Prospects To Keep An Eye On This Season For The Ontario Reign

The day has arrived! The Ontario Reign’s 12th AHL season starts tonight, with familiar faces and new additions. AHL teams overhaul their rosters every year because of veteran rules, incoming prospects, and the need to add new depth.

Last night, the Ontario Reign announced their opening-night roster, featuring 11 first- or second-year players on entry-level contracts. Forward Jan Jenik and defenseman Jakub Dvořák missed the opening-night lineup due to injuries.

As with every year, a new wave of prospects makes their way to the pros or comes from overseas. Last year, I mentioned Kenny Connors, Jared Wright, Aatu Jamsen, and Erik Portillo as prospects to watch. Portillo is in his fourth season, with Jamsen in his third, and Connors and Wright’s stock has risen.

With that in mind, here are six prospects on the Reign to watch this season.

Vojtěch Čihař (Left/right wing, 19 years old)

Vojtěch Čihař made the roster! The reigning World Juniors MVP’s stock has skyrocketed over the past nine months, and he will make his North American debut with the Reign. His speed, forechecking, and playmaking are worth watching when he hits the ice. Expectations have risen for him among fans, but I think we should pump the brakes. Yes, he’ll need to get stronger, but there is also a scenario where he could be loaned back to the Kelowna Rockets (WHL). The San Jose Sharks did this with their former prospect Kasper Halttunen two seasons ago; he started the season in the AHL before being loaned back to the OHL’s London Knights. The Kings could do this with Čihař if they feel he isn’t ready for the pro game.

Koehn Ziemmer (Right wing, 21 years old)

Koehn Ziemmer’s rookie campaign was one he would like to flush away. In the WHL, Ziemmer was a top-six forward, played on the first power-play unit, and deployed in almost every offensive scenario; he didn’t get that in the AHL last year. However, head coach Andrew Lord credited him with his work ethic, his willingness to accept his role, and his quiet impact as a great story for the team. This year I see him being an everyday player. I would like to see him slotted somewhere in the middle six forward group to get more ice time. We’ll see if his skating has improved, but we’ll also see his shot deception and quick release. He had a knack for scoring timely goals last season.

Henry Brzustewicz (Right-handed defenseman, 19 years old)

Henry Brzustewicz is one of six first-year players on entry-level contracts to make the Reign roster. Bruzstewicz, 19, joined the Reign for their final five regular-season games and suited up for all five postseason games. The right-handed defenseman is known for his two-way game and skating, and he can quarterback a power play. The Reign lacked offense on the backend last year, and Brzustewicz should help fill that. We’ll see if he gets time on the power play, but like all incoming rookies, he’ll need to get stronger as the season progresses now that he is playing against grown men instead of his peers his age.

Jared Woolley (Left-handed defenseman, 20 years old)

Jared Woolley won, and won, and won, and won, and won championships in the OHL over the last three seasons. He’s not an offensive defenseman by any means. Still, his first half of last year suggested otherwise, as he had a bigger offensive role when the London Knights lost several main contributors turning pro. He’s a big defenseman who can kill penalties, but I’m interested to see how he handles the pace of the pro game.

Carter George (Goalie, 20 years old)

Finally, we get to the prized position in the Kings pipeline: the goalies. The Reign will feature two LA Kings rookie netminders in net for the first time in their 12 years in the AHL. One of them is Carter George. George brings plenty of swagger and confidence. He tracks the puck well, moves laterally well, and the moment never seems too big for him. Kings and Reign fans should be excited for his starts. He already has two AHL games under his belt from the 2024-25 season, so he has gotten his feet wet in this league.

Hampton Slukynsky (Goalie, 21 years old)

Next up is the other prized goalie prospect, Hampton Slukynsky. Slukynsky joined the Reign near the end of last season after signing his entry-level contract when his collegiate season finished. Slukynsky looked stellar in his two starts with the Reign and lived up to the hype. Like George, Slukynsky moves well laterally, has good reflexes, and has a strong mindset. I do think George is a slightly better puck handler than Slukynsky, but having these two start games, and maybe Portillo, should provide plenty of excitement as well.

Featured image credit: Ontario Reign/Megan Sanders

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