OHL Training Camp Roster Breakdown: London Knights

OHL training camps are ongoing and preseason is just around the corner. Every day there’s more news regarding teams adding or subtracting players from their rosters. Bookmark The Hockey News OHL site to stay updated on all news and training camp roster announcements.

During our training camp series on the site, we will analyze the import players, overage players (2004-born), first-year draft-eligible players to keep an eye on, and each team’s representation from their 2024 draft class, as well as any other storylines.

Today we are looking at the London Knights’ training camp roster. The PDF link to their roster can be found here.

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London has split their training camp into four teams — Team Green, Gold, Black, and White. After the Labour Day weekend, the camp will be sliced down to only two teams.

Denver Barkey (illness), Easton Cowan, Ruslan Gazizov, and Kasper Halttunen will join the team after NHL camps, but watch for Cowan and Halttunen as two players who are going to push to make the jump to the NHL this year.

NOTE: Recently signed import Russian forward, Gleb Semenov, is not listed on the team’s training camp roster.

Related: OHL Training Camp Roster Breakdown: Kitchener Rangers

Overage Players

London has five 2004-born players on their preliminary roster. One of those players is Ruslan Gazizov, who we believe’s status with the team is questionable due to the import rule, — can only have two import players on your roster — and seeing as it sounds like he will be attending an NHL camp.

The other four players are forwards Landon Sim and Jacob Julien, defenseman Alec Leonard, and goaltender Owen Willmore.

Michael Simpson has moved on to play for the Belleville Senators in the AHL, opening up the number-one role in London for Willmore to seize. Can he effectively replace Simpson is the question.

The Winnipeg Jets hold Julien’s signing rights for one more season, which is why we see him back with the team for an overage year. If the Jets signed him, it would mean that he wouldn’t be eligible to return to the OHL. Not signing him yet allows the team to keep a contract spot open.

Alternatively, because Landon Sim was drafted in 2022 — Julien was drafted in 2023 — by the St. Louis Blues, he unfortunately did not receive a contract from them and is a free agent. St. Louis has voiced they really like him as a player but don’t want to commit to a contract spot on him quite yet.

Lastly, we have right-shot defenseman Alec Leonard. The Toronto, Ontario native was a high pick (2nd round, 27th overall) by the Niagara IceDogs in 2020 and is eight games away from hitting the 200-game mark in his OHL career. However, his full-time spot on the team is not guaranteed with Sim, Julien, and Willmore most likely taking up the three OA game-day roster spots on most nights.

Related: OHL training camp roster breakdown: Saginaw Spirit

Import Players

Here’s where things get interesting for the Knights. They currently have four imports — Ruslan Gazizov, Kasper Halttunen, Jesse Nurmi, and Gleb Semenov.

Now, only one — Jesse Nurmi — is listed on their training camp roster. But, let’s assume that Halttunen doesn’t make San Jose‘s opening night roster, Gazizov returns, and Semenov comes over from Russia. The team will need to trade two of them.

They signed Nurmi and Semenov this off-season and would assume that Mark and Dale Hunter would want to have them in their lineup. Something has to give here on the import front for London before the start of the season.

NHL-Affiliated Prospects

London obviously is known as a factory ground for building up future NHL stars, and they lead the OHL with NHL-drafted prospects.

In the prospective lineup for the Knights in the 2024-25 season, there are a total of nine NHL-affiliated prospects. It’s important to note that Landon Sim is not included in this count.

F, Easton Cowan – Toronto Maple Leafs (2023 1st round, 28th overall)
F, Sam O’Reilly – Edmonton Oilers (2024 1st round, 32nd overall)
F, Kasper Halttunen – San Jose Sharks (2023 2nd round, 36th overall)
F, Denver Barkey – Philadelphia Flyers (2023 3rd round, 95th overall)
F, Jacob Julien – Winnipeg Jets (2023 5th round, 146th overall)
F, William Nicholl – Edmonton Oilers (2024 7th round, 196th overall)
D, Sam Dickinson – San Jose Sharks (2024 1st round, 11th overall)
D, Oliver Bonk – Philadelphia Flyers (2023 1st round, 22nd overall)
D, Jared Woolley – Los Angeles Kings (2024 6th round, 164th overall)

Related: Sam O’Reilly Drafted 32nd Overall by Edmonton; A Two-way, Power Forward in the Making

NHL Draft-Eligible Prospects

For the last two years, the Knights have had a first-year NHL draft-eligible prospect come up and shine in his OHL rookie season. Who’s it going to be this year?

Keep an eye out for 5-foot-9 forward Brendan Gerber. The 2023 sixth-rounder played two games for the Knights last season and spent the year in the GOJHL where he produced 27 goals and 53 points in 48 games, and was voted to the league’s All-Rookie Team.

London’s 2023 seventh-rounder, Cohen Bidgood, is another name to watch out for. Last season in the GOJHL, he recorded 60 points and 116 penalty minutes in 76 combined regular season and playoff games split between the Chatham Maroons and St. Marys Lincolns. He went to the Sutherland Cup Finals with the Lincolns, but his team lost to Listowel Cyclones.

Goaltender Alexei Medvedev has an opportunity to grab ahold of the backup role to Owen Willmore and could put his name on NHL scouts’ radar.

And defensemen Henry Brzustewicz and Noah Jenken had a taste of what the OHL is like, earning Championship rings as a member of the team’s playoff run. Brzustewicz was willing to move up and play forward for parts of the season and in the playoffs for the team due to their backend being incredibly strong and deep.

2024 OHL Draft Class

Here are the players from London’s 2024 draft class who will be attending their first OHL training camp:

C, Logan Hawery – 1st round, 20th overall
LHD, Caleb Mitchell – 2nd round, 39th overall
C, Max Mews – 3rd round, 55th overall
LW, Jaxon Cover – 4th round, 64th overall
C, Jackson Halloran – 5th round, 98th overall
C, Matthew Airhart – 5th round, 102nd overall
RHD, Jackson Taylor – 6th round, 122nd overall
C, Eddie Hickson – 7th round, 142nd overall
LHD, Cody Wood – 8th round, 162nd overall
G, Seth Ronan – 9th round, 182nd overall
C, Seth Coomber – 10th round, 192nd overall
LHD, William Janicek – 14th round, 282nd overall
RW, Logan Jackson – 15th round, 302nd overall

Fifth-rounder Jacob Monks, eleventh-rounder Anthony Thomas-Maroon, and twelfth-rounder Sebastian Gatto are the only three members from the 2024 class not listed on London’s training camp roster.

The Knights’ two selections in the U18 OHL Priority Selection — Kyle Henneberry and Jake Begin — are attending camp.

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