Kash Kwajah seems to be a consensus top 10 pick in the 2026 OHL priority selection in the early parts of the U16 season. In this game he looked the part for the majority of the contest. He was at his best when carrying the puck up ice with his pullaway speed, weaving through the neutral zone with a series of crossovers and entering the offensive end on a mission, threading smooth passes to his teammates in scoring positions. He was all over the ice, even putting in minutes on the PK, showing his strong motor and hockey IQ. He showed some dynamic abilities with the puck on his stick, creating off the rush and was able to rack up three assists when it was all said and done.

Kwajah was once again leading the charge for the Jr. Canadians, controlling the puck through the neutral zone and picking apart the defence upon entry. He was calculated and tactical with his puck touches, smartly using skill moves to dodge defenders to open lanes and dish off to linemates. His impacts revolved his on-puck confidence to make plays under pressure, dominate possessions, and take over the game shift after shift. Kash scored the game-winner in the final minute of play, capitalizing net front on a loose puck to secure the win for his squad.

Kwajah was the heart and soul of this JRC squad in both games I watched. He was always the one carrying the puck up, controlling the flow of the game, and just taking over. Puck on his stick, Kash was an impressive blend of patient and confident, never rushing his decisions and seemingly always making the right play. I thought he was at his best carrying pucks over the offensive blueline, slowing the play down, drawing defenders to him, and then smartly dishing off to his linemates for quality shots on net. He had his fair share of scoring chances, including a beauty penalty shot goal, but the space Kwajah could open up for his linemates was my primary takeaway. Without a doubt he’s one of the top players to keep an eye on this year and it will be a fun season keeping tabs on his game.

As has been the case with many games since getting to know the 2010 Ontario group, Kwajah was the clear offensive driver in this one. I've talked about his transition impact and acting as the primary flow-through man whenever he was on the ice, and while that was certainly the case yet again, I wanted to touch on a different aspect of his game. Kash was excellent at finding open spots in the offensive zone, rotating around, and making himself available for dangerous passes. He racked up scoring chance after scoring chance all through this theme of smartly following the play and showing some clever off-puck awareness to time himself into openings. Kwajah scored one through his positioning, finishing a catch-and-release power-play tally. Kash also captured the overtime game winner, showing a blend of patience and skill to drag a puck around a diving opponent and fire home a wrister. Every view during this spring and summer season, Kwajah has been one of the best players on the ice, so I'm looking forward to seeing him in regular club play.

Kwajah was at the center of everything for Team GTA. Kash was always involved in the play in some capacity, whether generating chances through clever passing, playing with pace to transition pucks up ice, or being a pest on the forecheck; he was consistently doing something. He had numerous flashes of high-end handling to beat defenders off the rush and in small areas, weaseling his way out of check after check and creating lanes to the net. The volume of dangerous passes he connected on was off the charts, showing a dual-threat between his ability to attack the net and contribute as a passer. It's been a few games now that Kwajah has been the best player on the ice, so I'm looking forward to seeing him play in regular action when things get kicked off.

I noticed a lot of the Everest forwards, but Kash was the one I felt rose above his peers. He was typically the one at the center of the play, carrying pucks up ice out of his zone and advancing things into the offensive third. When he was on the ice, sequences flowed through Kash, making him one of the primary play drivers on this Everest squad. He displayed some solid fundamental abilities in his skating and ability to protect pucks with slick moves, but he did a stellar job at linked plays together showcasing the intelligence to his game. Kwajah scored a beauty on the shootout, showing patience to walk in and flip a puck high over the goaltender's glove.

Kash Kwajah was one of the most exciting players to watch during the Kings of Spring event, with excellent puck handling, creativity, and athletic skating put on display, he was a dominant offensive piece who generated plenty of scoring chances for his teammates. Utilizing strong footwork pulling off heel-to-heel pivots and cuts going wide on checkers walking the perimeter of the offensive zone, he was tough to get a stick or bodycheck on, demonstrating tremendous fluidity and puck control avoiding obstacles. His evasiveness combined with his explosiveness allowed him to draw a few penalties as he made strong moves to the middle of the ice, slipping into the middle lane, and forcing opponents to haul him down with trips and hooks. In 1-on-1 situations he had plenty of great looks attacking with speed and deception, pulling pucks around bodies and shielding in his hip pocket. He showed off a nice ability to handle the puck both afar from his body, along with in tight to his feet, making him effective at avoiding stick checks and stringing together a series of dynamic moves. I felt the best element to his game was his playmaking, when combined with all his puck handling prowess and skating ability, he was an extremely deceptive playmaker, with some great vision and passing tools to connect on passes to teammates cross-ice, in the slot, around the goalmouth, or just in tight areas as a whole throughout the ice. The energy and motor he played with further cemented his effectiveness, being a hound on the puck, he was always involved off-puck on forechecks and retrievals, playing with a high level of effort.