If the London Knights top picks in the 2021 OHL Priority Selection follow in the footsteps of past Knights players they stand to have long playing careers in the game of hockey.
At the end of those careers and with names like Denver Barkey, Easton Cowan and Oliver Bonk, all three might want to head to Hollywood.
The Knights and the 19 other teams in the Ontario Hokey League completed the first three rounds of their annual draft on Friday night. Rounds four to 15 will take place on Saturday.
The Sudbury Wolves made the first overall selection of Quentin Musty official just after 7 p.m., and kicked off 59 consecutive picks.
London chose Barkey at number 16 out of the Toronto Titans U16 AAA program. That is the same team that produced former Knights and Guelph Storm defenceman Markus Phillips.
“Denver really fits the style of game we like to play. He is very good at possessing the puck,” says London Knights associate general manager Rob Simpson.
In the second round the Knights did not have their own pick but owned back-to-back selections acquired in trades with Niagara and Hamilton respectively.
With the 25th overall pick London reached for Cowan who would have been part of a potential powerhouse with the Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs. hockeyprospect.com gave Cowan high marks for his passing his vision and his high-end speed.
Simpson mentioned those attributes and then added, “He is someone who competes hard and has good skill.”
With the very next selection the Knights chose Bonk who brings brawn and bloodlines to the London blue line.
Bonk is the son of former Ottawa Senators forward Radek Bonk.
At six-feet-one-inch, he has a similar frame to his father, but according to Simpson plays a similar style to former London Knight Alec Regula.
“He is a big right-shot defenceman who possesses a lot of skill.”
London had their own pick at number 56 in the 3rd round and used it on centre Mathieu Paris who continued the Knigthts’ run of unique names.
hockeyprospect.com describes Paris as a, “highly skilled, highly intelligent playmaking center with the combination of compete, skill and ability to score goals at any point of the game.”
Paris is from Ottawa and played his minor hockey for the Eastern Ontario Wild and the Navan Grads.
London’s final selection of the night had belonged to the Soo Greyhounds. The Knights acquired it in a trade with the Barrie Colts earlier in the week that saw the teams exchange five draft picks in total.
The Knights drafted right-shot defenceman Carson Lloyd of the Kitchener Jr. Rangers. Lloyd will have to make the tricky transition from one side of the London-Kitchener rivalry to the other.
On day two the Knights will have choices to make in every round except for the 4th and the 15th. London will select twice in the 8th round and in the 10th round as well.
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