Exceptional Status: Shane Wright's Path to the NHL Started in Kingston
OHL Kingston Frontenacs

Exceptional Status: Shane Wright's Path to the NHL Started in Kingston

Published on June 8, 2026 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Kingston Frontenacs News Release


It's now less than a week until the Ontario Hockey League ascends upon Kingston for the first in-person OHL Priority Selection since the year 2000. Let's turn our attention to the junior career of the fifth exceptional player in OHL history and the Kingston Frontenacs' last first overall selection, Shane Wright.

It was a no-doubter. After scoring 66 goals and 150 points in 72 games, all while playing with guys a year older than he was, Shane Wright was granted exceptional status for the 2019 OHL Priority Selection. Adding to his accolades before even being selected, Wright would score 18 points in 7 OHL Cup games, earning the tournament MVP in the process.

Coming off the 2017-18 campaign that saw the Frontenacs in the third round of the playoffs, 2018-19 was a down year for Kingston with key players like Jason Robertson, Gabriel Vilardi, and Jeremy Helvig all moving on. The struggling Frontenacs won just 14 games, earning them the first overall selection. Which, of course, was Shane Wright.

Wright immediately made an impact for the Frontenacs. Leading the team in scoring at just 15 years old, Wright scored 39 times and adding 27 assists in 58 games. Wright's rookie season was highly decorated, winning the OHL and CHL Rookie of the Year awards. Unfortunately, the world had other plans for a Frontenacs team on the rise. The COVID-19 pandemic hit North America in March of 2020, cancelling the rest of the 2019-20 season and all of the 2020-21 season.

When hockey returned for the 2021-22 season, Wright was a 17-year-old entering his draft year. Now the captain of the Frontenacs, the fifth exceptional status player in OHL history, earned that title. In 63 games, Wright scored 94 points and added another 14 in 11 playoff games. The Frontenacs fell to the North Bay Battalion in the second round that year, and Wright turned his attention to the NHL Draft after receiving the CHL Top Draft Prospect award.

After being selected fourth overall by the Seattle Kraken in 2022, Wright spent the first half of the season between the NHL club and their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Wright would be loaned to the Canadian World Junior team and would captain a loaded squad to a Gold Medal in Halifax. After recording seven points in seven games, Wright would be reassigned to the OHL, where he was flipped to the Windsor Spitfires for a haul of picks and players that would help the Frontenacs set up their future.

After finishing his junior career in Windsor, Wright turned pro full-time, spending the majority of his time in the AHL as a 20-year-old. Since then, the former Frontenacs centreman has been full-time with a young Kraken team and looks to be a key piece for the organization moving forward.

Don't miss your chance to hear the future of the OHL get their names called on June 12-13, when the OHL Priority selection draft is live from Slush Puppie Place. Tickets are available.

Check out the Kingston Frontenacs Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from June 8, 2026


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