Making the Case: Chase Reid

This past year has been a tumultuous one for draft rankings. Now just weeks away from the draft, the question of who is the best prospect available on defense still feels like a spin of the roulette wheel, and the answer depends entirely on who you speak to.

Multiple players have spent time at the top of the rankings or have their own avid believers yelling their names the loudest. Chase Reid is no different. For much of this past season, Reid has been touted as the best defensive prospect available, and some have even questioned whether he could be a more enticing option than Gavin McKenna.

Player Information

Reid is an offensive defenseman, and there is no doubt about that. Out of all the skilled defensemen available at the top of the draft, Reid is the one most likely to quarterback your power play and lead your breakout. Now, that’s not to say his defensive acumen is weak by any means. Measuring in just a shade under 6-3, he has put a lot of effort into rounding out his game since making the jump to the OHL. In fact, the past two years have seen Reid’s game come a long way in a short amount of time.

Believe it or not, there was a time when the young defenseman’s hockey future was in serious jeopardy. Reid secured a spot on the Waterloo Blackhawks in the USHL, but was unceremoniously cut ten games into the season. He ended up playing in the NAHL—not a league often known for developing top hockey talent—but he stayed humble and kept working hard in games, practices, and private lessons focused on his skating. His hard work paid off when the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds came calling in 2024 and brought him into the fold. No one could have anticipated what would happen next.

Reid excelled in the OHL, quickly becoming a driving force for the Soo Greyhounds, scoring 40 points in 39 games in his first season. The growth spurt that saw him shoot up from under six feet to his current, much more intimidating height didn’t hurt either. Reid’s offensive prowess was quickly acknowledged, but in his second season with the Greyhounds, he worked on his overall game and showed he wasn’t a one-trick pony, proving to be not only defensively reliable but also a defensive leader on his team.

His scoring increased slightly in his second and final season in the OHL, posting 48 points in 45 games despite missing some time due to a wrist injury. It was on the international stage, starring for Team USA in the 2026 World Junior Championship, that people really began to notice Reid as a top prospect. He scored two goals and two assists in five games for an American team that needed all the help it could get.