Neutral-Zone Crap: Roobroeck leads the way for 2023 OHL draft
The 15-year-old, who was denied exceptional status, is on a mission...Plus, speaking of exceptional players, how is Michael Misa doing and will Connor Bedard be dealt? And another Borje Salming yarn
If Ryan Roobroeck did indeed take not being named an exceptional player by Hockey Canada last season personally, the only place you’re going to see him make that kind of statement is on the ice. Because when he’s there, the 15-year-old for the London Jr. Knights looks as though he’s on some kind of mission.
It’s early in the season indeed, but Roobroeck is a shoo-in at this point to go No. 1 overall in the 2023 Ontario Hockey League draft. He might have gone No. 1 - or likely NO. 2 - in 2022, had Hockey Canada seen fit to bestow him with exceptional player status last season, which would have made him eligible for last year’s draft. Hockey Canada did give the status to Michael Misa, who went first overall to the Saginaw Spirit and has given every indication he deserved it. (More on that later.)
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