This weekend many dreams will come true for young hockey players when they hear their name called as the OHL Draft is being hosted in Kingston.

For over 25 years the draft has been done online, void of any emotion or real excitement. It’s so much better in person. These young players will make their way to the big stage in front of family, friends and junior hockey followers – under the bright lights and large video screens at Slush Puppie Place. For many, it will be the start of their first big step towards hockey stardom.

Fifty-three years ago Brad Rhiness was the Kingston Canadians first-ever draft pick and he didn’t find out about it until the following day.

The new Kingston franchise arrived in 1973 when a group of local investors bought the dormant Montreal Jr Canadiens franchise. Entering the league they didn’t get any favours—Kingston drafted last in the first round of the draft. Rhiness, a real speedster, was undersized at 5’9” and 160 pounds and hailed from Huntsville, Ontario. That previous season he had played Junior A for the Aurora Tigers.

Amazingly, the 1973 OHA Draft lasted for 42 rounds – with Kingston selecting a player in every round. None of the other teams picked a player in the final eight rounds. Kingston took future NHL’er Mike Crombeen, a right-winger from Sarnia, in the second round. Defenseman Mark Suzor, known for his wicked slapshot, was Kingston’s third pick from the St. Clair midgets outside of Windsor.

GM Punch Scherer drafted a couple of players from Quebec, including Rejean Perrault in the sixth round. There was a lot of hype around Perrault after scoring 106 points playing juvenile hockey in Quebec. But his career in Kingston lasted just 12 games and he only had a single point, one assist, before being cut loose. The other Quebec player chosen was Michel Blais, who became a solid defenseman for Kingston.

The draft was held on May 31st, 1973 in Toronto and Rhiness didn’t know he was picked until he received a phone call the next day from General Manager Punch Scherer.

Rhiness was known as a great skater and Scherer was looking forward to seeing him play on the large ice surface at the Memorial Centre. “he’ll be something to watch on the big ice, he can fly,” Schrerer told the Whig-Standard. Playing in Aurora – Rhiness had faced the Kingston Jr. Frontenacs a couple of times the previous season.

In his rookie season with Kingston Rhiness separated both of his shoulders and missed a total of 17 games. Despite the injuries, he still scored 21 goals and collected 36 points. At the conclusion of that first season when he was only 17, Rhiness learned he had been selected as an underage player by the WHA’s San Diego Mariners.

At the time he was billeting with Ron Lavallee’s family in Kingston. Shortly after the draft teammate Alex Forsyth came running to the Lavallee home to tell a shocked Rhiness he was taken sixth overall at the WHA draft.

‘If we lose him,” said Kingston GM Punch Scherer, “it’s going to knock an awful hole in our hockey club.” Rhiness, who was finishing up his final days of school at KCVI said, “I’m new at this. I need some advice.”

Rhiness ultimately decided not to turn pro and played two more years of junior in Kingston, becoming one of the top scorers in franchise history. In his final junior season, he was selected by Vancouver at the NHL draft, but not until the 7th round. Rhiness had scored 52 goals and had 112 points with Kingston in the 1975-76 season.

Rhiness said, ‘I’m a bit disappointed in the round I was taken. My lawyer (Alan Eagleson) said the reason for me going so late was some clubs felt I was tied up with San Diego, which I’m not.” Rhiness said he would would wait until he receives offers from both clubs before making his choice.

Rhiness opted to sign with San Diego and jumped to the WHA. In his rookie pro season he played 58 games and scored 9 goals. San Diego folded in May, 1977 and Rhiness split the following year between Philadelphia in the AHL and the WHA’s Indianapolis Racers.

Rhiness would play four more minor league seasons, winning a scoring title for Erie in what became the East Coast League in 1978-79. After six pro seasons, his hockey career was over, retiring in 1982 at the age of 25. Rhiness later worked in corrections in Cobourg, ON.

A member of the Sports Hall of Fame in his hometown of Huntsville, Ontario, his number-10 hangs at Slush Puppie Place after being honoured by the Kingston Frontenacs in 1997. Rhiness ranked eighth in scoring in franchise history at the time.

Rhiness once held the record for the fastest three goals in the OHL, scoring a natural hat-trick in 28 seconds on Nov 02, 1975. Rhiness had five goals and one assist that night in a 13-4 thrashing of the Windsor Spitfires at the Memorial Centre.

A few years ago Rhiness, who turns 70 later this year, moved back to the Kingston area and regularly attends Frontenacs games.

This weekend as the OHL marks a return to the in-person draft being hosted right here in Kingston, we remember the exploits of Brad Rhiness. A great junior player and the first player drafted by the Kingston franchise 53 years ago, even though he didn’t find out until a day later.

Mark Potter is a former broadcaster with the Kingston Canadians & Kingston Frontenacs, and attended the Kingston Canadians first OHA game in 1973.