The standard age for OHL draft-eligible players is 16.
"This has been a goal of mine for quite some time and I am excited to take on this challenge," Wright said.
Wright (6-foot, 183 pounds) is the sixth player to receive exceptional-player status, following Toronto Maple Leafs center John Tavares (2005), Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad (2011), Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid (2012), New York Rangers defenseman prospect
Sean Day
(2013) and Detroit Red Wings forward prospect
Joseph Veleno
(2015). Veleno, currently with Drummondville in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, is the only player from outside the OHL to receive exceptional-player status.
In 72 games this season, Wright has 150 points (66 goals, 84 points) with Don Mills, which plays in the Greater Toronto Hockey League. He had 12 points (six goals, six assists) and was the captain of Team Ontario, which finished second at the 2019 Canada Winter Games.
Wright will be eligible for the 2022 NHL Draft.
The exceptional-player process was administered by the Ontario Hockey Federation with a Hockey Canada Special Evaluation Panel assembled to evaluate Wright's hockey and academic documentation and to assess his level of maturity in reaching their decision.
"Having administered this process since 2005 with John Tavares, Aaron Ekblad, Connor McDavid and Sean Day, I am continuously amazed by the well-rounded nature of those granted exceptional status," OHF Executive Director Phillip McKee said. "His constant success both in the classroom and on the ice has demonstrated that Shane Wright is well deserving to be among those who have been granted status in the past."
