2018 1st round draft pick gets kicked off his team!

This just in, it appears that San Jose Sharks top prospect Ryan Merkley has been kicked off his junior team, the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).

The team officially announced its training camp roster earlier today and Merkley’s name was conspicuously absent.

This news comes hot on the heels of reports that the Petes have been aggressively trying to trade the controversial blue liner.

For those unaware of Merkley’s reputation, well… there’s a reason he slipped to 21st in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft despite having arguably the best skill set of his entire peer group. The 19 year old defenseman has been plagued by character questions throughout his entire major junior career and former teammates have even come out to criticize Merkley.

He was traded to the Petes from the Guelph Storm last season after the Storm’s coaching staff had more or less given up on trying to discipline him. 

There were NHL teams who reportedly had Merkley on a “Do Not Draft” list, meaning that they wouldn’t select the youngster regardless of when he was available.

Unless the Petes can manage to trade Merkley to another OHL club, he’ll likely look at playing the entire 2019-20 season in Europe as he’s ineligible to play in the AHL until he’s 20 years old.