When you watched McTavish, what did you see and how impressive was he as an 18-year-old against older professionals in the Swiss League?
"I think he popped right away in his underage year (2019-20) with Peterborough, put up a ton of goals and really gave us a small taste of what he can really do. Then he went overseas and really showed that he could play an expanded role; he showed he could play a lot more of an in-depth game. He showed physicality, strong skating, and continued his goal-scoring play. At the U-18s, watching him against his own age group and draft class, he was really driving the bus for Canada and just kind of showed the different elements of his game. He does the dirty work; just a total-package-type of guy that I can see any NHL team building their franchise around."
What stood out about Othmann when you were able to watch him either when he played in Switzerland or at the U-18s?
"When I watched him play in Switzerland, you saw right away the speed upgrades. He looked physically bigger and stronger and just came out of the gates on a mission with his feisty play. He's a highly skilled player with a great shot, great release. He and Shane Wright (2022 NHL Draft eligible) showed great chemistry so he can play with the elite players and, at the same time, can take other teams off their game. He finishes checks hard and kind of plays on the edge, which is when he's at his best."
Can you give us a few OHL players you feel could be diamonds in the rough in the later rounds of this draft?
"There's a group of defensemen that didn't play this year who I feel really showed a good raw development curve. Jacob Holmes (6-1, 205; No. 70) of Sault Ste. Marie, Ben Roger (6-4, 200; No. 74) of London, Ryan Mast (6-4, 210; No. 89) of Sarnia, and Artem Guryev (6-4, 225; No. 99) of Peterborough ... these guys are mobile defensemen with good size. They are kind of the modern-day defenseman. You kind of see there's lot of development to work with in these guys. They are four who could be good sleeper picks who potentially could have good careers at the next level."