OHL draft lottery slots Greyhounds late in opening round

Had the 2020-21 Ontario Hockey League season gone ahead, the Soo Greyhounds figured they would be among the top teams in the league, which would have meant a late pick in the opening round of the 2021 OHL Priority Selection.

The season never materialized, but the Greyhounds will still pick late in the opening round of the draft in early June.

The Greyhounds’ hopes of winning the OHL’s first-ever draft lottery were dashed early as the team will be slotted in to pick 18th in the opening round.

Greyhounds general manager Kyle Raftis called going through the lottery process interesting.

“You’re kind of hopeful that you’ll get some luck because it’s not based on anything. There aren’t any locked spots for making the playoffs or anything like that,” Raftis said. “You’re hoping to improve on your spot. The year we thought we were lining ourselves up to have, it was probably where we were going to be picking anyway, but you’re hoping to get a little bit of luck and move up. We’ve had some success in the past picking in that 18 to 20 range so I’m excited that we’ll add a good play. At the same time, when you’re watching the cards flip over, you’re hoping to have a higher pick.”

The Greyhounds don’t have their own second round pick, but the team does have the rights to Windsor’s second rounder.

The Greyhounds hold 15 picks in the draft.

After the opening round, the Greyhounds are slated to pick again at 36 and then with the 48th overall pick when the draft moves into round three, which is a pick originally owned by Mississauga.

The full first round order is:

1. Sudbury Wolves
2. Oshawa Generals
3. Guelph Storm
4. Windsor Spitfires
5. Kingston Frontenacs
6. Peterborough Petes
7. Flint Firebirds
8. Owen Sound Attack
9. Mississauga Steelheads
10. Erie Otters
11. North Bay Battalion
12. Ottawa 67’s
13. Sarnia Sting
14. Hamilton Bulldogs
15. Saginaw Spirit
16. London Knights
17. Kitchener Rangers
18. Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
19. Barrie Colts

The Niagara IceDogs are the lone team without a pick in the first round, having lost a pair of first round picks due to player recruitment violations.

The IceDogs were included in the lottery process and were designated with the 15th pick in the opening round.

The draft, which will be split into two days for the first time since going to an online format, begins on June 4 with the opening three rounds, beginning at 7 p.m.

Rounds four through 15 will be held on June 5, beginning at 9 a.m.

The OHL’s annual U18 draft is scheduled for the Wednesday following the main draft, which is June 9.