Five Bulldogs Hit NHL Central Scouting Preliminary Players to Watch List
Published on October 20, 2025 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Brantford Bulldogs News Release
On release of NHL Central Scouting's Preliminary Players to Watch list for the 2026 NHL Draft, five Brantford Bulldogs found themselves on the list. Caleb Malhotra earned a "A" grade, while Vladimir Dravecky & Aiden O'Donnell each checked in with a "B" grade and Layne Gallacher & Maksim Corovic each earned a "C" grade.
Caleb Malhotra's place at the top of the list comes as little surprise with the star rookie's efforts as a 16-year old in the BCHL, where he posted 17 points in 21 playoffs games, leading him to committing to the Brantford Bulldogs over the summer. Malhotra has been an elite presence right out of the gates for the Bulldogs, pacing all OHL rookies through his first 10 games with 16 points (1.6 points-per-game), a pace that would see the son of NHLer Manny Malhotra shatter the franchise's rookie scoring record and test for a spot among the best Bulldogs single seasons in franchise history. More than Malhotra's incredible play on the ice, his character has shone through. Though just 17-years-old, Malhotra exudes the presence of a leader and has been even more incredible as an addition for his personality and work-ethic than even his production.
Speaking of high character and work ethic, Vladimir Dravecky has immediately rocketed to the top of the OHL defensive scoring charts. The son of long time pro Vladimir Dravecky Sr., the younger Dravecky was the 50th overall selection in the 2025 CHL Import Draft, coming off a season that saw him earn time with Rogle BK's senior side in the SHL. Since arriving in Brantford, Dravecky has posted an incredible 4 goals & 8 assists for 12 points through his first 10 games while skating to a plus-11 rating in the process. Dravecky's pairing with fellow newcomer (and Winnipeg Jets draft pick) Edison Engle has been a big part of the Bulldogs fast start.
"The Cole Harbour Kid", Aiden O'Donnell was the Bulldogs 1st round selection in the 2024 OHL Priority Selection Draft and after a year getting accustomed to the OHL game, O'Donnell has made large strides forward to open the 2025-26 campaign. Combining with Caleb Malhotra & Cooper Dennis on a line that showed immediate chemistry for the Bulldogs, O'Donnell has used his 6'2 ¬Â³/181lbs frame by creating space for his line mates and making life difficult for his opposition. Through 10 games to open the season, O'Donnell has notched 3 goals & 4 assists and continues to see his opportunities increase in the process.
Layne Gallacher may be the fastest riser of the five Bulldogs named. Originally a 4th round selection in the 2024 OHL Priority Selection Draft, the Patrick Thomas-esq pivot spent the majority of his 16 year-old season with the Ajax Pickering Raiders U18AAA program where he led the province in scoring among U18 players before his late season call-up in Brantford where he posted a pair of assists in 9 games. Gallacher made the most of his opportunity in training camp, earning a spot on the Bulldogs right from camp and excelling in it. With 2 goals & 6 assists for 8 points over his first 10 games of the season, Gallacher has provided the Bulldogs with a depth scoring factor that has largely contributed to the team averaging over 6 goals per game to start the season.
Maksim Corovic rounds out the list for the Bulldogs, after winning a prep-school Championship with Cushing Academy in New England and a run to the US 18U Nationals with the Central Mass Penguins, Corovic signed with the Bulldogs over the summer. Starting the first game of the season for the Bulldogs, Corovic's talents are clear and his future is bright. The 6'4 ¬Â³/196lbs netminder has all the tools to become dominant between the pipes and in a pair of starts with the Collingwood Blues has shown just that with a 0.50 GAA & .979sv%.
TORONTO - The Ontario Hockey League is proud to announce that 92 OHL players have been included on NHL Central Scouting's October 'Players to Watch' List for the 2026 NHL Draft scheduled to take place next summer.
The 92 OHL players are part of a larger group of 233 players from across the Canadian Hockey League.
The OHL features a total of nine players assigned an A rating, indicating a first round NHL Draft candidate. Those names include forwards Ethan Belchetz (Windsor Spitfires), Alessandro Di Iorio (Sarnia Sting), Oscar Hemming (Kitchener Rangers), Nikita Klepov (Saginaw Spirit), Caleb Malhotra (Brantford Bulldogs), Adam Novotny (Peterborough Petes), Brooks Rogowski (Oshawa Generals) and Ryan Roobroeck (Niagara IceDogs) along with defenceman Chase Reid (Soo Greyhounds).
An additional 12 players were assigned 'B' ratings indicating a potential second or third round selection, and 27 received 'C' designations indicating a potential fourth or fifth round candidate, while 44 received 'W' ratings indicating potential sixth or seventh round picks.
All 20 OHL member teams are represented on the list led by the Sarnia Sting and Windsor Spitfires with seven players each while the London Knights, Niagara IceDogs and Oshawa Generals trail with six.
The list includes 54 OHL forwards, 24 defencemen and 14 goaltenders.
2026 NHL Central Scouting October Players to Watch List - OHL
Players have been identified using the following criteria:
- A Rating - Indicates a first round candidate
- B Rating - Indicates a second or third round candidate
- C Rating - Indicates a fourth/fifth round candidate
- W Rating - Indicates a sixth/seventh round candidate
SKATERS
RANK PLAYER POS TEAM
A Ethan Belchetz LW Windsor Spitfires
A Alessandro Di Iorio C Sarnia Sting
A Oscar Hemming LW Kitchener Rangers
A Nikita Klepov RW Saginaw Spirit
A Caleb Malhotra C Brantford Bulldogs
A Adam Novotny LW Peterborough Petes
A Chase Reid D Soo Greyhounds
A Brooks Rogowski C Oshawa Generals
A Ryan Roobroeck LW Niagara IceDogs
B Lucas Ambrosio D Erie Otters
B Egor Barabanov C Saginaw Spirit
B Ryder Cali C North Bay Battalion
B Jaxon Cover RW London Knights
B Vladimir Dravecky D Brantford Bulldogs
B Beckham Edwards C Sarnia Sting
B Colin Fitzgerald C Peterborough Petes
B Aiden O'Donnell LW Brantford Bulldogs
B Carter Stevens RW Guelph Storm
B Thomas Vandenberg C Ottawa 67's
B Braidy Wassilyn LW Niagara IceDogs
C Nathan Amidovski LW Ottawa 67's
C Alexander Bilecki D Kitchener Rangers
C Ryan Brown LW Sarnia Sting
C Callum Croskery D Soo Greyhounds
C Colin Feeley D Oshawa Generals
C Eric Frossard D Guelph Storm
C Layne Gallacher C Brantford Bulldogs
C Caden Harvey C Windsor Spitfires
C Leon Kolarik LW Peterborough Petes
C Jean-Christoph Lemieux LW Windsor Spitfires
C Adam Levac C Peterborough Petes
C Jalen Lobo LW Oshawa Generals
C Pierce Mbuyi LW Owen Sound Attack
C Brady Murnane D Oshawa Generals
C Ben Reisnecker D Niagara IceDogs
C Wesley Royston RW Erie Otters
C Ondrej Ruml D Ottawa 67's
C Rylan Singh D Guelph Storm
C Maksim Sokolovskii D London Knights
C Matej Stankoven C Brampton Steelheads
C Parker Vaughan RW North Bay Battalion
C Jacob Xu D Kitchener Rangers
C Cole Zurawski RW Owen Sound Attack
W Dryden Allen D Flint Firebirds
W Elliot Arnett D Owen Sound Attack
W Cohen Bidgood RW London Knights
W Ryder Carey C North Bay Battalion
W Tyler Challenger LW Erie Otters
W Nicholas Desiderio LW Barrie Colts
W Evgeny Dubrovtsev C North Bay Battalion
W Ivan Galiyanov C Niagara IceDogs
W Chase Gaughan C Sarnia Sting
W Justin Handsor D Barrie Colts
W Logan Hawery LW London Knights
W Rowan Henderson LW Sudbury Wolves
W Carter Hicks D Windsor Spitfires
W Kase Kamzik LW Sarnia Sting
W George Komadoski D Flint Firebirds
W Jasper Kuhta C Ottawa 67's
W Robin Kuzma C Kingston Frontenacs
W Yanis Lutz C Peterborough Petes
W Beksultan Makysh RW Windsor Spitfires
W Matthew Manza RW Sarnia Sting
W Quinn McKenzie C Soo Greyhounds
W Alex McLean C Guelph Storm
W Andre Mondoux D Kingston Frontenacs
W Zach Nyman D Brampton Steelheads
W Harris Pangretitsch D Soo Greyhounds
W Brody Pepoy C Saginaw Spirit
W Arseny Pronin RW North Bay Battalion
W Vladimir Provorov C Sudbury Wolves
W Andrew Robinson D Windsor Spitfires
W Joe Salandra RW Barrie Colts
W Vadim Smirnov LW Oshawa Generals
W Hunter Solomon D Soo Greyhounds
W Nicholas Sykora LW Owen Sound Attack
W Ben Wilmott C London Knights
W Cody Wood D London Knights
GOALTENDERS
RATING GOALTENDER TEAM
B Zachary Jovanovski Guelph Storm
C Maksim Corovic Brantford Bulldogs
C Michael Newlove Windsor Spitfires
C Jason Schaubel Kitchener Rangers
C Vladislav Yermolenko Niagara IceDogs
W Gavin Betts Kingston Frontenacs
W Peter Chlebowski Brampton Steelheads
W Jaden Cholette Oshawa Generals
W Ryder Fetterolf Ottawa 67's
W Matthew Humphries Niagara IceDogs
W Arvin Jaswal Barrie Colts
W Matthew Koprowski Owen Sound Attack
W Matthew Minchak Kingston Frontenacs
W Patrick Quinlan Sarnia Sting
Ontario Hockey League Stories from October 20, 2025
- Aitcheson Makes History: Colts Captain Surpasses Clarke and Ekblad as Franchise's Top Scoring Defenceman - Barrie Colts
- Five Bulldogs Hit NHL Central Scouting Preliminary Players to Watch List - Brantford Bulldogs
- Five 67's Players Ranked by NHL Central Scouting - Ottawa 67's
- Bulldogs' Adam Benak Named Cogeco OHL Player of the Week - Brantford Bulldogs
- Friday Is CBN Gives Wishes the Home Advantage Night Sponsored by Caldwell Banker Neumann Real Estate - Guelph Storm
- Four Frontenacs Named to NHL Central Scouting Preliminary Rankings - Kingston Frontenacs
- OHL Announces Top Performers of the Week for October 13-19, 2025 - OHL
- Klepov, Barabanov, Pepoy Make NHL Central Scouting's Preliminary Watch List - Saginaw Spirit
- Spirit Sign Import Forward Rausa to Standard Player Agreement - Saginaw Spirit
- Jake Crawford Commits to the Bowling Green Falcons - Owen Sound Attack
- 5 Storm Players Included on NHL Central Scouting Preliminary Players to Watch List - Guelph Storm
- Manchu Wok Player of the Week - Carter Stevens - Guelph Storm
- IceDogs Split Rivalry Series with Erie After Electric Overtime Win - Niagara IceDogs
- The Frontenacs Put Family First - Kingston Frontenacs
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
