The Soo Greyhounds have traded the rights to first-round pick Ryder Cali, who declined to report to training camp this year after verbally committing to play for Harvard University.
The North Bay Battalion have obtained the pick, convinced they can persuade the elite forward to choose the OHL instead of the NCAA.
In exchange for Cali’s rights, the Greyhounds will receive a sixth-round pick in the 2025 OHL Priority Selection Draft and three other draft picks: North Bay’s seventh-round selection in 2027 and the second- and fourth-round selections in 2028.
The Hounds will also receive a compensatory first-round pick in next year’s draft for what is considered a defected player.
SEE: Greyhounds' first-round pick chooses Harvard over the Sault
Left shot Cali, a Penetanguishene, Ont., resident who turned 16 on Sept. 6, played in 2023-24 with the Markham Majors U16s, scoring 19 goals and earning 11 assists for 30 points in 29 regular-season games. The former member of the North Central Predators measures six-foot-two and 195 pounds.
He is currently playing this season for the Milton Menace of the junior A Ontario Junior Hockey League.
“Ryder is a player we really liked during his draft year,” said Battalion general manager John Winstanley on battalionhockey.com.
“This was an opportunity for us to acquire the rights to a really talented and complete player.
“We understand that he has a commitment in place, but we feel really strongly about our program’s successes and what we can do for Ryder as a hockey player and as a person.”
OHL Central Scouting had high praise for Cali prior to the 2024 OHL Priority Selection.
"Ryder is a skilled centre that is extremely dangerous when he has time and space with the puck," the OHL scouting report stated.
"He is a player that can contribute by scoring and setting up goals, he has good vision with the puck and an excellent overall understanding of how to create offense. He is not afraid to challenge any defender when he has the puck and uses his reach and skill very effectively. He has the skills and the size to be a very productive player moving forward."
Adam Dennis, president and director of hockey operations, said the Troops’ task now is to familiarize Cali with the new possibilities available to him.
Taking a risk on a player is nothing new for the North Bay Battalion.
In September of 2021, Battalion GM Adam Dennis acquired the Ontario Hockey League rights to highly regarded centre Adam Fantilli in a trade with the Saginaw Spirit.
The Battalion sent Saginaw, which chose Fantilli in the first round, 18th overall, in the 2020 OHL Priority Selection, the Sarnia Sting’s sixth-round pick in the 2022 Priority Selection, and four conditional choices, including two second-rounders.
Fantilli elected to stay at the University of Michigan and ended up making the Columbus Blue Jackets in the fall of 2023 after they selected him third overall in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.
Harvard Twist
Cali's time in the Soo was short. After attending the May Greyhounds orientation camp, Cali changed his tune and in early August of 2024 announced on social media that he was opting to go the NCAA route and play at Harvard.
“Definitely in meetings with the family or Ryder himself, there wasn’t any indication that this was something that he was looking at,” Kyle Raftis, Greyhounds general manager told SooToday's Brad Coccimiglio.
“Every time I’ve spent time with him, it’s been excellent. I still haven’t heard anything negative about the program, why it’s not a fit, or anything like that."