McDavid. O'Reilly. Now Erie Otters will make 3rd No. 1 OHL pick in team history.

The Erie Otters must wait until Friday to officially make the first overall first pick in the 2023 Ontario Hockey League draft.

They won’t wait that long to confirm their selection.

The Otters will publicly reveal that player during Thursday’s invitation-only event at the Erie SeaWolves’ Stadium Club. Otters coach Stan Butler and General Manager Dave Brown are scheduled to attend.

Top pick: Erie Otters draw top choice in lottery for Ontario Hockey League draft. Who will they pick?

Erie’s new first-round choice, and the third No. 1 overall pick in franchise history, also will speak via teleconference.

“It's an honor to be able to select first in the draft,” Brown said. “We're excited to be able to draft a really good player that will add to the players we've already had in our historic success. We're super excited to have this honor.”

Although Thursday’s event is private, the Otters will hold a public draft party Friday at 6 p.m. at Voodoo Brewing Co., 101 Boston Store Place.

An unwanted perk

While Brown was honored Erie possesses the initial pick, he was less excited about why Erie will kick off the league’s two-day, 15-round draft.

The Otters, at 21-40-2-5, finished with the league’s worst record this past season. They haven’t competed in its playoffs since they were the Robertson Cup champions in 2016-17.

Erie also made a coaching change during its dismal season.

B.J. Adams was fired Jan. 9. Butler, whose 742 coaching victories rank among the top five in league history, replaced him in early February.

The Otters had a 30% percent chance of receiving Friday’s No. 1 overall pick when the league conducted its weighted lottery system Mach 29. Their odds were the strongest of those for Sault Ste. Marie, Kingston and Niagara, the league’s other teams that missed the playoff cut.

Future plans: The Erie Otters' season is over. Head coach Stan Butler's work is just beginning

Erie’s potential picks

This weekend’s draft will be streamed live on ontariohockeyleague.com.

The OHL Central Scouting Bureau has projected one of five players the Otters are likely to select with Friday’s initial pick.

Four are centers, with Owen Griffin’s statistics the most notable. The Markham, Ontario, native compiled 51 goals and 94 points in only 35 games for the York-Simcoe Express of the Eastern AAA Hockey League.

Two other centers competed in the Greater Toronto Hockey League. Matheas Stark skated for the Toronto Marlboros and Jimmy Lombardi for the Don Mills Flyers.

Center Brady Martin had 27 goals and 56 points over 23 Alliance Hockey games for the Waterloo (Ontario) Wolves.

Matthew Schaefer was the only defenseman on the bureau’s short list of Erie’s potential picks. The Hamilton, Ontario, native was a blueline presence for the Halton Hurricanes in the South Central AAA Hockey League.

Prepare for pressure

Considerable expectations will be felt by whomever the Otters announce Thursday as their initial selection.

Fair or not, that player also must contend with measuring up to the career achievements of their previous two No. 1 overall picks.

In 2007, the year most of this weekend’s draft picks were born, Erie chose forward Ryan O’Reilly first.

Yes, the same O’Reilly who helped the St. Louis Blues win the 2018-19 Stanley Cup playoffs and earned the Conn Smythe Trophy as that postseason’s most valuable player.

O’Reilly, who played two seasons in Erie and had 35 goals, 83 assists and 118 points with the Otters, is near the end of his 15th NHL season. He was traded this season to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who face Tampa Bay in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The player Erie chose No. 1 overall for the OHL’s 2012 priority selection also is active in current Stanley Cup action: Connor McDavid. After three seasons in Erie, the Edmonton Oilers made him the No. 1 overall pick in 2015. McDavid collected 97 goals, 188 assists and 285 points with the Otters.

Since then, McDavid has led the league in scoring five times and earned two Hart Trophies as its most valuable player. The Oilers face the Los Angeles Kings in the playoffs opening round.

Honor in 2015: Times-News Sportsman of the Year: Connor McDavid, Erie Otters

Terrance, 2 other Otters are NHL prospects

Erie forward Carey Terrance, the Otters’ first-round pick in 2021, is among the team’s current players eligible for this year’s NHL draft.

The NHL Scouting Bureau, in its final report ahead of the June 28-29 draft, listed Terrance as its 38th-best prospect among North American skaters. The center, an Akwesasne, New York, native, has recorded 40 goals and 31 assists over two seasons in an Erie uniform.

The Otters' Ondrej Molnar, a winger from Nitra, Slovakia, is ranked 129th. He collected four goals and 15 assists in 34 games with Erie this past season. Meanwhile, Alexis Daviault is listed as the 160th prospect. An Otters defenseman from Orleans, Ontario, Daviault had two goals, 13 assists and 16 penalty minutes for Erie last season.

2023 OHL Priority Selection order

1. Erie Otters

2. Niagara IceDogs

3. Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds

4. Kingston Frontenacs

5. Niagara IceDogs*

6. Oshawa Generals

7. Mississauga Steelheads

8. Brantford Bulldogs

9. Sudbury Wolves

10. Kitchener Rangers*

11. Kitchener Rangers

12. Owen Sound Attack

13. Peterborough Petes

14. Guelph Storm

15. Flint Firebirds

16. Saginaw Spirit

17. Sarnia Sting

18. London Knights

19. Barrie Colts

20. Windsor Spitfires

21. North Bay Battalion

22. Ottawa 67’s

*Compensatory pick

Erie Otters first-round OHL priority selection picks

• 1996: Brett Gibson, forward, Kingston Voyageurs, Ontario Premier Junior Hockey League

• 1997: Tim Connolly, forward, Syracuse Junior Crunch, Metro Junior A Hockey League (NHL career: 1999-2004, 2005-12)

• 1998: Brad Boyes, forward, Mississauga Reps U15, Greater Toronto Hockey League (NHL: 2003-04, 2005-15)

• 1999: Scott Rozendal, forward, Collingwood Blues, Ontario Premier Junior Hockey League

• 2000: Brian Lee, defenseman, Honeybaked, 18U AAA High Performance Hockey League

• 2001: Noel Coultice, defenseman, Ajax/Pickering Raiders, Eastern AAA Hockey League U15

• 2002: Mike Blunden, forward, Gloucester Rangers, Hockey Eastern Ontario U15 AA (NHL: 2006-08, 2009-18)

• 2003: Ryan O’Marra, forward, Mississauga Senators, Greater Toronto Hockey League U16 (NHL: 2009-12)

• 2004: Brett MacLean, forward, Grey-Bruce Highlanders, South Central AAA Hockey League U16 (NHL: 2010-12)

• 2005: Anthony Peluso, forward, Richmond Hill Stars, Eastern AAA Hockey League U16 (NHL: 2012-16, 2017-19)

• 2006: Mitch Gaulton, defenseman, Hamilton Junior Bulldogs, South Central AAA Hockey League U16

• *2007: Ryan O’Reilly, forward, Toronto Junior Canadiens, Alliance Hockey AAA U16 (NHL: 2009-present)

• 2008: Greg McKegg, forward, Elgin Middlesex Canucks, Alliance Hockey AAA U15 (NHL: 2013-22)

• 2009: David Broll, forward, Toronto Nationals, Greater Toronto Hockey League AAA U16 (NHL: 2013-14)

• 2010: Chris Marchese, forward, Toronto Marlboros, Greater Toronto Hockey League AAA U15

• 2011: Stephen Harper, forward, Burlington Eagles, South Central AAA Hockey League U16

• *2012: Connor McDavid, forward, Toronto Marlboros, Greater Toronto Hockey League AAA U16 (NHL: 2015-present)

• 2013: Dylan Strome, forward, Toronto Marlboros, Greater Toronto Hockey League AAA U14 (NHL: 2016-present)

• 2014: Taylor Raddysh, forward, Toronto Marlboros, Greater Toronto Hockey League AAA U15 (NHL: 2021-present)

• 2015: Ivan Lodnia, forward, Honeybaked, 18U AAA High Performance Hockey League U18

• 2016: Allan McShane, forward, Toronto Marlboros, Greater Toronto Hockey League AAA U16

• 2017: Emmett Sproule, forward, Grey-Bruce Highlanders, South Central AAA Hockey League U16

• 2018: Jamie Drysdale, defenseman, Toronto Marlboros, Greater Toronto Hockey League AAA U16 (NHL: 2020-present)

• 2019: Connor Lockhart, forward, Kanata Lasers, Hockey Eastern Ontario AAA U18

• 2020: Spencer Sova, defenseman, Honeybaked, 18U AAA

• 2021: Carey Terrance, forward, Toronto Titans, Greater Toronto Hockey League AAA U15

• 2022: Malcolm Spence, forward, Mississauga Senators, Greater Toronto Hockey League AAA U16

*Overall first pick

Contact Mike Copper at mcopper@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNcopper.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie Otters to announce No. 1 overall OHL pick ahead of Friday's draft