DRAFT PROSPECTS HOCKEY

Author: Ryan Dufour

  • Game Report – Soo Greyhounds 6 vs Brampton Steelheads 3 – September 25th, 2026

    The 1-1 Hounds faced the 0-3 Brampton Steelheads, hoping for their first win of the 2026-2027 season. The Greyhounds opened the scoring when Brampton’s Peter Green missed the puck behind the net, and McKenzie picked it up and centered it to Travis Hayes. They fired off goals 2, 3, and 4 in quick succession. Goal number 2 was a beauty with Ryan Kazcynski batting it in on a backdoor sauce pass. Then a shot from the slot by Jeremy Martin off a Hounds cycle. Then another very nice shot on the fourth goal with Laus sniping one far side off the rush. After the first intermission, the Steelheads made a goalie change, and the Hounds would completely shut down offensively. Evident by the Soo outshooting Brampton 12-5 in the first but getting outshot the next two. The teams would trade goals in the second, Amidovski and Daley respectively. Troy Patton would score early in the third to bring the game to 5-2. Travis Hayes would then restore the four-goal lead, and that would remain until the final 20 seconds when Brampton would pot one in while everyone else, but Peter Green, had lost sight of it. The Greyhounds would improve to above .500 with a final score of 6-3.

    Travis Hayes – Earlier on Friday morning, the Greyhounds had named the Pittsburgh Penguins 2025 Draftee and 4th-year Hound Captain. Just looking at the box score, he had an excellent first game as captain, but watching the game told a slightly different story. The Soo top line of himself, Quinn McKenzie, and Noah Laus did combine for 6 points, but both of those goals were errors the young and inexperienced Steelheads made rather than what those 3 Hounds did themselves. Good on them for capitalizing, but the line of Daley, Charron, and Kazcynski was much more disruptive.

    Callum Croskery – In his return to the Greyhounds from the Columbus Blue Jackets Training Camp after going undrafted in the 2026 draft. As a more mobile, offensive minded Croskery has already taken over the power-play quarterback role for the Soo. The Greyhounds first unit was held off the board. While he did showcase some mobility. For 2 thirds of this one, the Hounds played sound defensive hockey, not allowing Croskery to stand out.

    Landon Miller – The 5th-year Hound made his second start of the season following a 5- 4 overtime win where he had made 25 saves. The first period was rather quiet for Miller, only seeing 5 shots. The latter 40 was much busier for the Greyhounds netminder. The Soo skaters slowed down and limited their offensive pressure, which meant that, with much of the play being in his own end, Miller had to come up big, and he delivered. He made several desperation saves as well as breakaway and in tight stops. Other than two fluky goals, one was a high flip that landed over Miller and in the net. The other was a puck Miller thought he had but ended up on a Brampton stick. He had a solid night. If the Greyhounds can continue to get this type of goaltending, they should have a shot at winning most games.

  • Post Draft Prospect Review: Viggo Björck (WPG | 8th OVR 2026)

    A tale as old as time in hockey: smaller players being underrated and dropping in the draft. But now, in 2026, with the success of players such as Cole Caufield, Lane Hutson, the late Great Johnny Hockey, and even in last year’s playoffs with Logan Stankoven, you’d think Teams would have learned not to doubt these super-skilled players. Yet the 2026 draft class is another example of this with 5’9 Swedish Center Viggo Björck. 

    His recent highlight-reel plays at the Jets prospects games have reignited this discussion. Viggo was projected as a top 5 talent by numerous Scouts. For those who are not very familiar with his game and why he is so well liked, Björck is known as a workhorse; he’s like a dog on a bone in the corner while fighting for the puck. His size does not discourage him from battling hard at all. He also uses that strength and leverage to protect the puck at a very high level. What makes  Björck so dynamic is that he combines those gritty skills while having nearly unparalleled hockey IQ. That makes him a great overall offensive player who can do just about everything. 

    Viggo really started making his name known in his draft-minus-one 2024-25 season, where he was dominant for Djurgårdens Junior Team, scoring at a 2 points per game pace. This hype would only increase into the next season. His Draft season in the SHL was impressive, even if his stats don’t look it. Recording 15 in 42 regular season games. You have to take into account that he was 17 and the SHL is a much lower-scoring league, only having 4-point-per-game scorers in the entire league in 2025-26. He had an impressive playoff run in both the Allsvenskan and the  SHL. In the Allsvenskan, he totaled 20 points in just 9 games. Also, in the SHL, he became Djurgårdens Top Center, scoring 3 points in their 3 playoff games. 

    At the International level, he was even more noticeable. At the 2026 World Juniors, Björck was a Top Star for the gold medal-winning Swedish Team. Following the semifinals of this Tournament was when I began believing in Björck as a Top 5 talent of this class. In that game, versus the rival Fins that was ultimately decided in a shootout. In those 10 minutes of overtime before the shootout, Björck was unbelievable. He had a ton of breakaways, never capitalizing, but you couldn’t imagine what you were seeing. His ability to break free from opponents was very evident. 

    Viggo was also selected to play for Team Sweden at the 2026 Men’s World Championship. The fact that he was even selected is impressive enough but would pale in comparison to what Viggo was able to do there. On a roster littered with current and former NHLers such as Lucas Raymond, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Mattias Ekholm, Simon Holmstrom, Emil Heineman, Jacob Silverberg, and many more, Viggo was almost immediately bumped to the first line. That line was composed of NHL All-Star winger Lucas Raymond and fellow 2026 Draftee and 2nd overall pick Ivar Stenberg. That line was Awesome for the Swedes. They just kept getting better and better over the course of the tournament. To preface, Ivar and Viggo were pulling more than their fair share. Often looking better than Raymond. 

    This summer, after being selected 8th overall by the Winnipeg Jets, Viggo chose to leave Sweden and join the Jets right away. Extremely rare for prospects outside the top 3. Only happening for a handful of players in the last few years. Not only does Björck project as an NHLer, but as a Top 6er to fill the Jets’ void at second-line center. If he proves he can hold his own as a top-of-the-lineup player right away, he will be in contention for the Calder with players like Gavin McKenna, Porter Martone, and Ivar Stenberg. 

  • Game Report – Soo Greyhounds 3 vs Sarnia Sting 4 – September 19th, 2026

    The Greyhounds hosted the Sting for the second game of their 4-game homestand. As Sarnia opened up their season, 7 of their players played in their first OHL games.

    The Greyhounds started off the scoring again in this one. Ryan Kaczynski would get his 2nd and 3rd goals of the season just a minute apart, midway through the first. Sarnia would answer back with one from Simon  Katolicky to register his first OHL goal. The Hounds capitalized on another Sting penalty. Scoring their second power-play goal with Kaczynski getting his 3rd goal to complete the hat trick.  Following the Hounds’ goal to make it 3-1, the game would be turned on its head. The  Greyhounds would get themselves in penalty trouble, and the Sting would take full advantage.  Though after 6 straight Soo penalties and 3 Sarnia power-play goals, the boos and chants would rain down against the officials. In the final few minutes, the Greyhounds were pushing, but their comeback efforts would fail. Inscribing a 4-3 Sarnia Sting win. 

    Ryan Kaczynski – The Hat Trick is obviously the talking point about Kaczynski’s game, but what really impressed me was the variety of all 3. His first was a deflection off the goalie’s stick, then a breakaway after capitalizing on a mistake and tapping it in where he was in the perfect spot for a Trevor Daley Pass. He already has an NHL frame, and if he can continue developing, he will be in consideration for the top few rounds of this year’s NHL Draft. 

    Jaden Licastro – It was not easy getting a read on many Soo players with all the penalties, but another player that did stand out specifically in the first part of the game was Hounds first-rounder Jaden Licastro. He is able to evade pressure with ease and use his skating to get him out of tough situations. His powerful and quick strides were very evident. Having such a good stride at his young age is special. 

    Adrian Sgro – The most recent 2026 OHL fourth overall pick made his debut vs the Hounds Saturday. Like many rookies, Sgro struggled in the first period of this one. He caused a couple of turnovers and was still getting used to the speed, however, when he got through his first couple shifts, the game seemed to slow way down. He was able to make the simple low-risk plays with little issue; he didn’t force any Hail Mary plays. He is a very high IQ player; he just needs more time to showcase his skating, which is another one of his strengths.