J.P Hurlbert Continues His Hot Start to the Year
The 2025–26 Canadian Hockey League season is shaping up to be another showcase of emerging star power, with several draft-eligible talents making their mark early. Top prospects are wasting no time turning heads coast-to-coast, from a scorching start in Kamloops to dominant play down the middle in Oshawa and a power-play clinic in Peterborough. J.P. Hurlbert has been the talk of the Western Hockey League with a torrid scoring pace that’s drawing historic comparisons, Brooks Rogowski is using his size and skill to elevate his draft stock, and Adam Novotny continues to prove why he’s one of the Ontario Hockey League’s most dangerous young wingers. Here’s a closer look at three standout performances that defined this past week for draft eligibles.
J.P Hurlbert | RW | Kamloops Blazers
J.P. Hurlbert’s start to the Western Hockey League campaign has gotten people in hockey very excited for his pro potential. The 5-foot-11, 176 pound winger leads the league in points after roughly two weeks of regular season play with 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) in 11 games.
The Allen, Texas, native, who joined Kamloops via the United States National Development Team Program U17 team, continued to build on his hot start with eight points (two goals, six assists) in four contests in the past week. The two-way forward started his week contributing an assist on all four Blazers goals in a 4-3 overtime win over the Regina Pats. He followed it up with a goal and an assist on Thursday in a 7-5 win over the Moose Jaw Warriors. Hurlbert drove the net and popped in a rebound to pick up his 11th goal in ten games on Friday, but the Blazers fell 6-3 to the Brandon Wheat Kings. Hurlbert was held off the scoresheet on Sunday during a 3-2 shootout loss to the Swift Current Broncos. It wasn’t for lack of trying, as he had 13 shot attempts with five hitting the target. Defensively, he was credited with six shot blocks in the contest.
Hurlbert’s hot start has him on pace for a 68 goal, 80 assist, 148 point season, which would be the third-best draft-eligible season in the WHL behind Rob Brown’s 173 points in 1985-86 and Ken Yaremchuk’s 157 points in 1981-82. It would put him five points ahead of what Connor Bedard accomplished in 2022-23.
Brooks Rogowski | C | Oshawa Generals
In a draft year without a definite number one center, there is plenty of room for the young men who play down the middle to up their draft stock. Brooks Rogowski of the Oshawa Generals could find himself in that conversation.
The Brighton, Michigan, native has excellent size and has shown a knack for getting on the scoresheet. The 6-foot-6, 227 pound middleman is averaging the second most ice time for forwards with an average of 22:15, behind only Columbus Blue Jackets fifth-round pick Owen Griffin.
Rogowski opened the week by tying up the score 2-2 on the power play by collecting a rebound off a Hoaxi Wang shot and shoveling it past the Windsor Spitfires goaltender. He added a goal and an assist on Thursday night in a 7-3 loss to the Peterborough Petes. He led the Generals forwards in ice time on Saturday in a 7-1 drubbing of the Generals by the Kingston Frontenacs. He finished off the week with a four-assist afternoon as the Generals avenged its earlier loss to Peterborough, besting them 6-4.
Adam Novotny | LW | Peterborough Petes
Adam Novotny is an early favorite to land somewhere in the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft, and his start with Peterborough is sure to keep him in those talks. After spending the 2024-25 season split between junior national team duties and Mountfield HK’s pro team, the 6-foot-1 winger has acclimatized well to the OHL with 11 points in 11 games.
Novotny opened his scoring for the week by being in the perfect place to pop a rebound by the Oshawa Generals’ goalkeeper to give the Petes a 4-1 lead in the second period. He added an assist later in the contest, making a slick move around a Generals defender and firing a shot that left a juicy rebound that teammate Matthew Soto pushed home. He wasn’t done there; Novotny put the game way out of reach after some good passing by the Petes’ power play. Novotny took a feed, waited a second for traffic to set up, and wired a wrist shot that the Generals keeper had no chance to get.
Novotny continued to show his prowess on the power play throughout the week. During his team’s second contest of the OHL’s inaugural Rivalry Week, he took a feed while the Petes were on a 5-on-3 and wired a one-timer to put his team ahead 2-0. He added another power play marker in his team’s final contest of the week. After skating the puck up the ice, Novotny fed the point and then set up for a return pass. After getting the puck back, he stepped in and wired a wrist shot that had eyes for the back of the net.