Timmins-raised OHL prospect Tanner Adams. (Photo: Files, The Daily Press)

It can be difficult for some OHL markets to recruit and retain top players. Ryder Cali (Sault Ste. Marie) and Will Cuylle (Peterborough) didn’t play for the teams that drafted them, and Henry Mews (Sudbury) left for the University of Michigan, telling a local radio station: “I’m not going there for an education.” 

After a while, it can start to feel a little personal.  

That is part of what makes Ben Leeson’s story in the Sudbury Star so compelling: One of the most heralded prospects in the league wants to report to a market that is often overlooked.  

Tanner Adams wants to go to Sudbury, because it’s closer to home.  

The Brampton Steelheads selected the 16-year-old centre third overall in last weekend’s OHL priority selection. Adams is from Porcupine, Ont., just outside of Timmins. 

“Adams is an Indigenous player,” writes Leeson, “and his family wants him closer to his home community and support systems in the Timmins area, his agent said, and they made that clear to the Brampton brass and the league in the lead-up to the draft.” 

Leeson spoke with the player’s agent, Dave Maloney. 

“I just want to make it clear it’s nothing against the Brampton Steelheads,” Maloney told Leeson. “It could have been anyone drafting No. 3 and it would have been the same situation. It’s just for a lot of personal reasons and financial reasons, they want to be in Sudbury.” 

You can read the whole story right here.

North Bay defenceman Alexander Karmanov. (Photo: Tom Martineau)

In November, our Brian Smiley was asking practical questions about Alexander Karmanov, who is the world’s tallest hockey player. Smiley asked about where a player standing 7-foot-1 might find suitable sticks (they’re custom made) and how he might fit into the team bus (he gets two or three seats to himself). 

In December, our Greg Estabrooks was asking what OHL coaches thought after Karmanov made history as the tallest player to officially play a game in the league. As North Bay Battalion coach Ryan Oulahen said: “He is an unbelievable prospect, he’s only 17.” 

And now, in late June, everyone else is asking: Will an NHL team pick Karmanov in the draft?  

Steven Ellis, associate editor and prospect analyst with Daily Faceoff, said experts remain wary of the teenager’s poor skating ability. His size, though, will make him a difficult name to leave off the board entirely. 

“He is, like, the biggest human being I’ve ever seen in person, and he’s going to be the biggest player to ever get drafted to the NHL,” Ellis said. “I was told there’s basically 100 per cent certainty he will be drafted this year.” 

You can read the full story right here. 

Moments after watching the Kitchener Rangers beat his team to win the Memorial Cup, Everett Silvertips coach Steve Hamilton offered praise for the victors: "They were built to win." 

It was the third national championship in franchise history, with the Rangers going undefeated through the tournament in Kelowna, B.C.  

Now, the bill has come due.  

According to Josh Brown, the veteran Rangers reporter with the Waterloo Region Record, the Rangers could lose as many as a dozen players before the team reconvenes in the fall. Captain Cameron Reid is almost certainly included on that list.  

“We’re not really expecting him back,” Rangers general manager Mike McKenzie tells Brown. 

The Nashville Predators took Reid, a defenceman, with the 21st overall pick in the NHL Entry Draft last season. 

“He could transition to the pros, if he signs a deal with the team,” writes Brown. “Also, beginning next season, NHL clubs can assign one 19-year-old player to their American Hockey League affiliate. So, Reid, who turned 19 this past April, could end up with the Milwaukee Admirals.” 

Brown reports Reid has also committed to the University of Michigan, and that he does not sign his entry-level contract in the NHL, he could wind up in the NCAA. 

If you have a Metroland subscription, you can read the whole story right here. 

According to the CHL, four OHL graduates helped the Carolina Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup title this spring. (Photo: Jaylynn Nash, Getty Images)

Thanks for reading, hockey fans. See you next time.