Mairs Excited To Be A Knight

Brendan Mairs won’t have to go far to attend his first OHL camp, after the London Jr. Knights forward was drafted by the London Knights in the 2018 OHL Priority Selection draft.

Mairs, a former Chatham resident, who grew up playing for Chatham Minor Hockey and the Chatham-Kent Cyclones before moving up the 401 with his family, was the 134th overall pick, in the 7th round of Saturday’s Draft.

For the skilled forward, being selected was a dream come true.

“It felt surreal, like a dream come true,” said Mairs of being drafted. “Words can’t even describe the excitement I have.”

London will be equally excited to get Mairs, who many scouts had ranked in the top 100 players in the province. He was among Alliance Hockey leaders in scoring this season collecting 44 points in 33 games this season, including 20 goals. He followed that up with 15 points in 12 playoff games.

For Mairs, the chance to play for such a storied franchise in the London Knights is an exciting one.

“Being drafted by London is an honour,” said Mairs on draft day. “Darryl Sitler, Corey Perry and many more elite players have played in a Knights jersey and now I have the opportunity to join this team with such a great history.”

Although Mairs has played for several organizations across Ontario in recent seasons, much of his formative years were spent in Chatham, including an OMHA championship in Novice, and playing with the Chatham-Kent Cyclones.

“Chatham was where I found my passion towards hockey,” explained Mairs. “Despite the smaller population the community always seemed to rally together for their local sports teams and I’ll never forget that.”

Mairs was the second local product drafted to the London Knights as Tilbury’s Brett Brochu was a 6th round pick by the Knights. Chatham’s Joseph Raaymakers also plays for the London Knights.