McTavish could go in the first round of the NHL draft
Mason McTavish is listed as a potential 2021 first-round draft pick among National Hockey League Central Scouting’s Players to Watch.
Now he waits to see if NHL scouts will get a chance to watch him this season.
McTavish is one of five Ontario Hockey League players rated as A prospects, meaning they are viewed as potential first-round selections. Two other Peterborough Petes, Artem Guryev and Brian Zanetti, are rated as C players. Peterborough’s Chase Stillman, of the Sudbury Wolves, is rated a B player or potential second- or thirdround pick.
“It’s obviously really nice to be recognized,” said McTavish, “but, at the end of the day, it’s just a list. I don’t really like to put too much stock into it but it’s really nice to be recognized for what you do.”
The six-foot, 198-pound centre was selected fifth overall by the Petes in the 2019 OHL draft. He registered 29 goals and 42 points in 57 games, ranking second among OHL rookies to Kingston’s Shane Wright. He was named an OHL Second Team All-Rookie. He was invited to Team Canada’s National Men’s U18 Summer Development Camp.
Several prospect rankings list the Pembroke native as a potential top-five pick, which would make him the first Pete since Zach Bogosian (third overall in 2008) to be selected that high.
It’s going to be a different experience than his OHL draft year when he was also a top five prospect.
“Especially with the COVID,” he said. “You don’t know where you’re even going to play or when you’re playing. It’s obviously different in that aspect. It’s just super exciting. The NHL draft is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and you try to soak up as much of it as you can.”
Before ice rinks opened up in Canada for players to resume skating during the pandemic, McTavish went to Switzerland to skate with the pro team Lugano to help with his preparation for this season. McTavish was born in Switzerland when his father, Dale McTavish, played pro hockey there.
“It was an awesome experience,” he said. “It definitely improved my game. We were skating twice a day there and working out and warming up. It was nice to go back there. I obviously was born there and lived over there for a while when my dad played there. I really loved it over there. I got to see my aunt who lives there. It was a great experience and I 100 per cent recommend it for anybody who has a chance to do it.
“As I said, it helped me develop a lot. It’s a really good league. I’ve never been in anything like that, a pro environment.”
Now he’s waiting to see if Petes training camp, scheduled for Nov. 15, and the OHL season, set for Dec. 1, will go ahead. “That’s what everybody is hoping for,” he said. “It’s (a decision made) above the players, but I can assure you all the players want to get back playing including myself. I miss the game a lot.”
Guryev, a six-foot-three, 207pound defenceman, was the Petes second-round selection, 22nd overall, in the 2019 OHL draft. He split his ’19-20 season between the OJHL Jr. A Lindsay Muskies and the Petes.
Zanetti, a six-foot-two, 172pound defenceman, committed to the Petes in July after being selected in the first round, 35th overall, of the CHL Import draft. The Swiss native was invited to Switzerland’s national junior team’s summer development camp. A C player is considered a potential fourth- to sixthround prospect.
Stillman, a Second Team, All-Rookie right-winger, had 13 goals and 34 points in 58 games for Sudbury to rank ninth in scoring among OHL rookies. He was a second-round pick by Sudbury in the 2019 OHL draft.