With the 153rd overall selection in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Toronto Maple Leafs have selected 5’9, 161-pound right winger Ty Voit of the Sarnia Sting.
Voit was not able to participate in OHL games this season with the cancelation of the season due to the Covid situation in the province of Ontario. In his rookie season in 2019-20 as a 16-year-old, the Pittsburgh native tallied 28 points in 49 games for the Sting, who were by far the worst team in the Western Conference last year. That ranked the underager 15th among OHL rookies in points per game.
In June of 2021, Volt was able to participate in the PBHH Invitational Tournament hosted close to home in Erie, Pennsylvania, where he tallied three goals and six assists in 10 games. The tournament was a junior showcase highlighting talent from across the OHL, USHL, NAHL, and other leagues.
A skilled playmaker, Voit is described as having a competitiveness and courage that belie his size — 5’9, 161 — in terms of his willingness to play in the tough areas of the ice to produce offense, in addition to a strong work ethic over 200 feet. The bet here by the Leafs is that Voit’s sophomore OHL season would have been a breakout one offensively if it had proceeded as normal.
Big Ty Voit (TOR) fan — top-50 pick, imo. One of the CHL's best playmakers as a 16-year-old. Lots of standout elements: one-touch playmaking, constant deception, high pace, give-and-go mindset, chains together moves in motion. High uncertainty, but a potential homerun. pic.twitter.com/Tb7PcIudmj
— Mitchell Brown (@MitchLBrown) July 24, 2021
Voit’s pre-draft rankings:
- Ranked #71 by ELITEPROSPECTS.COM
- Ranked #76 by MCKEEN’S HOCKEY
- Ranked #107 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (NA Skaters)
- Ranked #91 by DOBBERPROSPECTS
Ty Voit Scouting Report
courtesy of the 2021 Blackbook (buy now)
Ty Voit is a small, speedy winger who has an excellent skating stride and is highly agile. His great edge work combined with good vision and spatial awareness allows him to maneuver around defensemen and generate scoring plays. Although Voit is undersized, his skating helps mitigates that concern, as he had no problem generating offense against bigger opponents.
While Voit’s 2019 stats don’t jump off the page, he played on the weakest team in the Western Conference, the Sarnia Sting, and was still one of the main offensive focal points on the team. Another positive quality in Voit’s game is his compete and eagerness to go up against bigger opponents in the slot and down low in the corner. He throws the body and is rarely overpowered by a larger opponent. While Voit’s shot release is dangerous at times, his playmaking ability and passing skill stand out most in his game.
In Sarnia, Voit played on both special teams units, and his playmaking ability was on full display as he quarterbacked the power play or operated on the half-wall. On the penalty kill, he blocked shooting lanes and demonstrated an active stick to disrupt any cross-ice passes.
Defensively speaking, Voit backchecks hard and uses angles well to steer opponents outside, offsetting his lack of size. He rarely floats around or leaves the defensive zone early for an offensive rush. His burst of acceleration allows him to cover the point down to the crease with ease.
Projecting Voit as an NHL player includes looking at his size. However, so many areas of his game, including his skating, high-compete, and vision help mitigate that risk a little bit if he continues to add muscle and develops into his body.
GM Kyle Dubas on the drafting of Ty Voit
John and the staff did a great job. John saw him at the showcase in Erie at the showcase the players had organized there.
He is a player who had a good underage season with Sarnia, and then you are trying to project what the 17-year-old would have been like. He is very similar to a lot of players in the OHL. He didn’t play and didn’t go to Europe. You have to use what you know from the 16-year-old season, plus what you know about his character and what you may see anecdotally from scrimmages or insights from strength coaches and people that know the player.
Unfortunately, with the way the season and winter went in Ontario and the restrictions placed on the league, he was in the same boat as a lot of players: not able to play. We will try to help him as much as we can here through the next month and get him set for next season. We are very excited about him.
Director of Amateur Scouting John Lilley on Ty Voit
He played in Sarnia as a 16-year-old. I believe he had 28 points in 49 games — a good season for an underage player. With the OHL not playing this year, it was a tough year. He went to Erie at the end of the year for a showcase in which we had some viewings. We feel he has upside. He is an offensive player with good hockey sense.
He is a skilled kid. He is a good skater. He can make plays. He has good offensive instincts. Obviously, he is a little bit undersized, but he looks like he got a little bit bigger and stronger. He still has to improve in that area, but I think he has good offensive instincts and competes.
Without having played for a year, I was pleased with how he looked. I think he is going to be a good offensive player in time. Sarnia has a good program. I expect him to have a very good, productive season coming up.
He is skilled and a smart player. He isn’t afraid to get into the traffic areas. He can make plays. Over time, he is going to become stronger with time and age. He has the foundation there: he can skate, pass the puck, he has good skill, and he plays well around the net. We are excited about his offensive upside.
Ty Voit on his game
I would describe myself as playmaking, pass-first. I get the puck moving. I know there has been questions about my size. It has been like that growing up for me. For the past two years, I have mainly focused on being in the gym. That is where I have put all of my time and effort into away from the rink. I think I have definitely diminished a lot of those questions coming into my year this year. Those should be answered.
Johnny Gaudreau is someone I have tried to model my game after a little bit. A lot of the features are the same. I have had a lot of video shown to me and I have also done my own research. Obviously, I have seen him play. It’s a person I have tried to model.
