As the 2026-27 OHL season approaches, the Owen Sound Attack are preparing for a new campaign under new management and leadership. We spoke with General Manager Tyler Nother about the club’s 2026 draft class and the new faces fans should keep an eye on heading into the season.

2026 Draft Class Revisit

“I think the thing that all three of these players share is that they’re team-first guys and they want to win. When we went through the interview process with them, they had mentioned that they would be excited to be in Owen Sound. All of them are ecstatic to be in Owen Sound.”

Player Spotlight: Max Fransen

Profile: 6’0”, 190lbs, left-shot defenceman

Hometown: La Salle, ON

Birthdate: Sept 28, 2010

Drafted: 1st Round, 8th Overall (2026 OHL Priority Selection)

2025-26 Stats (Upper Canada College Blues U16): 69 GP, 29G, 60A, 89 PTS

Selected eighth overall in the 2026 OHL Priority Selection, Fransen joins the Attack following a strong season with the Upper Canada College Blues U16 program, recording 69 points (29-60–89) in 69 games. He also added seven points (2-5–7) in six games at the 2026 OHL Cup and was ranked ninth on the OHL’s Consensus Ontario Top-100 Rankings heading into the Priority Selection. Serving as captain of Upper Canada College, Fransen established himself as one of the premier defencemen in his age group through his ability to drive play, contribute offensively and excel in all situations.

“We see Max Fransen as the best puck-moving defenceman in the 2010 birth class. We just love the way that he can play on both sides of the puck. Obviously, he was the leader for that Upper Canada College team, just by the way that he was able to work on their power play and play in all situations. He has a really good understanding of what he’s able to do for himself on the ice with his own skill set. He really sets up his teammates to have success. So I think those are things that really stood out to us. We fully expect that Max is going to make a great transition to the OHL. He’s got the ability to process the game at a high level, and it’s going to be our responsibility to assist in his development.”

Player Spotlight: Matthew Zilinski

Profile: 5’10”, 159lbs, right-shot forward

Hometown: Cambridge, ON

Birthdate: Feb 21, 2010

Drafted: 2nd Round, 21st Overall (2026 OHL Priority Selection)

2025-26 Stats (Mississauga Senators U16 AAA): 25 GP, 14G, 21A, 35 PTS

Selected by the Attack in the second round (21st overall) of the 2026 OHL Priority Selection, Matthew Zilinski joins the organization as one of the club’s top prospects. Known for his combination of skill, hockey IQ and competitiveness, the Cambridge, Ont., native recorded 35 points (14-21–35) in just 25 regular-season games with the Mississauga Senators U16 AAA during the 2025-26 campaign.

“Matthew Zilinski is extremely competitive. I think that’s something that always stood out to myself and our scouting staff with him. He’s got really excellent feet and [we like] the way that he can get around the ice. He’s another player that can really play connected hockey as well and set his teammates up. He drives the play, he drives offensively. Those are things that are exciting for us and for our group. We think that as Matty continues to develop, he’s going to be a pretty darn good player in the OHL.”

Player Spotlight: Jace Voortman

Profile: 6’0”, 162lbs, left-shot forward

Hometown: Thunder Bay, ON

Birthdate: Aug 12, 2010

Drafted: 3rd Round, 46th Overall (2026 OHL Priority Selection)

2025-26 Stats (Toronto Jr. Canadiens U16 AAA): 21 GP, 12G, 9A, 21 PTS

Selected 46th overall in the 2026 OHL Priority Selection, Jace Voortman spent the 2025-26 season with the Toronto Jr. Canadiens U16 AAA, recording 21 points (12-9–21) in 21 regular-season games before adding four points at the OHL Cup.

“Jace is extremely responsible, which is something that we really liked about his game. He’s just a player that understands what’s needed at certain times of the game. You look at him at the Under-17s, and he scores some timely goals, and he’s out there taking faceoffs near the end of the game and being able to shut down the opposition’s top line. He just plays the game like a pro.”

Player Spotlight: Turner Stephenson

Profile: 6’3”, 176lbs, left-shot defenceman

Hometown: Innerkip, ON

Birthdate: Jun 24, 2010

Drafted: 3rd Round, 53rd Overall (2026 OHL Priority Selection)

2025-26 Stats (Upper Canada College Blues U16): 64 GP, 3G, 15A, 18 PTS

Selected 53rd overall in the 2026 OHL Priority Selection, Turner Stephenson spent the 2025-26 season patrolling the blue line for the Upper Canada College Blues U16, recording 18 points (3-15–18) in 64 games.

“Turner is six-foot-three, and I just think the way that he defends at that size, the way that he can read the game – he surfs really well and closes time and space in the neutral zone. He’s competitive. He wants to play hard. He’s willing to block shots. He’s just that defenceman that coaches like to put out there on the penalty kill and, when you’re up by a goal, make it hard on the opposition. I think that’s something that Turner will turn into very nicely.”

Player Spotlight: Mitchell Nouwens

Profile: 6’2”, 179lbs, goaltender

Hometown: Burlington, ON

Birthdate: Feb 09, 2010

Drafted: 5th Round, 85th Overall (2026 OHL Priority Selection)

Selected 85th overall in the 2026 OHL Priority Selection, Mitchell Nouwens was the first goaltender taken by the Attack in the 2026 draft. The 6-foot-2 Burlington, Ont., native joins the organization from the Toronto Red Wings U16 AAA program.

“Mitchell’s a guy that our staff was really high on. We really liked his compete level when he played for the Toronto Red Wings program. He’s obviously got good size at six-foot-two. Our guys were very high on him as we went through [the draft], and we were happy to get him where we got him in the draft.”

Player Spotlight: Roderik Cernak

Profile: 6’3”, 187lbs, right-shot defenceman

Hometown: Bratislava, SVK

Birthdate: Mar 19, 2008

Drafted: 1st Round, 22nd Overall (2026 CHL Import Draft)

2025-26 Stats (HC Slovan Bratislava U20): 25 GP, 4G, 10A, 14 PTS

Selected in the first round (22nd overall) of the 2026 CHL Import Draft, the 6-foot-3 Slovakian defenceman joins the Attack after spending the majority of last season with HC Slovan Bratislava U20. The right-shot blueliner recorded 14 points (4-10–14) in 25 regular-season games while posting a plus-10 rating.

“Obviously, he’s a big, right-handed shot defenceman that I think is going to be really good for us. He’s a great teammate. We did lots of background work on him to understand the individual that we were bringing in. He plays that hard-nosed game, is willing to block shots on the penalty kill and really understands who he is as a player. I think those are positives for us when you get a player that knows exactly how they need to play now to be successful.”

Other members of the 2026 class include:

PLAYER	POSITION	HOMETOWN	DOB	2025-26 TEAM	DRAFTED
Colin MacCormack	RD	Phil...

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