Breaking down the top GTHL U16 performers in 2025-26 for the 2026 OHL Draft
For seven months, the Toronto Jr. Canadiens and Vaughan Kings waged a war at the top of the GTHL standings, swapping momentum in what became the league's defining rivalry. When the dust settled on the regular season, the Jr. Canadiens held a six-point edge, but the Kings saved their best for last, outlasting their rivals in a five-game championship final that lived up to every ounce of its hype.
But they were far from the only stories in the GTHL this season. The Toronto Marlboros pushed Vaughan to the limit in the semifinals and made a deep run at the Toronto Marlboros Holiday Classic. The Don Mills Flyers were a single overtime goal away from the Whitby Silver Stick final. And despite an up-and-down season, the Mississauga Senators showed that when they were fully healthy, they could compete with any team.
Out of that competitive chaos, five prospects separated themselves from the rest of the pack. Some imposed their games through elite skill and hockey sense, while others changed the complexion of a game with their will. What they share is this: when the moment got bigger, so did they.
These are the top GTHL prospects to know heading into the 2026 OHL Priority Selection.
Kane Cloutier, C, Vaughan Kings
Kane Cloutier is one of the most technically gifted prospects in the GTHL this year. Quick and explosive on his blades and frequently in a dynamic posture, Cloutier can quickly shift his weight and change the angle of attack or time his routes into a catch so that he can accelerate off of first touch. Not only does he get up to top speed quickly, but it also allows him to play the game quickly so that his feet can keep up with his high-end processing speed.
An additional layer that complements Cloutier’s skating is his habit of underhandling the puck. This is an area of his game that has improved immensely over the course of the season. Earlier, he would overhandle the puck and force plays that were not there. Now, it has also opened up additional layers of offence, allowing him to maintain his speed and react faster to the play.
The area of Cloutier’s game that is far more developed than his peers is his off-puck movement and routes. At this age, players tend to be puck-focused and overly focused on what is directly in front of them. Cloutier uses that vulnerability to find soft ice away from the puck so that he can attack the inner slot with his opponents’ backs turned.
What makes Cloutier unique is not the frequency with which he attacks his opponents’ backs, but the intelligence to time his routes so that he can arrive in dangerous areas of the ice in time to receive the puck. He shows the same habits in transition, sometimes slowing down to get the opposing defender to slow down with him before speeding up and into a passing lane, or to get the defence to turn and sprint with him before hitting the brakes and popping into the middle slot for an open seam.
The ability to process the game extends to Cloutier’s playmaking game. He is one of the most talented and refined passers in his entire age group. He can thread the needle on either his forehand or backhand and frequently shows off his ability to deliver sharp saucer passes flat and onto his linemates' tape.
The real differentiator, however, is his ability to draw pressure to himself before making the open feed. On retrievals in particular, Cloutier is adept at drawing pressure along the wall before slipping a creative pass around the opposing forechecker and towards his linemate with time and space. The same habits are apparent in transition, where Cloutier loves to attack wide, draw opposing defences towards him, and then pull up at the top of the circle and look for a cross seam lane or trailer, opening up lanes for himself in the process.
Regardless of the situation, the one constant is how Cloutier moves off the pass. He does not admire his passes; he keeps his feet moving to either draw defensive pressure towards him and free up space for the carrier or to attack a soft spot off the puck to create a passing lane or put himself in position to bury a rebound attempt.
There are still areas of his game that need to develop for Cloutier to reach his ceiling, such as playing inside of contact and attacking the middle of the ice more in transition, but the skills and habits that Cloutier already possesses at his age should see him become a top-line centre and high-end scorer at the OHL level.
Kash Kwajah, C, Toronto Jr. Canadiens
Kash Kwajah is a unique player who can pull fans out of their seats with his dynamic skills. When he has the puck, the opposition is always attuned to where he is on the ice, and when he gets a touch, the urgency level of the defence goes up a notch. Commanding that much attention is a feat in itself, but it is how Kwajah navigates defences that try to take away his time and space that is most interesting.
Kwajah is a strong scanner who frequently surveys the ice before touching the puck so that he can assess the pieces on the chessboard and make the right reads quickly. Whether it's accelerating into his first touch to push the defence back before delivering reverse feeds or manipulating defenders by attacking east-west and sending behind-the-back passes to options, he finishes every route afterwards. He'll drive directly through defenders while tying up sticks to create space for trailers, or cut backdoor for a lateral play.
Kwajah routinely corrals poorly placed passes and shows the ability to kick pucks off his skate and back toward his stick without breaking stride. He is incredibly comfortable controlling the puck and pairs his handling well with sharp turns and pivots to keep defenders off balance. Kwajah has become quite adept at momentarily exposing the puck by pulling it toward the opposite side of the defender's stick to bait them into swinging their stick over to play stick-on-puck, where he can either play the puck underneath the opponent's triangle or around it to beat his man.
A master of breaking structure and exposing mistakes, Kwajah regularly deceives defenders with weight shifts, deceptive edges, and head fakes, whether in open ice or along the walls.
Kwajah isn't just a perimeter scorer. He competes for ice in the inner slot and leverages the space at the top of the offensive zone to build speed and attack downhill. He generates good speed and agility, but his stride is unorthodox. He plays a lot on his inside edges; as a result, he drops his hips back and widens his stance.
Kwajah's skating prevents proper weight transfer to the outside edge of his glide leg. He lands with his foot pronated (angled inward), which forces a flat-footed stride. As a result, he loses efficient energy transfer, which slows his acceleration and limits his ability to change directions quickly.
However, Toronto Jr. Canadiens head coach Justin Teakle believes in Kwajah's skating. The star forward played heavy minutes for JRC in all situations, which in turn contributed to some of his mechanics breaking down late in games. While this will continue to be a question for Kwajah as he develops, what cannot be disputed is his ability to play the game at pace. He frequently backs off defenders with his speed and quickness and possesses the rare ability to slow the game down and then speed it back up.
There is a reason Kwajah was named the GTHL's Player of the Year. He was arguably the most consistently impactful forward on the top-seeded team in the regular season, which is why he will be a high pick at the draft and projects as a top-line scoring centre at the next level.
Arjun Nanubhai, C, Mississauga Senators
Arjun Nanubhai was the No. 1 centre and leading scorer for the Mississauga Senators this season. His game is built on explosive skating and acceleration. In transition, he builds speed by using crossovers to change directions and create separation without losing speed.
Earlier in the year, Nanubhai played the game fast at all times, relying on his speed to beat defenders wide. As the season progressed, he began to incorporate more changes of speed to expose defenders backing up against him. His go-to play is to stop up at the top of the circles and use the gap between himself and the defence to deliver a cross-seam pass. At times, his efforts have gone to waste because he plays the game at such a high speed that it is difficult for many players in this age group to keep up and think with him.
What differentiates Nanubhai from many other high-skilled forwards in this age group is his willingness to give up possession to get it back on the forecheck. Nanubhai places pucks in areas where only he can get first touch and uses his outside edges to accelerate out of tight turns with possession. He also demonstrates mature habits through contact, which allow him to win contested pucks when he cannot rely on his speed alone.
He absorbs contact under backpressure well, maintaining inside positioning and keeping his feet moving while slowing the defender down. He frequently forces defenders to take penalties in an attempt to dispossess him of the puck.
What's most notable about Nanubhai's game is that he consistently elevates his game against the toughest opponents. Whether it was at the Toronto Titans Tournament, the Whitby Silver Stick, or even the OHL Cup qualification game (which the Senators lost in overtime to Ajax-Pickering), Nanubhai was consistently the Senators' most impactful player. This speaks not only to his competitive spirit but also to how difficult it is to contain him. He is an explosive athlete who is just as capable of hunting pucks as he is of holding onto possession and making plays.
Nanubhai projects as an impact top-line forward. Whether he stays at centre or shifts to the wing, where he seems more naturally suited because he prefers to activate up ice and lead the rush, it is not often that you get a player who pairs high-end skill and intelligence with high-end will.
Matthew Zilinski, C, Mississauga Senators
This year was a tale of two halves for Matthew Zilinski. In the first half of the season, he looked like a legitimate challenger for a top-five selection. But a shoulder injury derailed his second half, as he looked like a shadow of himself when he did dress.
At his best, Zilinski is a dynamic centre with elite speed and a strong motor. He accelerates to top speed quickly and can create separation in a straight line or by cutting back into space. Zilinski is listed at 5-foot-10 and 159 lbs. Far from a perimeter player, though, he frequently attacks the middle of the ice, draws pressure toward him, and at the precise moment the defence shifts out of position, he passes against their momentum to create an opening for his linemates.
Zilinski’s best work comes from below the goal line in the offensive zone. Despite his stature, he is elite at shielding the puck with his back. He spins off contact and makes passes into the inner slot regularly, knowing where his passing options are before he even starts his move, baiting the defence into abandoning their positional coverage.
The most impressive part of these sequences is how effectively Zilinski protects pucks along the walls and creates separation in tight spaces. This area is highly contested and requires paying a physical toll, but he manages the space masterfully by keeping his feet moving and taking a hit to make a play. He has a full assortment of passes: hook passes, slip passes, and sauce passes, and can find the open man from behind the net even with his back turned to the play.
There is just as much to like about Zilinski's defensive game. He consistently supports down low to help win contested pucks back in the defensive zone and can be counted on to make strong decisions to break the puck out with either his feet or short outlet passes. What he lacks in size and strength, he more than makes up for with his motor. Zilinski does not stop moving his feet, and he competes hard to stay between his check and the goal.
It is more difficult to project Zilinski's future because of the injury that all but eliminated the second half of his season. But at his best, he shows the ability to slow down and speed up the game like few other prospects in this class. That style is eerily reminiscent of Denver Barkey at the same age and should be highly translatable to junior hockey.
To realize that upside in the OHL, Zilinski will need to prove that his shoulder isn't a recurring issue and that he can handle the physical toll of his own playstyle. If that version returns, he projects as a top-six centre who can be relied upon in all three zones.
Adrian Sgro, D, Vaughan Kings
Adrian Sgro is the most complete defender in this GTHL class, and the gap is not particularly close. What separates him from other high-end defensive prospects is not any single elite trait (though his skating is certainly that), but rather how his toolkit eliminates wasted motion and wasted decisions.
On retrievals, Sgro operates with a low-panic threshold and a full decision tree. He uses the net to cut off opposing forecheckers, turns his toe caps one way to bait defenders into committing in that direction, then cuts back the other way to beat them cleanly. Once he has the puck, he calmly reads pressure and makes the right play, a wheel up the wall, a reverse to his partner, or a rim away from pressure toward an open linemate.
Vaughan deploys their captain in every situation and entrusts him with the heaviest minutes. A high-end skater, Sgro can win pucks back and immediately start the play up ice. Unlike many players who need to build speed into a catch, Sgro can receive the puck while gliding, changing pace, or even stationary, and immediately transition into a controlled, efficient skating posture without a wasted step. This allows him to attack space instantly and read momentum, attacking against it to get opposing forwards on their heels.
Offensively, he is a shoot-first defender who leverages his skating and puck routes to shorten the zone and get into more dangerous ice. He likes to attack downhill and fire from the top of the circles. His timing and routes are so effective that Vaughan moved him from the point to the bumper on the power play. It's unusual for a defender to play that role, but it speaks to how well he pops in and out of shooting pockets, always with his blade on the ice and his body positioned toward the puck carrier to be available for a one-touch pass or one-timer.
Defensively, he closes gaps with speed, denying opponents time and space, and his recovery speed allows him to correct even when he is occasionally over-aggressive. He reads pressure in the defensive zone through consistent scanning habits, and when there is no time to pass or rim the puck out, he shows no hesitation to absorb contact to make a play. Sgro also has an edge to his game; he plays mean, frequently involving himself in scrums after the whistle. That aggression may be something he needs to tone down because he is too valuable to be sitting in the box, but it is an added layer that makes him difficult to play against.
Sgro is easy to project as a top-pair defender, but he has the pathway to develop into a No. 1 defenceman in the OHL. To achieve that upside, he will have to continue to leverage his skating to not only keep plays alive in the offensive zone, but more consistently beat the high forward at the top of the zone to open up attacking options for himself and his linemates.
