OHL Under 18 Priority Selection

Since 2017, the OHL has included a new element in the draft: The Under-18 Priority Selection.

Following the traditional entry level draft, there is an Under 18 Priority Selection for U18 AAA (formerly Major Midget AAA) players. This consists of a 4-round online draft. All 20 OHL teams get 4 rounds, 5 if a goaltender is selected.

The press release from the 2017 draft included the following statement from OHL vice-president, Ted Baker. “We felt it was a way to enhance the midget category to provide an opportunity for players who were otherwise not drafted to say, ‘Hey, there is still an opportunity here.'”