Three Battalion stars make the rankings for the NHL 2024 Draft
Forwards Ethan Procyszyn, Anthony Romani and Dalyn Wakely of the North Bay Battalion are among a total of 57 Ontario Hockey League skaters and goaltenders in final rankings released Tuesday by the National Hockey League’s central scouting department.
Centre Procyszyn is No. 48 on a list of 224 North American-based skaters in advance of the 2024 NHL Draft to be held June 28-29 at Las Vegas, while right winger Romani is No. 70. Centre Wakely makes his debut on the list at No. 116.
Procyszyn, who turns 18 on July 11, was North Bay’s first-round pick, 20th overall, in the 2022 OHL Priority Selection from the North Central Predators U16s. He was ranked 59th at midseason.
In 62 games this season, the six-foot-three, 189-pound Wasaga Beach, Ont., resident scored 15 goals and earned 21 assists for 36 points. In 124 career games, he has 20 goals and 34 assists for 54 points.
Romani, who went undrafted last year when first eligible and was ranked 81st at midseason, turns 19 on July 12. The six-foot-one, 184-pound resident of Pickering, Ont., broke out this year after being a third-round choice in the 2021 Priority Selection from the Toronto Jr. Canadiens minor midgets.
In 68 games, he had a league-leading 58 goals and 53 assists for 111 points, finishing second in the OHL scoring race. In 188 career games, Romani has 89 goals and 79 assists for 168 points.
Wakely scored 39 goals and earned a team-high 65 assists for 104 points in 66 games this season. In 199 career games, he has 89 goals and 98 assists for 187 points.
The six-foot-one, 197-pound resident of Port Hope, Ont., was a second-round pick in the 2020 Priority Selection from the Quinte Red Devils minor midgets. Also undrafted during his first two years of eligibility, he turned 20 on March 5.
In all, 50 OHL skaters and seven goaltenders were rated.
Defenceman Zayne Parekh of the Saginaw Spirit is the top-ranked OHL skater at No. 5, while Carter George of the Owen Sound Attack is No. 2 on a list of 32 North American-based goaltenders.
Also released were international lists, essentially Europeans, of 136 skaters and 18 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.