Story by Reed Duthie / Photo by Michael Stamou
Bulldogs F Jake O’Brien was named to the roster for the 2024 CHL-USA Prospects Challenge on Wednesday, October 23, 2024.
O’Brien is the reigning OHL Rookie of the Year, having led the league in points, assists, power-play goals, power play assists and points per game by a rookie while also setting new Bulldogs records for assists and points by a rookie.
The Toronto product recorded 13 goals and 51 assists for 64 points in 61 games as a rookie helping power the Bulldogs to a third-place finish in the OHL’s Eastern Conference. O’Brien followed his spectacular 2023-24 season by helping Canada to win a gold medal at the 2024 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup.
Turning to the 2024-25 season, O’Brien has turned from playmaker to finisher, with five goals in nine games, helping lift the Bulldogs to points in six of nine games to open the season
The first game of this new event will take place on Tuesday, November 26 at Budweiser Gardens in London, Ontario, while the second contest will be held the following night on Wednesday, November 27 at the Tribute Communities Centre in Oshawa, Ontario.
Building off of one of hockey’s greatest rivalries between Canada and the United States, the CHL-USA Prospects Challenge will see the top first-year NHL Draft eligible prospects from the CHL’s Member Leagues, Western Hockey League (WHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), face-off against those from the U.S. National Under-18 Team in a two-game series.
If after the completion of the second game of the series, the CHL-USA Prospects Challenge has the CHL and NTDP’s U18 team tied at two points each, the teams will play a three-on-three 20-minute period(s) until a goal is scored to determine the winner of the series.
Set to be a part of the calendar over the next three seasons, the CHL-USA Prospects Challenge will see players from the CHL and NTDP’s U18 team compete before hundreds of NHL scouts and thousands of fans in an effort to improve their draft stock ahead of the upcoming NHL Draft. Players for the CHL team will be provided by NHL Central Scouting as selected by the NHL’s 32 clubs, and much like other national events in the CHL, the hosting duties of the CHL-USA Prospects Challenge will rotate between the CHL’s three Member League markets each year.
