McKeen's Hockey is pleased to introduce our first-ever rankings for the OHL Priority Selection. The OHL draft takes place on May 6th and will be a 15-round affair conducted on-line. Steven Stamkos and Michael Del Zotto from the Markham Waxers are our consensus No. 1 and 2 picks. Their strong performances this season for the Waxers, who went undefeated in the regular season and the playoffs, should pay immediate dividends to both the Sarnia Sting and Oshawa Generals, who have missed the playoffs for two straight seasons.

The Sarnia Sting have four picks in the top two rounds while the Generals have three picks. Conversely, the London Knights have their first round pick but don't pick again until the fourth round.

It projects to be a solid draft as far as defence goes with 15 of our top 40 picks being defenders. Several blueliners emerged this season with strong seasons to bolster their draft status. Players such as Pietrangelo, Cuma and Gaulton should have no problems adjusting to the speed of the OHL game.

Of the top 40 players projected only five of them played ahead of their age group, Cody Hodgson and James Livingston both played Midget in the ETA while the trio of Vern Cooper, Dean Howard and Kyle Tarini played in the Greater North Midget League.

Only two goalies managed to crack the top forty with Anthony Peters, brother of Justin Peters topping the list and Peter DiSalvo also making the grade. A separate category has been given to the goalies as McKeen's rates the top 10 to be drafted.

American born players have been omitted from the top 40 due to uncertainty as far as commitment issues are concerned with regards to playing in the OHL. The top five have been ranked with Philip McRae being the best available 1990-born American player, the son of former NHL tough guy Basil McRae.

Positions, height and weight are included:

1. Steven Stamkos 6'0-165

2. Michael DelZotto D, 6'1-195

3. Alex Pietrangelo D, 6'3-190

4. Cody Hodgson C, 5'10-170

5. Greg Nemisz C, 6'2-170

6. James Livingston C, 6'1-185

7. Mitch Gaulton D, 6'1-190

8. Tyler Cuma D, 6'1-180

9. Vern Cooper C, 5'8-150

10. Corey Trivino C, 6'1-155

11. Shawn Lalonde D, 6'1-165

12. Michael D'Orazio D, 6'0-191

13. Nazem Kadri C, 6'0-165

14. Brandon Burlon D, 6'0-180

15. Nathan Moon C, 6'0-170

16. Jared Staal RW, 6'1-170

17. Thomas Nesbitt RW, 5'11-175

18. Justin Larson C, 6'2-180

19. Dean Howard C, 5'10-165

20. Nicholas Crawford D, 6'2-185

21. Matt MacDougall D, 6'3-185

22. Anthony Nigro C, 6'1-165

23. Mark Canduri D, 5'10-185

24. Adam Henrique C, 5'11-165

25. Jordan O'Neill D, 6'2-180

26. Josh Dadic C, 6'3-210

27. Josh Brittian LW, 6'2-200

28. Anthony Peters G, 6'1-170

29. Tucker Hunter C, 6'1-180

30. Kyle Tarini RW, 6'1-190

31. Tim Billingsley D, 6'1-170

32. Brian Shaw D, 6'3-185

33. Stefan DellaRovere LW, 5'11-190

34. Brett Sullivan D, 6'1-180

35. Jason Wilson LW, 6'2-185

36. Tyler Allen RW, 6'1-175

37. Alex Hutchings C, 5'9-165

38. Peter DiSalvo G, 6'0-200

39. T.J. Brodie D, 5'10-160

40. Chris Desousa C, 5'9-190

1. Anthony Peters 6'1-170

2. Peter DiSalvo 6'0-200

3. Chris Corrazzi 6'2-170

4. Cody St.Jacques 5'11-170

5. Jason Missiean N/A

6. Michael Hutchinson 6'2-170

7. Matt Hoyle 6'2-185

8. Patrick Killeen 6'3-180

9. Justin Soave 5'9-180

10. Steven Zoffranieri 5'9-185

1. Philip McRae C, 6'0-175

2. A.J. Jenks F, 6'1-170

3. Justin Florek F, 6'3-175

4. Robbie Czarnik RW, 5'11-170

5. Brian Lashoff D, 6'2-185