Brampton Steelheads Bring In Sleeper NHL Draft Prospect & Harvard Commit At The Perfect Time

The Brampton Steelheads saw three of their best players attend Canada's World Junior Championship selection camp, two of whom lead their team in scoring.

After a couple of exhibition games against the U Sports All-Stars, Canada finalized their roster for the tournament and all three Steelheads players made the roster. Great for them, but not ideal for Brampton who are battling with five teams for spots five through nine in the Eastern Conference.

Those three players are captain Porter Martone, Carson Rehkopf, and goaltender Jack Ivankovic. Martone and Rehkopf are one and two on Brampton in points this season and losing the two guys who have combined for 41 goals and 101 points is a tough blow.

Help is on the way, and in the form of an intriguing prospect eligible for the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, Aidan Lane.

Lane, 17, was a top prospect for the 2023 OHL Priority Selection. He fell to the fourth round where the Steelheads selected him 80th overall. The reason why he slipped in the draft was because he was committed to Harvard University and pursued the NCAA development route over the OHL.

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Now that the NCAA rule change is in effect, Brampton was able to sign Aidan to an OHL Scholarship and Development Agreement.

Lane suited up in his first OHL game on Dec. 11 when Brampton hosted the Brantford Bulldogs in what ended up in a thrilling affair.

11 regulars were out of the lineup for the Steelheads forcing them to play against Brantford with a shorthanded lineup, to say the least.

Down 5-4 with seconds ticking off the clock, Lane was thrown out there with the extra attacker on the ice looking for the game-tying goal. He posted up in front of the net where he redirected a Spencer Sova point shot, scoring his first career OHL goal and an all-important game-tying goal with 17 seconds left in the period to send the game to overtime.

Brampton would end up losing the game 6-5 in the extra frame, but they secured a very important point in the standings while playing with one of the most inexperienced lineups the OHL probably will ever see.

Lane has not suited for another game with the Steelheads since that game last Wednesday, but that's because he is the captain of St. Andrew's College, and they had a very important head-to-head two-game series against Shattuck St. Mary's School in the Prep Hockey Conference.

St. Andrew's won the first game on Saturday 5-3 where their captain Lane scored twice and put up three points. They lost the second game on Sunday 4-1.

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OHL Connections

Lane played for the prestigious Toronto Marlboros organization in his OHL draft year (spent seven years with the Marlboros growing up) where he won the GTHL U16 Championship.

That Marlboros team featured Guelph Storm's newly signed forward Lev Katzin, Flint Firebirds first-rounder Jeremy Martin, Kitchener Rangers Matheas Stark, Owen Sound Attack defenseman Gabriel Smith, top prospect for the 2025 NHL Entry Draft William Moore, Ottawa 67's netminder Jaeden Nelson, and his new Steelheads teammates Kieran Witkowski and Luke Dragusica.

His team fell short in the 2023 OHL Cup Quarterfinals, but Lane impressed all the scouts in attendance with his goal-scoring prowess and smart offensive hockey sense.

He tied Soo Greyhounds' 2023 fourth-overall pick, Brady Martin, for the most goals in the tournament, scoring 8 goals. He also finished second in total points with 13, trailing behind top NHL draft-eligible prospect and the 2023-24 OHL Rookie of the Year, Jake O'Brien, who had 17 points.

Aidan Lane Scouting Report

Aidan is a skilled right winger who possesses soft hands on the puck and has a great first touch. He's smooth handling the puck in tight spaces and moving it out of battles. Off the puck in the offensive zone, he reads where to position himself either along the boards to prolong the cycle or hovering around the high slot area for a quick shot attempt.

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Lane received a "W" rating from NHL Central Scouting in their preliminary players to watch list for the upcoming NHL draft. The Mississauga, Ontario native said he likes to model his game after Boston Bruins superstar David Pastrnak.

It's unclear if the Harvard commit forward will play for the Steelheads full-time going forward or be an "AP" player for them where he can play no more than 10 games.

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