reilly at 32.
O’Reilly kept rising on scouting lists all year after an excellent season in 2022-23 with the London Nationals and peaked at the Memorial Cup tournament.
He was the only rookie to record a point where he had a goal and three assists in four games and at times could be called one of the best players on the ice.
He brings skill, versatility and an edge to the ice every time he steps onto it and is exceptional at winning pucks along the boards.
Defenceman Jared Woolley only became a full-time member of the Knights after the start of the 2023-24 season and while he didn’t see major minutes, Woolley showed scouts and general managers that he had the ability to keep things simple and under control in his own zone while just scratching the surface of potential offensive ability at the other end of the ice.
The Los Angeles Kings saw all that they needed to and took Woolley in the sixth round.
The Oilers looked to London a second time for their seventh-round pick as they nabbed nifty and shifty William Nicholl.
Nicholl’s improvement was steady all season and then hit a new level in the post-season. He possesses excellent quickness and has a great hockey IQ.
His positivity around his teammates is infectious.
Nicholl will find himself higher on the Knights depth chart this season and Edmonton could find out that they have an absolute steal.
All four players will be heading for development camps in the coming weeks as the countdown to the OHL’s regular season is now at under three months away.
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