The North Bay Battalion will select defenceman Ty Nelson with the first pick in Saturday’s OHL Priority Selection draft.
The club announced the pick on Friday.
Nelson, 16, was a member of the Greater Toronto Hockey League champion Toronto Jr. Canadiens this season and led all GTHL defencemen in scoring with 32 points in 33 games.
In a statement Nelson is described as “a swift-skating, picking-moving defenceman,” and is listed as five-foot-eight, 174 pounds.
“Ty was one of the leaders on his team this year and a big force behind their GTHL championship,” said OHL Director of Central Scouting Darrell Woodley in a statement. “He never stops competing and is a bulldog on the ice. He also finishes all his checks which makes him very hard to play against. He is an offensive threat whenever he is on the ice, especially with the puck on his stick, and averaged over a point-per-game this season. He possesses a very good and accurate shot from the point and also finds lanes well to get the puck on net in order to either create rebounds or score. There isn’t much he doesn’t do well and he will be a very impactful player at the next level.”
Other recent first-overall picks in the OHL include exceptional status player Shane Wright (2019), top 2020 NHL Draft prospect Quinton Byfield (2018) and Connor McDavid (2012), also via exceptional status.
The OHL draft – which features 15 rounds and 300 picks – will be conducted entirely online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The OHL season was suspended early and the playoffs were later cancelled due to concerns related to the virus.
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