Buchman, Christie & Freeman Lead Bulldogs 2025 Draft Class

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OHL Brantford Bulldogs

Buchman, Christie & Freeman Lead Bulldogs 2025 Draft Class

April 12, 2025 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Brantford Bulldogs News Release


Over 15 Rounds between Friday and Saturday, the Brantford Bulldogs added 13 new prospects to the organization through the 2025 OHL Priority Selection Draft, this recap of the 2025 Brantford Bulldogs Draft Class is brought to you by the Breau-Holland Family Dairy Queen Brant.

The excitement began for the Bulldogs with the 20th overall selection in the first round where the team called the name of Ottawa Valley Titans defenseman David Buchman. The Stittsville, Ontario product had a brilliant season on the Titans blueline, posting 10 goals & 38 assists for 48 points across 31 games, quarterbacking the Titans power-play and becoming known just as much for his skill level as his incredible character. Buchman left scouts with an outstanding final impression in the post-season with a goal and 12 assists for 13 points in 9 HEO playoff games and a goal and 4 assists for 5 points in 5 OHL Cup games. The 5'11" 177lbs left-shot blueliner is the first defenseman taken by the Bulldogs in the 1st round since 2020 when the team selected another Ottawa area product in Jorian Donovan.

Next on the clock for back-to-back picks at 58 & 59, the Bulldogs stayed on the blueline but went for a different profile, selecting Gavin Christie 58th overall from the Niagara North Stars U16 AAA. Standing 6'2", the right-shot defender from Beamsville, Ontario, posted 8 goals & 16 assists for 24 points in 31 games, adding another 3 goals & 7 assists for 10 points in 8 OMHA playoff games while becoming known for his imposing physicality. Christie has deep bloodlines in the game, his father, Ryan, was the 58th overall selection in the 1995 OHL Priority Selection Draft before going onto a lengthy professional career including being selected in the 5th round of the 1995 NHL Draft, playing games for both Dallas & Calgary before winning an Allan Cup in 2014 for the Dundas Real McCoys with Brantford Bulldogs head coach Jay McKee. The younger Christie will now look to make his mark joining the Black & Gold.

With the 59th overall selection the Bulldogs welcomed one of the most offensively gifted players in the draft in Toronto Titans U16 AAA product Jeremy Freeman. The right-shot, left-wing from Oakville had an eye-popping stat line in the 2024-25 season posting 63 goals & 71 assists for 134 points in 73 games. The production continued at the OHL Cup with Freeman notching 4 goals & 6 assists for 10 points across 6 games. Able to create as prolifically as he finishes, the 5'10", 164lbs speedster will very quickly makes waves as he ascends the ranks with the Bulldogs.

Opening the Saturday session with the 91st overall pick in the 5th round, the Bulldogs returned to the Ottawa area for an imposing physical presence, selecting centerman Benjamin Carr from the Ottawa Myers Automotive U16 AAA. Standing 6'5" and tipping the scales at 200lbs, Carr captained his Ottawa squad in the 2024-25 season at the U16 AAA level and at season's end perhaps made his biggest impression at the U18 AAA level, stepping up to skate in 9 U18 HEO playoff games, collecting 4 goals with an assist for 5 points and racking up 18 penalty minutes. Carr, from Nepean, joins South Mountian's Parker Holmes as Ottawa area powerhouses up front for the Bulldogs.

On the clock twice in the 6th round the Bulldogs nabbed the sublimely skilled Miles Jinman with the 120th overall selection from the Bishop Kearney Selects 15U program. Born in Sion, Switzerland where his father, Lee, was a two-time Swiss league champion with Davos, Miles' roots in the game run deep. Lee won an OHL Championship in 1994 with the North Bay Centennials as part of a spectacular OHL career while older brother Wyatt was selected in 2023 by the, then, Mississauga Steelheads. Miles dominated for the Bishop Kearney Selects in the 2024-25 season posting an incredible 70 assists, along with 33 goals, in 70 games, the only player on his team to break the 100-point plateau. Playing as part of the TPH Thunder entry at the OHL Cup, Jinman continued to impress, leading the entry with 2 goals & 4 assists for 6 points in the 5 games they played.

With the Bulldogs second selection in the 6th round, the Bulldogs turned to a very familiar program, selecting towering, physical defenseman A.J. Underhill from the Halton Hurricanes U16 AAA. From the program that gave the Bulldogs former captain Lawson Sherk and starting goaltender Matteo Drobac, Underhill is a 6'4", 200lbs, right shot defenseman from Milton, Ontario that skated at both the U16 & U18 levels over the course of the season. Able to move the puck quickly and effectively out of his own zone, Underhill prides himself on making life miserable for the opposition with his size and physicality.

Next on the clock in the 9th round with the 180th overall selection the Bulldogs called the name of Toronto product Will Matheson from the Markham Majors U16 AAA program. High motor and high IQ highlight Matheson's offering, an advanced 200-foot game for his age, Matheson is known for giving his team everything he has on every shift and leads by example.

Bradford, Ontario's Christian Sedgewick of the York Simcoe Express U16 AAA was next to be called by the Bulldogs with the 200th overall selection in the 10th round. Playing a mobile and heavy game, Sedgewick compiled 73 penalty minutes across 38 league and playoff games on the year. Standing 5'10", 187lbs Sedgewick prefers to play hammer rather than nail in the defensive zone, separating body from puck frequently.

In the 11th round with the 220th overall selection the Bulldogs added Andrew Pacheco of the North York Rangers U16 AAA program in the GTHL. Pacheco was forced to miss large parts of the 2024-25 season due to injury but would likely have been selected much higher if not for that. Highly skilled with tremendous wheels, Pacheco combines his skills with the high character coveted by the Bulldogs. With time, Pacheco has the ability to be an offensive driver for the Bulldogs.

After selecting Jeremy Freeman in the 3rd round of the draft, the Bulldogs returned to the Toronto Titans U16 AAA program to pick up his teammate Timothy Walker with the 240th overall selection in the 12th round. Finishing 4th on the Titans in goals, with 37, and fifth in overall points, 70, across 73 games, the left-shot, right-winger plays with his heart on his sleeve and has a penchant for scoring big goals. Originally from Cornwall, Ontario, Walker is able to play and excel in all situations and continued to impress at the OHL Cup adding another 3 goals to his tally, tying for 2nd on his team in the 6 games the Titans played.

With the 253rd selection in the 13th round, the Bulldogs added a second from the Markham Majors U16 AAA program with right-winger Johnny Rogers added to the draft class. An industrious and hard-working winger, Rogers posted 23 points across 33 regular season games.

Completing a third set of teammates in the draft, the Bulldogs selected right-shot defenseman Cole Stants in the 14th round, 280th overall from Ottawa Myers Automotive U16 AAA joining teammate and 5th round pick Benjamin Carr in coming to Brantford. At 6'1" 172lbs, the Ottawa, Ontario product posted 15 points from the blueline in 32 regular season games, while also making his U18 AAA debut on the season, posting a pair of assists in his debut. A smooth-skating defenseman who can take care of his own zone and move the puck, Stants has a physical edge as well posting 30 penalty minutes over the course of his season.

The Bulldogs final pick came in the 15th round and with the 300th overall selection the team added Vaughan, Ontario centerman Joshua Lewis from the Ajax-Pickering Raiders U16 AAA. At 5'7" 144lbs, Lewis flashed tantalizing skill over the season posting 9 goals and 23 assists for 32 points in 31 regular season games. Lewis' impressive playmaking didn't let up in the post-season with a pair of goals and 9 assists for 11 points over 8 playoff games.

The Brantford Bulldogs are very proud to welcome our 13 new additions through the OHL Priority Selection Draft process and look forward to being able to welcome them to Brantford with the best fans in the Ontario Hockey League at the Madhouse on Market.

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