Warren leads Troops’ picks
The North Bay Battalion made centre Cam Warren of the Toronto Jr. Canadiens U16s its first-round pick Friday night in the Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection.
Warren, a right shot, was taken with the sixth selection in the 15-round process in which North Bay has a total of 15 picks.
In 33 regular-season games, Warren, who turns 16 on May 7, scored 24 goals and earned 39 assists for 63 points. The Vaughan, Ont., resident stands five-foot-nine and weighs 152 pounds.
“I think I’m a fast player who likes to play smart and use my vision to make guys around me better,” Warren said at Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens, where he received a Battalion sweater from team owner Scott Abbott. “I love to play with speed and pace all around the ice.”
Warren, who was named the most valuable player in the OHL Cup at Toronto, which the Jr. Canadiens won after gaining entry as a qualifier, tied for the most points in the tournament with 13 from six goals and seven assists in seven games.
“It’s super special, obviously, but we had a great team and great support all year, and I think we really came together, so a lot of guys helped me get that done.”
General manager John Winstanley said the Battalion was high on Warren all season.
“This is a player that we’ve coveted right from the beginning of this year,” noted Winstanley. “Coach Ryan (Oulahen) has also gone out to watch this player. He just does a lot of really great things that are going to fit into our lineup right off the bat.”
Winstanley, who said that he’s known Warren since he was nine years old, was effusive in his praise for the first-rounder.
“He’s in the right places. As a centreman, he’s always in a good spot to help his defencemen. Attacking the zone, he gets to the middle ice all the time. He creates space for his teammates, and he finds guys wide open all the time.”
The Battalion chose defenceman Carter Kunopaski of the Ottawa Valley Titans U16s in the second round, 29th overall.
Kunopaski, a left shot, is a six-foot-one, 204-pound resident of Pakenham, Ont., who turned 16 on Feb. 14. In 32 regular-season games, he scored four goals and added 21 assists for 25 points.
“He was a guy who really excelled in his interview process with us,” said Winstanley. “He’s also a guy whom we really liked his play since early in the year.
“He provides an element to the game that you don’t see very much very often. He’s a physical presence every time he’s on the ice. For players on the other team, you have to know where he is, and he’s punishing guys below the dots. He’s hard to play against on the walls, and he’s (got a) great first pass. He’s got great feet, and his teammates always raved about his leadership in the dressing room and in practices, so that was big.”
OHL commissioner Bryan Crawford announced first-round selections. Representatives of the various teams made second-round announcements.
The Battalion did not have a choice in the third round, the last conducted Friday night before selections continue with the fourth through 15th rounds starting at 9 a.m. Saturday.
North Bay’s next choice comes in the fourth round, when the club will exercise what originally was a Sarnia Sting pick at No. 67.
The process can be followed online at www.ontariohockeyleague.com, is being streamed live on OHL Live and is to be seen across Ontario on YourTV, Rogers TV and Eastlink community stations.
Players registered in Ontario and a number of U.S. states in the OHL’s draw area, primarily those born in 2009 but extending to 2006, are eligible to be chosen. Selections are made via the Internet from command centres connected to the league office in Toronto.
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The Peterborough Petes took centre Kaden McGregor of Ottawa Valley with the No. 1 pick. Peterborough, which won a weighted lottery among the four non-playoff teams, chose first overall for the first time in its long history.
There were 23 picks in the first round, as the Kingston Frontenacs, Brampton Steelheads and Soo Greyhounds each had two, including a compensatory selection resulting from a 2024 first-rounder declining to report and being declared defected.
