<p>BRANTFORD – The first-ever OHL Top Prospects Game drew a sold-out crowd at the Brantford and District Civic Centre, with the Eastern Conference edging out the Western Conference 5-4 in overtime.</p>



<p>The game featured most of the OHL’s top draft-eligible prospects, with the most notable being projected No. 1 pick Matthew Schaefer, who is out with a collarbone injury. A number of overage prospects were invited to show what they can do in front of scouts and fans alike.</p>



<p>The Eastern Conference dominated puck possession early, but it was actually the West that scored first. Luca Romano scored about five minutes in on a shot that beat David Egorov cleanly blocker side, disrupting the momentum. But just three minutes later, Shamar Moses tipped in a point shot from overage defender Xander Velliaris and in to make it 1-1.</p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="138"></div>



<p>The scoring was quite wild from there. Brady Martin, Jack Nesbitt and Adrian Misaljevic scored for the West, while Lirim Amidovski and Owen Griffin tallied goals for the first East. With the temperature ramping up in the third, defenseman Xander Velliaris scored to make it 4-4, forcing the first-ever showcase of this nature into extra time.</p>



<p>From there, East looked stronger –&nbsp;and it ultimately resulted in Porter Martone, a projected top-five pick in 2025, going down low on Matthew Koprowski to win the game.</p>



<p>Here’s a look at the top performers from both teams alongside their most recent NHL Central Scouting ranks:</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">OHL East</h2>



<p><strong>#44 Jake O’Brien, C (8): </strong>O’Brien was the driving force of East’s first line early in this one, and it resulted in an assist on the 1-1 goal. The local Brantford product then set up the 4-4 goal before assisting on Martone’s game-winner. He was the line’s top forechecker and was engaged physically, too. He just seemed to be involved with and without the puck every time he hit the ice –&nbsp;something we’ve seen plenty of times for him in Brantford, but, for whatever reason, was missing at points during the CHL USA Prospects Challenge.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="1" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="197"></div>



<p><strong>#29 Lirim Amidovski, RW (85): </strong>Amidovski is such a hard worker, so it was nice to see him get rewarded with a goal. He kept driving the net and it paid off with the 2-2 marker in the first. he then set up Owen Griffin on the rush to make it 3-3 for good measure. So not only was he good off the puck –&nbsp;landing solid hits and chasing guys around – he was important on the scoresheet, too.</p>



<p><strong>#7 Xander&nbsp;Velliaris, D (N/A):</strong> Velliaris isn’t known for his offensive output, having registered just two points in 32 games with Kingston over the last two seasons. But after registering assists in two of his past three games with Saginaw, Velliaris impressed with a goal and an assist to get East back into it. I can’t recall him being that energized and active on the attack, but the former Mississauga Charger was also one of the better defensive prospects, too. Velliaris isn’t ranked, but this had to be a good showing for his draft stock.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="2" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="173"></div>



<p><strong>#72 Jack Ivankovic, G (5)</strong>: Ivankovic was lights out in the second half of the game, making up for a rough first half from Egorov. The Steelheads goaltender is fresh off of backing up Canada at the World Juniors, and he turned some heads with how quick his blocker hand was all game long. East struggled a bit in their own zone but Ivankovic didn’t seem fazed – he was the top goaltender of the four today. Showcases like today will help him as he looks to overcome draft concerns due to his 5-foot-11 frame.</p>



<p><strong>#94 Porter Martone, RW (4):</strong> Martone kept getting better as the game wore on, and he was rewarded with the game-winning overtime goal. He also snagged an assist on the goal that forced overtime, too. I really liked his ability to bump guys off the puck and get to the middle, with his off-puck game being the biggest element of his effort tonight.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="3" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="158"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">OHL West</h2>



<p><strong>#71 Jack Nesbitt, C (16):</strong> Nesbitt was crucial to the 2-1 West goal, creating traffic in front to take David Egorov’s eyesight away on Brady Martin’s power-play shot. He then scored on the power play himself, making no mistake on a go-ahead 3-2 goal. He had a few other nice plays that nearly paid off, but can’t blame him for the missed opportunities by his teammates. For the most part, this was one of my favorite showings from Nesbitt this year.</p>



<p><strong>#44 Brady Martin, RW (17):</strong> Martin scored on the power play to give West its lead back and had an assist again later in the first. Add in a great play nearly became the 5-3 goal and another just minutes later and it was great to see him back in the spotlight. The hard-working winger hits hard, plays hard and shoots hard –&nbsp;and we saw it all tonight.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="4" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="149"></div>



<p><strong>#13 Quinn Beauchesne, D (84):</strong> I’ve had my concerns with Beauchesne’s play but I thought he was difficult to beat in 1-on-1 situations. He got into a fight, landed some decent hits and kept opponents to the perimeter. I liked his skating and his puck movement the most. Beauchesne is still prone to making some odd gaffes with the puck but East couldn’t do much when they got near him.</p>



<p><strong>#86 Luca Romano, C (35):</strong> Romano opened the scoring and then nearly had a second early in the middle stanza. He rarely lost a battle for the puck and his speed was deadly. I usually like him around the net but I thought he did a good job of making noise around the perimeter and in the neutral zone.</p>



<p><strong>#18 Cameron Reid, D (27):</strong> While Reid wasn’t as flashy as others on this list, he still had three assists – including two primary. My one issue was how he battled behind his own net under pressure, but I thought he showed good speed and generated some decent chances on the rush. Reid is great with the puck and I feel like it was one of my better in-person viewings of him because he was always trying to get the disk into a scoring position.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="5" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="214"></div>



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