Hanrahan, Zhilkin Named to Program of Excellence Camps, Drinkill Reprises U17 Director of Operations Role
OHL Saginaw Spirit

Hanrahan, Zhilkin Named to Program of Excellence Camps, Drinkill Reprises U17 Director of Operations Role

Published on July 17, 2025 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


Calgary, AB- Hockey Canada announced Thursday afternoon the roster for its U17 and U18 Program of Excellence summer camps, precursors to the U17 World Hockey Challenge and Hlinka Gretzky Championship respectively. Incoming Spirit rookie forward Ryan Hanrahan will attend U17 development camp, while 2025 OHL 1st All-Rookie Team member Dima Zhilkin attends U18 selection camp. Spirit GM Dave Drinkill has also been named as Team Canada Red's director of operations at the U17 World Hockey Challenge for a second consecutive year.

"I'm thrilled for Ryan and Dima to get the chance to showcase their skills to Hockey Canada," said Drinkill. "This will be a tremendous experience for both of them, and I can't wait to see them take advantage of the opportunity. Personally, I'm honored to be welcomed back for another U17 event and am looking forward to bringing home a gold medal."

Ryan Hanrahan was drafted in the first round, 13th overall by the Sprit at the 2025 OHL Priority Selection. The left-shooting center from Concord, Ont. was lauded for his skating ability and feel for the game going into the draft. Hanrahan spent 2024-2025 with the Mississauga Reps Hockey Club, scoring 15G-21A-36P in 36 games.

Official OHL Scouting Report: "[Ryan] is the driving force on his team in all aspects of the game on both sides of the puck. He has good quickness, overall speed and edge control that make him hard to handle in all three zones. He competes and plays much bigger than he is and you notice him every time he is on the ice. Ryan is a smart player that plays in every situation for his team and has been relied on all season to create offense for his team."

Sixteen Mile Sports Complex will host Canada's national under-17 development camp, set for July 19-23. The 2025 U17 World Hockey Challenge in Truro, NS will take place at the Rath Eastlink Community Centre from Oct. 31-Nov. 8.

This will be Drinkill's second season as a director of operations for one of Canada's U17 teams. At last season's event in Sarnia, Ont., he and Team Canada Red claimed a silver medal. Team Canada Red held the second-best goal differential through their four-game tournament, a +7 that was beaten only by gold medalist Team Canada White.

Drinkill is set to begin his eleventh season as the general manager of the Saginaw Spirit. Since his arrival in July of 2015, Drinkill's Spirit teams have gone on to win three West Division titles (2019, 2020, 2024), appear in two Western Conference Finals (2019, 2024), and win the 2024 Memorial Cup on home ice. Twenty-four Spirit players have gone on to become NHL draft picks during Drinkill's tenure, with the most recent being 2025 NHL Draft selections Jacob Cloutier (WPG, 220th overall), Kristian Epperson (LA, 88th overall), and second overall pick Michael Misa (SJ). He holds the most GM wins in franchise history with 314 since the 2015-2016 season.

Forward Dima Zhilkin took a great deal of adversity at the start of his first OHL season and turned it into an All-Rookie performance. Initially tabbed to participate in U17's with Canada in 2024, a leg injury kept him out of international and OHL action until early November. A nine-game point streak from Jan 10.-Feb 2. (3G-9A-12P) was his most consistent work of the year, and Saginaw's first-round pick in 2024 finished seventh in OHL rookie scoring (16G-27A-43P) in just 54 regular season games. Zhilkin added three assists in his five games during his first playoff run with the Spirit.

The selection camp, set for July 29-Aug. 1 at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex in Oakville, Ontario, will include a pair of Red-White games on July 31 and Aug. 1. Following camp, Canada's National Men's Summer Under-18 Team will practice at MET Arena in Szekesfehervar, Hungary, from Aug. 3-6. It will take on Hungary's national under-20 team on Aug. 7 in Budapest and Slovakia on Aug. 9 at Easton Arena in Piestany as part of its pre-tournament schedule.

Canada will open the preliminary round of the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup against Finland on Aug. 11 at 9:30 a.m. ET/6:30 a.m. PT. It will also take on Switzerland and Czechia on Aug. 12 and Aug. 13, respectively, before the tournament concludes with the medal games on Aug. 16. Prior to the start of the tournament, Canada's National Men's Summer Under-18 Team will play pre-tournament games in Budapest against Hungary's national under-20 team on Aug. 7 and in Piestany against Slovakia on Aug. 9.

Check out the Saginaw Spirit Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Ontario Hockey League Stories from July 17, 2025


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.

OurSports Central