TORONTO – National Hockey League Central Scouting announced Wednesday its preliminary Players to Watch List as a prelude to the 2025 NHL Draft and eight from the Canadian Junior Hockey League have been tabbed.
Topping the group is King Rebellion (OJHL) defenceman Haoxi (Simon) Wang.
The towering six-foot-six blueliner earned a ‘B Rating’, which identifies him as a potential second or third round draft selection.
The 2007-born rearguard, who is committed to Boston University (Hockey East) on NCAA Division I scholarship, has registered 10 points in 14 outings for the Rebellion, to date.
As for the other seven CJHLers, they were tabbed with a ‘W Rating’ by NHL Central Scouting, as possible sixth or seventh round picks.
The following is the complete list of CJHL players on the NHLCS initial Players to Watch List:
| NHL Central Scouting Players to Watch List – CJHL (As of Oct. 23) | |||||
| RANK | PLAYER | NAME | POS. | TEAM | LEAGUE |
| B | Haoxi | Wang | D | King Rebellion | OJHL |
| W | Ellis | Mieyette | LW | Drumheller Dragons | AJHL |
| W | Avery | Laliberte | D | Niverville Nighthawks | MJHL |
| W | Owen | Warnick | RW | Selkirk Steelers | MJHL |
| W | Jonathan | Kapageridis | D | Cobourg Cougars | OJHL |
| W | Mikhail | Zakharov | C | King Rebellion | OJHL |
| W | Michael | Newlove | G | Georgetown Raiders | OJHL |
| W | Noah | Tegelaar | G | Collingwood Blues | OJHL |
ABOUT THE CJHL: The Canadian Junior Hockey League is a national organization comprised of nine Junior A leagues from Alberta to the Maritimes. … The CJHL currently represents 118 teams and well over 2,500 players. … There were also 2,500-plus CJHL alumni who furthered their hockey careers at the NHL, AHL, ECHL, SPHL, NCAA, U SPORTS and CHL levels across North America as well as in leagues across Europe during the 2023-24 campaign. … For the latest CJHL news and features, visit cjhlhockey.com and follow-on social media at @cjhlhockey via X & Instagram.
Photo credit: Tucker Nadon / OJHL Images