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The Sarnia Sting didn’t fare any better in the Ontario Hockey League draft lottery than they did on the ice.
Published Apr 01, 2026 • 2 minute read
Ex-Sarnia Sting forward Porter Martone made his NHL debut Tuesday after signing with the Philadelphia Flyers. He’s shown at the 2025 NHL draft after being picked sixth overall. (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)Article content
The Sarnia Sting didn’t fare any better in the Ontario Hockey League draft lottery than they did on the ice.
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The Sting have the fourth overall pick after failing to improve their selection spot in the lottery Wednesday afternoon.
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The four non-playoff teams were in contention for the first overall pick with the odds based on their final record.
The weighted lottery system gave the Oshawa Generals a 40 per cent chance at the No. 1 pick, and that’s where they’ll select after winning the lottery.
The final results were determined by a computerized random number generator.
The Erie Otters will pick second and the Brampton Steelheads third. Like the Sting, they also failed to move up in the draft order.
The lottery also set the order for the OHL under-18 draft and contributes to the order for the Canadian Hockey League import draft.
On the OHL
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The OHL draft is June 12-13 at Slush Puppie Place in Kingston.
The Sting were in the draft lottery for a third straight year. They picked Brenner Lammens at No. 4 in 2025 and Alessandro Di Iorio at No. 2 in 2024.
The Sting have drafted first overall four times. They chose Jeff Brown in 1994, Steven Stamkos in 2006, Alex Galchenyuk in 2010 and Jakob Chychrun in 2014.
PENALTY MINUTES: The Sting and Saginaw Spirit received 19, 10-minute misconducts during their free-for-all March 15 at Progressive Auto Sales Arena.
However, the teams officially combined for only 48 penalty minutes.
That’s because the OHL doesn’t include 10-minute misconducts in individual or team penalty minute totals.
The policy was put in place by then-commissioner David Branch at the end of the 1981-82 season, said the league’s Josh Sweetland.
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“Branch instituted this change to combat the practice in that era of hockey of players racking up their penalty minute totals, thinking it gave them some kind of edge in getting to the next level,” Sweetland said. “An effort to disincentivize that sort of behaviour, you could say.
“So, as I understand it, the league has tabulated minors, majors and match penalties in PIM totals for the past 43 seasons.”
OHL administration director Herb Morell, the only current staffer left from the 1981-82 season, told Sweetland about the policy after a request from the Observer.
MARTONE DEBUTS: Ex-Sting forward Porter Martone made his NHL debut Tuesday after signing with the Philadelphia Flyers, who picked him sixth overall in the 2025 NHL draft.
Martone, 19, played 16:54 and had five shots on goal in a 6-4 loss to the Washington Capitals.
Chychrun had a goal and two assists for the Capitals. Sting alumnus Travis Konecny had two assists for the Flyers.
Martone played this season at Michigan State University after three seasons in the OHL. He had 50 points and 78 penalty minutes in 35 games with the Spartans.
He played a half season with the Sting, who drafted him fifth overall in 2022, then sent him to the Mississauga Steelheads at the 2022-23 trade deadline for defenceman Ethan Del Mastro.
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