One of the most unique traditions in junior hockey is the annual Ontario Hockey League coaches poll.

The poll itself is pretty self-explanatory: each team nominates a player for several different categories, and then the league goes to each of its 20 head coaches and asks it to provide their top three picks in each category. As a result, those that aren’t fully immersed in the ins and outs of the OHL can get some insight into that league’s many talented players and their nuances. It’s fun and we wish every league did it.

If you’ve followed the Calgary Flames and their recent drafting, you’ve probably noticed that the Flames have oodles of high-end prospects in the OHL. This past season, the Flames had four prospects in the OHL:

To nobody’s great surprise given how much we’ve heard about their strong 2024-25 campaigns, all four of these players were a top three finisher in their conference at least one category in the coaches poll.

A Western Conference player, Parekh had 33 goals and 107 points in the regular season. He was top three in four categories.

Parekh was tied for third with Sam Dickinson for Best Skater, behind Matthew Schaefer (Erie, 2025 draft eligible) and Jett Luchanko (Guelph, Flyers prospect). He was third in Best Shot, behind Kasper Halttunen (London, Sharks prospect) and Liam Greentree (Windsor, Kings prospect). He was tied with Denver Barkley (London, Flyers prospect) for Best Stickhandler, behind Ilya Protas (Windsor, Capitals prospect). And he was first in Best Offensive Defenceman.

An Eastern Conference player, Battaglia had 40 goals and 90 points in the regular season. He was top three in two categories.

Battaglia was tied for third with Porter Martone (Brampton, 2025 draft eligible) for Best Stickhandler, behind Callum Ritchie (Oshawa, Islanders prospect) and Jake O’Brien (Brantford, 2025 draft eligible). He was also second in Best Shootout Shooter, behind Martone.

An Eastern Conference player, Misa had 34 goals and 85 points in the regular season. He was third in Best Skater, behind Kevin He (Niagara, Jets prospect) and Nick Lardis (Brantford, Blackhawks prospect).

An Eastern Conference palyer, Mews had 14 goals and 82 points during the regular season. He was second in Best Offensive Defenceman, behind Luca Marrelli (Oshawa, Blue Jackets prospect).