NHL Scouts eying Troops

 Forwards Shamar Moses and Lirim Amidovski and goaltender Mike McIvor of the North Bay Battalion are among a total of 52 Ontario Hockey League skaters and goaltenders in midseason rankings released Tuesday by the National Hockey League’s central scouting department.

Left winger Moses is No. 71 on a list of 224 North American-based skaters in advance of the 2025 NHL Draft to be conducted June 27-28 at Los Angeles, while right winger Amidovski is No. 85. McIvor is ranked 22nd among 32 North American goaltenders.

In addition, affiliate player Jonathan Kapageridis, a defenceman with the junior A Cobourg Cougars, is rated 178th.

“We’re proud to have our four players recognized by NHL central scouting and hope to have a few more added following a competitive second half,” said Adam Dennis, president and director of hockey operations.

“Both Shamar and Lirim have had strong seasons in their first exposure to the Draft, and Jonathan was able to get his first OHL game under his belt just recently. Mike has continued his level of excellence from last year’s playoffs and earned his way onto the list in his second year of eligibility.”

Moses, who turns 18 on May 6, was the Barrie Colts’ first-round pick, 19th overall, in the 2023 OHL Priority Selection from the Don Mills Flyers U16s. The Battalion acquired him in a trade Oct. 10.

In 31 games with North Bay, the six-foot-one, 202-pound Toronto resident has scored nine goals and earned 23 assists for 32 points. In 102 career games, he has 14 goals and 43 assists for 57 points.

Moses, Amidovski and overage defenceman Jacob LeBlanc are to play in the Connor McDavid OHL Top Prospects Game at Brantford on Wednesday night.

Amidovski, a six-foot-one resident of Alliston, Ont., who turned 18 on Dec. 22, was a ninth-round selection in 2022 from the Barrie Colts U16s. He has 10 goals and six assists for 16 points in 37 games this season and OHL totals of 96 games, 14 goals, 13 assists and 27 points.

McIvor, who went undrafted last year, turns 19 on March 22. A six-foot-one, 174-pound resident of Warkworth, Ont., and a fourth-round choice in 2022 from the Quinte Red Devils U16s, he is rated fifth of seven OHL goaltenders.

In 24 games this season, McIvor has a 3.01 goals-against average, a .907 save percentage, one shutout and a won-lost-extended record of 11-9-2. In 44 career games, he has a 3.32 GAA, an .895 save percentage, two shutouts and a 19-20-2 record.

He shone in the playoffs last year in relief of the injured Dom DiVincentiis, posting a 2.68 GAA, a .914 save percentage, one shutout and 10 wins against five losses as the Battalion advanced to the Eastern Conference final for the third consecutive season.

Kapageridis, whose rights were acquired in a trade last week with the Sarnia Sting, played one game with the Battalion before returning to Cobourg of the Ontario Junior Hockey League. A Vaughan, Ont., resident who measures six feet and 176 pounds, he turns 18 on May 8.

Defenceman Matthew Schaefer of the Erie Otters is rated No. 1 on the North American skaters list, while Aleksei Medvedev of the London Knights is the top-ranked OHL goaltender at No. 2. Joshua Ravensbergen of the Western Hockey League’s Prince George Cougars is rated first.

Also released were international lists, essentially Europeans, of 122 skaters and 16 goaltenders.

Players are first-time eligible for the NHL Draft in the year they turn 18, unless they are born Sept. 16 or later, in which case they must wait until the following year. Photo/article credit - North Bay Battalion