By John Humphrey
The summer of 2026 has been an exciting one for a local pair of talented junior hockey players. For Tecumseh’s Dynamic Duo, Zach Jovanovski and Jaakko Wycisk, memories of their achievements over the past few months will last a lifetime.
The two will be returning to the Ontario Hockey League’s Guelph Storm for the 2026-2027 OHL regular season while the afterglow of their respective summertime achievements still shines brightly.
The 18-year-old Jovanovski, a goaltender, was drafted in the fifth round, 165th overall, of the 2026 National Hockey League Entry Draft on June 27 by the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes and attended their development camp in Carolina just days after his selection.
Picked by the Storm in the seventh round, 134th overall, of the 2023 OHL Priority Selection by the Storm, Jovanovski has appeared in 71 games, posting a 3.44 goals-against average and a 0.889 save percentage in two seasons with Guelph.
After attending the Hurricanes’ development camp in mid-September and possibly earning an invitation to the reigning Stanley Cup champions’ main camp a few days later, Jovanovski will return to the Storm for his third and possibly final season in Guelph.
Wycisk, meanwhile, was a key contributor to the Canadian squad that won the gold medal at the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, held in Edmonton in July. Team Canada won the tournament with an 8-1 hammering of Team USA in the championship game, and Wycisk was one of the Canadian goalscorers in the lopsided affair.
The Hlinka Gretzky Cup is a prominent annual pre-season showcase for prospects, highlighting players in the summer prior to their draft year. The event typically includes top hockey countries such as Canada, Czechia, Slovakia, Sweden, Finland, the United States, Switzerland, and others, by invitation.
Wycisk, a centre/right-winger, is widely viewed as a potential first-round pick in the 2027 NHL Entry Draft. He tied for the tournament scoring title, scoring twice and adding eight assists as Team Canada rolled to a 5-0 record in the event.
Drafted second overall in the 2025 OHL Priority Selection by Guelph, Wycisk recorded 17 goals and 26 assists in 60 games during his rookie campaign. He will be expected to improve those statistics while also taking on a bigger role with the Storm in his sophomore season.
The Storm, who will be hosting the 2027 Memorial Cup tournament next spring, have an Essex County connection that goes beyond Jovanovski and Wycisk however. The team is coached by Windsor Spitfire icon Cory Stillman, and Declan McNally, the club’s first-round pick in the 2026 OHL Priority Selection, is from LaSalle.