OHL draft: Everything you need to know about Rounds 1-3

Logan Hawery has a lot of the qualities the London Knights look for in a forward.

The club’s new first-round pick is fast, skilled, good at both ends of the ice and owns a hard-nosed attitude.

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“I think that’s the type of player I am,” said the 16-year-old Barrie Jr. Colts star centre, who went 20th overall to the Knights in the OHL draft Friday. “I feel like I’m going to fit well in their organization. I can definitely play the physical role if needed.

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“It was unreal being picked by such a great (franchise) It’s a dream come true and I can’t wait to get started.”

The Knights couldn’t convince last year’s first-rounder, William Moore, to report and ended up trading his rights to Barrie. They shouldn’t have the same issue with the 5-foot-9, 168-pound Hawery, who scored 27 goals and 55 points with 46 penalty minutes in 31 league games this past season.

“My older brother Carter is in London and studies business at Western,” he said. “I’ve been to one Knights game (in the final last year) against Peterborough. That was a pretty cool experience and the fans seemed unreal.”

Hawery also played a game at Budweiser Gardens in the fall during the Wendy Dufton tournament, which the Jr. Colts won. He served as captain for one of the best U16 AAA teams in the province.

“This was the first year I’ve been on a team that does letters (on the jersey),” he said. “It was an honour. Our team had so many great leaders and was a great group off the ice.

“We had a pretty cool team and lots of memories were made this season.”

According to OHL Central Scouting, Hawery is “one of the most complete and highly skilled centres” in his age group. He has an extremely high hockey sense, rarely makes poor decisions with the puck and is considered an elite playmaker and dangerous scorer.

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He is expected to attend Game 2 of the London-Kitchener series Saturday afternoon at the Bud.

“I can’t wait,” he said. “My parents’ sacrifice – the time, money and effort – got me where I am today. Nothing is possible without them. My coaches and teammates – everyone involved in my life – I want to thank them for this opportunity I have.”

The Knights used their second-round compensation pick from moving Moore to select Peterborough defenceman Caleb Mitchell, who had four goals and 23 points in 35 games this season. He added six assists and a plus-7 rating in six OHL Cup games last month.

Elgin-Middlesex captain Parker Vaughan, a St. Thomas native, went fifth overall to the Barrie Colts. He is the third local player in the past five years to be picked in the top five overall after Ryan Roobroeck (second to Niagara last year) and Bryce McConnell-Barker (fourth to Sault Ste. Marie in 2020).

Ethan Belchetz, a six-foot-four winger from the Oakville Rangers, went No. 1 overall to Windsor. To see all the selections, click here.

(Rounds 4-15 to come Saturday)

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1 (20) Logan Hawery, centre, 5-foot-9, 168 pounds, Barrie Jr. Colts; 2 (39) Caleb Mitchell, left defence, 5-foot-9, 155 pounds, Peterborough Petes; 3 (55) Max Mews, centre, 5-foot-11, 163 pounds, Ottawa Myers Automotive.

Barrie: 1 (5) Parker Vaughan, right wing, 6-foot-1, 174 pounds, Elgin-Middlesex Canucks; Windsor: 2 (24) Carter Hicks, right defence, 6-foot-2, 161 pounds, Jr. Knights; Sudbury: 2 (36) Ethan Dean, centre, 5-foot-10, 155 pounds, Jr. Knights; Guelph: 3 (46) Eric Frossard, left defence, 6-foot-5, 183 pounds, Jr. Knights; Sarnia: 3 (46) Beckham Edwards, centre, 6-foot, 168 pounds, Detroit Little Caesars (from Komoka)

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