Niagara IceDogs will choose #4 in Ontario Hockey League priority selection draft

The Niagara IceDogs will not get to draft phenom Michael Misa after finishing in the cellar this season.

For the first time, the Ontario Hockey League held a lottery to determine the draft order among the four non-playoff teams. The OHL announced the results on Tuesday and the IceDogs will have the No. 4 selection in the priority selection draft on April 29-30.

The top of the draft class includes Oakville-born forward Michael Misa, an ‘exceptional status’ 15-year-old. Misa led the Mississauga Senators under-16 team to the OHL Cup earlier this month, breaking a tournament scoring record held by Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid.

The Saginaw Spirit received the No. 1 choice and the inside track to draft Misa. The Erie Otters will choose No. 2 and the Sudbury Wolves will choose No. 3.

The results are in, and @SpiritHockey will select first overall in the #OHLDraft presented by @RealCdnSS for the first time since 2003!

DETAILS 📰: https://t.co/TyNlo17VRj pic.twitter.com/sqQIOWRoVt

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) April 20, 2022

The IceDogs’ 22-42-4 record was their poorest over a complete 68-game schedule since moving to St. Catharines in 2007.

Two weeks ago, coach Billy Burke and general manager Joey Burke received two-year suspensions from the league. The bans, along with a fine, were spurred by an OHL investigation after the league received transcripts of a March 6 WhatsApp coaching group chat between the pair and other coaching staff that was ridden with profanities, including three slurs against women and an anti-LGBTQ comment.

The IceDogs did not have first-round choice in 2021 after forfeiting it due to a violation of player recruiting rules.

Two seasons ago, they selected Pano Fimis with the No. 2 overall choice. Fimis had 14 goals and 44 points across 54 games in his belated rookie season, sharing the team lead in assists.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ontario league was the only one in the Canadian Hockey League that did not have a draft lottery among non-playoff teams. The lack of a season in ’20-21 led to using a lottery for all 20 teams to decide the draft order last spring.

(Cover photo by Terry Wilson, OHL Images.)