Adam Prudhomme
Editor
With their fifth round, 102nd overall pick of the Ontario Hockey League priority selection draft, the London Knights selected Napanee’s Matthew Airhart.
The 16-year-old forward was surrounded by friends and family when he experienced every junior player’s dream and had his name announced on draft day.
“I had all my family over and we got a call from London and they wanted to select me and I said yes, they hung up and my name popped up and we had a little bit of a celebration with my family,” recalled Airhart. “Just being selected by such a great organization is unreal. London is kind of a dream come true. The reputation and how they’re always good, it means even more than just being drafted in the OHL, I was drafted by the London Knights. It was an awesome feeling.”
A perennial contender with a who’s who of OHL turned NHL alumni, the Knights present a great opportunity for a young player to develop.
Airhart is hoping to further impress the scouts at the upcoming rookie camp.
“Hopefully I show up and prove to myself to the team and make it further passed the rookie camp,” said Airhart.
Heading into his draft year, he delivered 16 goals and 20 assists in 30 regular season games while wearing the ‘C’ for the Quinte Red Devils.
“It was a great year, I had great teammates and great coaches,” said Airhart. “I performed well I think too, that’s a benefit. Overall it was a great year. There was a lot of pressure, but it was a lot of fun.”
A graduate of the Napanee Stars system, Airhart didn’t come from a large hockey centre-but that hasn’t stopped him from drawing the attention of OHL scouts.
“Being from a smaller town has made me the person I am today and kind of the hockey player I am with the resources we have as a small town,” said Airhart. “Mike Hartwick is always a guy that’s been helping me out all along throughout on and off the ice. I’m lucky enough to be part of an awesome small town like Napanee to have those resources that not many smaller towns like Napanee do have.”
With rookie camp on the horizon, he’s hoping to continue to stay on the coaching staff’s radar and hope to break camp with the OHL club this fall.