The North Bay Battalion made a bold move to add an elite player who has chosen the NCAA route.
The Troops received the Ontario Hockey League rights to centre Ryder Cali in a trade with the Soo Greyhounds, the club announced Friday.
North Bay sent a sixth-round pick in the 2025 OHL Priority Selection and three conditional choices to Soo for Cali, who was the Greyhounds’ first-round choice in April, 18th overall, and who has made a verbal commitment to Harvard University of Cambridge, Mass.
He is playing this season for the Milton Menace of the junior A Ontario Junior Hockey League.
The conditional choices are the Battalion’s second- and fourth-rounders in 2028 and its seventh-rounder in 2027. The 2025 selection originally belonged to the London Knights.
Left shot Cali, a Penetanguishene, Ont., resident who turned 16 on Sept. 6, played in 2023-24 with the Markham Majors U16s, scoring 19 goals and earning 11 assists for 30 points in 29 regular-season games. The former member of the North Central Predators measures six-foot-two and 195 pounds.
The Greyhounds also will receive a compensatory pick, 19th overall, in the 2025 Priority Selection for what is deemed a defected player. Cali attended the Soo development camp in May but didn’t report to training camp.
“Ryder is a player we really liked during his draft year,” said Battalion general manager John Winstanley on battalionhockey.com.
“This was an opportunity for us to acquire the rights to a really talented and complete player.
“We understand that he has a commitment in place, but we feel really strongly about our program’s successes and what we can do for Ryder as a hockey player and as a person.”
OHL Central Scouting had high praise for Cali prior to the 2024 OHL Priority Selection.
"Ryder is a skilled centre that is extremely dangerous when he has time and space with the puck," the OHL scouting report stated.
"He is a player that can contribute by scoring and setting up goals, he has good vision with the puck and an excellent overall understanding of how to create offense. He is not afraid to challenge any defender when he has the puck and uses his reach and skill very effectively. He has the skills and the size to be a very productive player moving forward."
Adam Dennis, president and director of hockey operations, said the Troops’ task now is to familiarize Cali with the new possibilities available to him.
Taking a risk on a player is nothing new for the North Bay Battalion.
In September of 2021, Battalion GM Adam Dennis acquired the Ontario Hockey League rights to highly regarded centre Adam Fantilli in a trade with the Saginaw Spirit.
The Battalion sent Saginaw, which chose Fantilli in the first round, 18th overall, in the 2020 OHL Priority Selection, the Sarnia Sting’s sixth-round pick in the 2022 Priority Selection, and four conditional choices, including two second-rounders.
Fantilli elected to stay at the University of Michigan and ended up making the Columbus Blue Jackets in the fall of 2023 after they selected him third overall in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.
Harvard Twist
Cali's time in the Soo was short. After attending the May Greyhounds orientation camp, Cali changed his tune and in early August of 2024 announced on social media that he was opting to go the NCAA route and play at Harvard.
“Definitely in meetings with the family or Ryder himself, there wasn’t any indication that this was something that he was looking at,” Kye Raftis, Greyhounds general manager told SooToday's Brad Coccimiglio.
“Every time I’ve spent time with him, it’s been excellent. I still haven’t heard anything negative about the program, why it’s not a fit, or anything like that.”
See related: Greyhounds first round pick chooses Harvard over Soo
Cali is expected to start the season in the Ontario Junior 'A' Hockey League with the Milton Menace.
