The OHL Priority Selection saw some major changes in 2026 but one thing remained the same: London-area players heard their names called in big numbers from start to finish.
The draft was held in person for the first time since 2000, taking place in Kingston.
To put that into perspective, every single player who heard their name called that day has since completed their hockey career.
Dustin Brown’s number 23 hangs in the rafters in Los Angeles after being retired by the Kings.
He was chosen 26th overall that day.
The London Jr. Knights saw two of their players selected inside the first 29 picks and ten chosen overall.
After the year that the Jr. Knights had under Danny Syvret it was a final reward for a team that made the final four of the OHL Cup.
Add them to Delhi, Ont.’s Roman Vanacker of the Brantford 99ers and more than 10 per cent of those picks had area ties.
Drew Bate went sixth overall to Saginaw and while he admits to being a London Knights fan all his life, that changed quickly when he pulled the Spirit jersey over his head.
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“I grew up following the Knights but I have to say that Saginaw is where it’s at right now,” Bate said with a great big smile.
Vanacker was next with the 23rd pick. His brother Marek is a Chicago Blackhawks prospect who just finished his OHL career with the Brantford Bulldogs.
Roman says his older brother told him to “soak as much in as you can because it goes by fast.”
Vanacker wants to be “an impact player in the OHL.”
It’s something he has been throughout his life at other levels. Vanacker was the captain of the Brantford 99ers and led them in scoring in 2025-26.
Hulking winger Finley Butler went to the Guelph Storm with pick 29. Butler is six feet five inches tall and already 216 pounds and turned 16 in March.
The Sarnia Sting selected Wyatt Finch in the fifth round. Finch has had a fantastic rise in hockey over the past few seasons.
He made a big commitment to his game and made Triple-A, and from there, he has continued to get better and better to the point that he played in six games for the London Nationals this past season as a 15-year-old and had a goal and an assist. Finch was also one of the leading playoff scorers on the Huron-Perth Lakers as a defenceman.
Three more London Jr. Knights heard their names called in the seventh and eighth rounds.
Cameron Jolicoeur of Sarnia, Ont., was chosen by the Windsor Spitfires with the 126th pick.
Londoner Jake Readings went to Ottawa with the 139th pick and Niagara drafted Quinn Roberts at number 144.
In the 10th round, the Brampton Steelheads took London Jr. Knights winger Lucas Enwright. Enwright also played in two games with the Komoka Kings of the Greater Ontario Hockey League last season.
Elgin-Middlesex Canucks centre Cooper Cote went to the Kitchener Rangers in the 11th round.
Londoner Luke McLean was selected by the Guelph Storm in Round 13. He was with the Huron-Perth Lakers in 2025-26.
A second member of the Elgin-Middlesex Canucks was drafted in the 13th round as the Soo Greyhounds picked goaltender and Londoner Kaden Harper at 253.
Jett Luchanko’s younger brother Jace went to one of Jett’s former teams in the Brantford Bulldogs in the 13th round.
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
