The North Bay Battalion took Owen Outwater 11th overall from the Oakville Rangers. in tonight's OHL Priority Selection that began at 7 p.m. tonight.
At 6'3", 190 lbs has some size and speed to be a power forward who can play wing and up the middle.
"Owen Outwater is a solid two-way forward with an extremely high hockey IQ. Owen has consistently demonstrated this as he continues to prove that he is an elite offensive. Although he has spent many years as a centre he has quickly developed over the last few years into a winger and is excelling as a strong 200ft player," described Sports Illustrated Prospects.
Some sources told BayToday that Outwater was expected to go at 8 to the Owen Sound Attack who selected forward Colby Barlow from the Toronto Marlboros.
"I'm extremely honoured and I've been waiting for this for a long time and I'm excited to go to an organization like the Battalion," he told Terry Doyle on the OHL Tonight draft broadcast on YourTV.
"I am a big power forward and a good playmaker and I don't shy away from the physical play."
Adam Dennis, Battalion GM, admitted the 11th spot had its challenges.
"We had an idea what we were going to do - we certainly had a list and did a lot of homework but we really did not know who was going to be there," admitted Dennis Friday night after the first day of the draft.
"There were a couple of teams that could be wild cards so, to be honest with you, we thought Outwater would have gone a lot sooner - coming into the day there was hope he would be here. He had an awesome interview with us and he is really excited to come to North Bay."
See related: Who will the North Bay Battalion take in the OHL Priority Selection?
In the second round, at 27, the Battalion took right winger Nick Sima who BayToday told you could be a potential top pick by the Battalion but fell to 27 on this night.
The Toronto Jr. Canadiens product was described by OHL Central Scouting as "A big, speedy power forward with a goal scorer’s touch, Nick Sima is ready to bring his offensive talent to the next level."
Dennis says Sima was one of the first players the Battalion interviewed at the start of the 2021 OHL Draft process.
"It was almost unfair for all the players afterwards because he really set the bar high," said Dennis about Sima's Pre-Draft interview with the Troops.
"He is everything you want in a player, he is big, he skates well, he is not afraid to go into the dirty areas and his teammates love him. His enthusiasm is infectious and we are really glad we got him,"
The Troops had two selections in the third round starting with an original Ottawa 67's pick at 41.
The Battalion grabbed Anthony Romani with the 67s pick; he's a skilled right hand shot centre at 5'10", 160 pounds who played with the Toronto Jr. Canadiens program.
"Really high-end skill with Anthony," noted Dennis.
"He has got to mature a bit physically but what he can do with the puck is something not many can. He was part of a very good team for his age group and he led his team in scoring the last couple of years and there are some big names talked about with that program and Anthony continues to be the guy to put the puck in the net.
"After getting those two big guys it is something we really coveted is a guy who can put the puck in the net," continued Dennis.
The Battalion finished off the first day of the draft with their own third round selection at 50.
With that pick, the Troops took a 6'4" defenceman in the form of Wyatt Kennedy from the Rockland Nationals U16AAA.
"Wyatt has a lot of raw ability, he is a big boy and his mobility is very impressive for a kid his size," said Dennis.
"He was another guy who was an awesome interview and really seems to understand his game and knows what he needs to do to get to that next level and with the size, the frame, and the ability, he has got a lot of potential and we are looking forward to developing him."
Three rounds were conducted Friday night via the web before the process resumes at 9 a.m. Saturday for the fourth through final rounds.
BayToday will continue to cover the OHL Priority Selection Saturday morning and throughout the day.
