Erie Otters opt for Tyler Challenger in first round of OHL draft
The Erie Otters hope Tyler Challenger lives up to his family name for upcoming Ontario Hockey League seasons.
The Otters chose Challenger with the 10th overall pick during Friday’s priority selection draft. They did so a day before his 16th birthday.
Challenger, listed at 6-feet-1½ inches in the OHL’s draft guide, was a left winger for the Greater Toronto Hockey League’s North York Rangers. He totaled 38 goals and 45 assists over 68 games this past season.
Those totals didn’t include the four goals and three assists Challenger recorded during six OHL Cup games.
General manager David Brown indicated in a team news release that Erie’s front office frequently checked on how the Mississauga, Ontario, native was faring for North York.
“Tyler is a 200-foot player that plays the game the right way,” he said. “He checks a lot of the boxes that we were looking for in a player. He takes pucks to the scoring areas, which we like.”
Erie drafted Challenger three days after the conclusion of its 2023-24 season. The Kitchener Rangers eliminated the Otters after six games of their best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinal.
That series was Erie’s first OHL playoff appearance since 2017.
The league’s draft resumes at 9 a.m. Saturday. Fifteen rounds are scheduled over the two-day event.
Other new Otter
Trades from past years left Erie without a pick for the draft’s third round.
That left Lucas Ambrosio its only other choice Friday. The Otters took the 6-3 defenseman in the second round and 25th overall.
Ambrosio, who turned 16 on Jan. 8, also competed in the GTHL. He had three goals and 17 assists from the blue line for the 2023-24 Toronto Junior Canadiens.
“We’re going to be patient with Lucas,” Brown said, “but he’s going to be more appreciated at this next level than he was at the minor hockey level.”
Erie acquired the pick it used on Ambrosio in a 2022 trade with Sarnia. The Sting acquired defenseman Christian Kyrou in return.
Kyrou was drafted by the NHL’s Dallas Stars that same year.
More: How No. 1 overall OHL draft pick Matthew Schaefer is faring as an Erie Otters rookie
Spits’ first pick
The Otters let it be known the day before the 2023 OHL draft that they’d take defenseman Matthew Schaefer with the No. 1 overall pick.
The Windsor Spitfires followed that script this week. They announced their intention to choose Ethan Belchetz on Thursday, and then followed through Friday.
The Spitfires finished last in the league’s Western Conference (18-42-5-3). They won the league’s four-team lottery for the first overall pick over its other non-playoff franchises, the Peterborough Petes, Niagara IceDogs and Sarnia.
Belchetz was a 6-5 forward for the Oakville Rangers in the Ontario Minor Hockey Association. He recorded 46 goals and 38 assists ahead of their run to this past season’s OHL Cup championship.
Friday was the first time Windsor held the league’s No. 1 overall draft pick since Jim Fox in 1976. Fox never skated for the Spitfires, but still experienced a nine-year career with the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings.
Contact Mike Copper at mcopper@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNcopper.
More: Erie Otters eliminated from OHL playoffs after third overtime loss to Kitchener Rangers
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Tyler Challenger chosen as Erie Otters' first pick in OHL draft
