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<\/p>\n\u201cMy billet brother keeps making AI-generated images of me in different jerseys,\u201d said Reid, a defenceman for the Ontario Hockey League\u2019s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. \u201cI see some of what he\u2019s posting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a surreal position to be in, and one that felt like a distant dream not that long ago<\/p>\n
Committed to eventually play at Michigan State in the NCAA, Reid was cut from the United States Hockey League \u2014 the country\u2019s top domestic junior circuit \u2014 early in 2024-25 before catching on in the second-tier North American Hockey League.<\/p>\n
The Chesterfield, Mich., product put up 12 points in 18 games for the Bismarck Bobcats when Sault Ste. Marie, which took a flyer on Reid in the 2023 OHL draft, came calling once U.S. college hockey\u2019s eligibility rules changed for major junior players.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they didn\u2019t give me the opportunity,\u201d Reid said of the Greyhounds, \u201cI don\u2019t know where I\u2019m at today.\u201d<\/p>\n
He hasn\u2019t looked back.<\/p>\n
The six-foot-three, 195-pound, right-shot blueliner rocketed up draft boards in a season where he registered 18 goals and 48 points across 45 games.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe does have a chip on his shoulder,\u201d Sault Ste. Marie general manager Kyle Raftis said in a phone interview of the 18-year-old. \u201cSomebody that has a blind faith that things are going to work out if he puts that work in and he trusts who\u2019s around him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reid, who really took off after suiting up at the world junior hockey championship and won the Canadian Hockey League\u2019s top prospect award for 2025-26, said the last 12 months have been a \u201croller-coaster.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I thought I handled myself,\u201d he said recently in Toronto. \u201cI made sure everybody knew that I was not going to stop working until I achieved my goals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raftis recalled the day Reid showed up in Sault Ste. Marie in December 2024. The paperwork for his transfer was completed a few hours before a game.<\/p>\n
\u201cGot the green light at 5:30 p.m. and he was like, \u2018All right, cool,’\u201d said the GM. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t like it was anything. After the first period, I popped down to the coaches\u2019 room and went, \u2018OK, we could probably give him a little more ice.\u2019 We had high hopes, but it was a big jump. <\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t seen too many 17 year olds walk in and feel that welcomed and that comfortable that quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raftis said the team that lands Reid will get a modern-day defenceman in the mould of fellow American blueliner Zach Werenski.<\/p>\n
\u201cDeadly in transition, can really help the power play,\u201d Raftis said. \u201cBut he really made a point this year of showing he can play on both sides of the puck.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reid, who won the same CHL prospect award Matthew Schaefer claimed last spring before going No. 1 overall to the New York Islanders and capturing the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year, has done his best to soak up the draft experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust live in the moment,\u201d he said. \u201cYou only get to do it once.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raftis had a feeling Reid would be getting all kinds of pre-draft love at this time last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a couple high picks in 2025,\u201d he said. \u201cAbout 10 of the NHL teams, when we were wrapping up talking about our current draft eligibles, were like, \u2018OK, where do you think Chase Reid goes if he\u2019s eligible for this draft?\u2019 He was no secret.\u201d<\/p>\n
But unlike many of the 2026 top prospects, Reid hadn\u2019t dealt with the same attention as players like No. 1-ranked North American skater Gavin McKenna throughout his teenage years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe weren\u2019t really sure how he was going to handle it, but I was really impressed,\u201d Raftis said. \u201cYou\u2019re not supposed to read those independent lists or independent scouting reports, but every one of us is guilty, myself included. You could see the rapid ascension.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe leaned on guys that have been through it.\u201d <\/p>\n
Reid, meanwhile, is now just waiting to hear his name called following a long journey.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve definitely envisioned this,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s in the back of my mind every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 24, 2026.<\/p>\n
Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cMy billet brother keeps making AI-generated images of me in different jerseys,\u201d said Reid, a defenceman for the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":758450,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[879,49,48,2467,2461,2468,2460,2462,2463,44,448,2464,2465,2466,82],"class_list":["post-758449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-breaking-news","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-central-vancouver-island","tag-nanaimo","tag-nanaimo-breaking-news","tag-nanaimo-news","tag-nanaimo-news-now","tag-nanaimonewsnow","tag-news","tag-nhl","tag-oceanside","tag-parksville","tag-qualicum","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=758449"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758449\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/758450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=758449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=758449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=758449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}