Wisdom (5-foot-10, 195 pounds) is No. 54 in NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters for the 2020 NHL Draft, up from No. 90 in the midterm ranking in January after he scored 59 points (29 goals, 30 assists) in 62 games for Kingston this season.
The first round of the NHL draft will be Oct. 6 (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVAS). Rounds 2-7 are Oct. 7 (11:30 a.m.; NHLN, SN1).
Wisdom was presented the award by Buffalo Sabres forward Wayne Simmonds at The Ford Performance Centre in Toronto on Tuesday.
"It definitely hit home when they told me I won the award," Wisdom said. "I feel I've worked my whole life, have struggled for a long time, but am grateful for every single part of my life, so getting an award like this, especially from a guy like Wayne Simmonds, who's had to go through sort of the same thing I went through growing up in Scarborough (Ontario), was something else."
The award, presented by NHL Central Scouting in honor of the late McGuire, is given to the candidate who best exemplifies commitment to excellence through strength of character, competitiveness and athleticism. NHL Central Scouting determined the E.J. McGuire Award winner in March during their final virtual meeting to determine the top players in North America.
McGuire was director of NHL Central Scouting for seven years before he died of cancer April 7, 2011. A coach at the collegiate, junior and American Hockey League levels, an assistant for three NHL teams (Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks, Ottawa Senators) during 12 seasons and a scout for two teams, McGuire was named director of Central Scouting in 2005.
Wisdom, who is Black, was a regular at Simmonds' Road Hockey Warriors charity ball hockey tournaments, organized for underprivileged children, beginning when he was 7 years old. He and his younger brother, Zaccharya, were raised mostly by their mother, Mairri McConnell, and grandmother, Kitty McConnell, in a home where money was tight and paying to put two boys through organized hockey was a challenge.
He enjoyed the ball hockey tournaments, which helped expose the game to kids whose families may not have had the financial resources for them to play.
"Seeing [Simmonds] back in the days (at the ball hockey tournaments) ... just looking up at that guy, and he's a big guy to look up at, knowing that he plays in the NHL, somewhere I want to be in a few years is just amazing," Wisdom said. "Especially him having the same skin color, having to work just as hard as me, coming from almost the same area as me growing up, is amazing for sure."
Wisdom has stayed in contact with Simmonds ever since.