The Kitchener Rangers 2022-23 season ended on Thursday night with a loss to the London Knights, but there is a little rest for the club as the OHL priority draft begins in earnest on Friday night.
On Thursday, the Erie Otters announced that they would be selecting Hamilton defenceman Matthew Schaefer with the top pick in Friday’s draft.
The rest of the picks for the first three rounds will occur on Friday night beginning at 7 p.m.
Kitchener will have two picks to make in the opening round as they will make back-to-back selections at No. 10 and No. 11.
The Rangers second first-rounder is a compensatory pick as last year’s first-rounder, Michael Hage, did not sign with the club.
There are two or three players from the area who could hear their names called on Friday night, including Brady Martin of the Waterloo Wolves, who is considered to be one of the top prospects.
The team swung a deal with Saginaw earlier in the week to add North Bay’s second rounder to their stockpile.
This means they will select at No. 41 in the second round and then again at No. 47 in the third round where they hold Oshawa’s pick.
The team’s own second and third rounders are currently held by the Guelph Storm and Oshawa Gernerls respectively.
On Saturday at 9 a.m. the fourth round will get underway with the Rangers picking 70th and 71st overall in that round.
When the team swung the deal for North Bay’s second rounder, general manager alluded to the fact the team would be making this year’s selections with an eye on eventually hosting the Memorial Cup in 2027.
“These players that we are selecting this year are going to be the building blocks of our core group that we are going to build around for our potential bid to host the 2026-27 CHL Memorial Cup,” he stated
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