Photo Courtesy of the Peterborough Petes
The Peterborough Petes have signed 2025 first overall pick and Jack Ferguson Award winner Kaden McGregor to an OHL Standard Player Agreement.
“We’re very excited to announce that we’ve signed Kaden McGregor to an SPA,” said Petes General Manager and Vice President of Operations Michael Oke. “Kaden is a player that myself and other members of our staff had the chance to watch a lot last season as he led the Ottawa Valley Titans to an HEO Championship. He’s somebody that we feel has the characteristics and drive that it takes to be a Peterborough Pete and we’re looking forward to seeing him on the ice at training camp next week.”
McGregor, a right-handed centre from Braeside, captained the Ottawa Valley Titans U16’s to a 29-2-1 record last season. In 29 regular season games, he scored a league-leading 38 goals and added 44 assists for 82 points, averaging 2.83 points per game. He also led the playoffs in scoring with 24 points in nine games, helping the Titans capture the HEO Championship and secure a spot in the OHL Cup.
With those accomplishments, McGregor was named 2025 HEO Player of the Year, joining Anaheim Ducks star and former Petes first-round pick Mason McTavish, who won the award in 2019.
“I’ve heard so many great things about the talent Peterborough has,” McGregor said. “It means a lot to me knowing I’m going to a great organization which has a great reputation and has a lot of great players who have gone through this place. I’m ready to get going.”
At the OHL Cup, McGregor finished third in scoring with 11 points in five games, earning a spot on the tournament All-Star team. He was the only player named to the team whose club did not reach the finals. The Petes selected him with the first pick in April’s OHL Priority Selection, making him the first player in franchise history to be chosen first overall.
In the official 2025 OHL Draft Guide, OHL Director of Hockey Development Darrell Woodley described McGregor as “a complete two-way centre that isn’t easy to play against because he is always moving his feet and he competes hard each and every shift. He is a powerful skater that can get up to top speed quickly and has another gear that many players don’t have. He has a very good skill set that allows him to generate offense for himself well. He is a dog on a bone when it comes to forechecking and how hard he competes, he rarely takes a shift off and you notice all the time. Physically he looks mature and his game will translate well to the next level.”
McGregor also attended Hockey Canada’s U17 World Challenge Development Camp in July alongside Petes second-round pick Kieran Raynor.
The Petes’ 2025 training camp opens Tuesday, August 26.
