In August 2016, Orzel placed tenth at his first Junior Grand Prix (JGP) assignment, in Saint Gervais-les-Bains, France, before winning silver at a JGP event in Dresden, Germany, in October. He received the junior silver medal at the 2017 Canadian Championships, having finished second to Stephen Gogolev, and was named in Canada's team to the 2017 World Junior Championships in Taipei. Competing in Taiwan, he placed eighteenth in the short program, twelfth in the free skate, and thirteenth overall.