When injuries struck the Barrie Colts during last year’s drive to the OHL finals, line charts were scrambled, and young players were thrown directly into the fire.
With top-six leaders Cole Beaudoin and Joe Salandra sidelined by season-ending injuries, rookie centre Eamon Edgar saw his role suddenly expand. Thrust into key minutes, including power-play duties during high-stakes battles in the Eastern Conference Final against the Brantford Bulldogs and the OHL championship against the Kitchener Rangers, Edgar didn’t just survive; he thrived.
Now entering his second OHL season, that trial by fire is paying immediate dividends. As a rebuilding Colts team prepares to navigate the upcoming campaign, Edgar’s postseason trial has prepared him to step into a leading role. If the young squad hopes to make the playoffs, the 16-year-old Belle River native will have to play a key role as a go-to forward.
“It’s a super valuable experience for me,” Edgar said of his bigger role in the playoffs. “Obviously, those are huge games, and to be able to bring that into this year, I think, gives me a little bit of a step up. Yeah, it’s huge.”
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Barrie head coach Dylan Smoskowitz saw firsthand how the young “fearless” forward handled the pressure when the team needed him most against formidable, veteran-laden blue lines.
“As the playoffs went on, and his role increased due to injuries, he didn’t shy away from it,” said Smoskowitz. “Brantford, its defence core, had a bunch of 19-, 20-year-olds, and Kitchener, the same kind of thing, with NHL draft picks. [Edgar] went toe-to-toe with these guys as a young 16-year-old. We’re talking about a late birthday, too. He only turned 16 very late in the season.
“That’s what a pro mentality is, where they don’t care how big the other guy is. They don’t care how many pounds they are giving up on their opponents. They’re going to go toe-to-toe, and [Edgar] definitely embodies that."
Selected in the second round (35th overall) of the 2025 OHL Priority Selection, the 5-foot-10, 175-pound centre put up six goals and 10 assists for 16 points in 49 games during his rookie campaign. While he isn’t a hulking forward, his fearless nature means he never shies away from going to the net, digging in along the boards, or playing in the tough areas of the ice.
Heading into his second year, Edgar feels far more comfortable with a year under his belt and believes that confidence will help him with his full-time top-six role.
“That first year is really important, to kind of get my feet wet, and this year I’m coming in kind of in full stride," Edgar said. "I’m just trying to build on last year and bring a different dimension to my game that maybe you didn’t see last year.”
The Colts coaching staff shares that optimism. Smoskowitz highlighted how Edgar “soaked everything in like a sponge” from former teammates like Beaudoin, Mason Zebeski, Emil Hemming, and Brad Gardiner, and notes that having familiar faces behind the bench will help continue that culture.
“We have a lot of hope for Eddie,” he said. “We don’t want to set the expectations too high, but it doesn’t really matter, because his expectations on himself are so high, and he puts the work in to give himself a chance to reach those goals. He definitely wants to be one of the go-to guys offensively this year.
“He’s put the work in, he’s come back stronger, he’s got an extra pep to his step... I know he’s going to put a lot on his own shoulders to be that guy who’s finishing plays or setting up plays and producing points at a higher clip than he was last season.”
