2017 OHL Conference Finals Predictions

WEST:

(1) Erie vs (3) Owen Sound

I firmly believe that experience is a major key to winning in junior hockey, and that’s why I have a very tough time picking Owen Sound in this series. Erie has guys with big game World Junior experience like Strome, Cirelli, T. Raddysh, Cernak and other guys who have been in multiple deep OHL playoff runs in DeBrincat, Foegele, Pettit, and D. Raddysh. Looking at Owen Sound’s top players on the other hand, they rely heavily on some young players to produce (Suzuki, Gadjovich, Sushko, Durzi are all top 8 in OS playoff scoring and all haven’t even been eligible for an NHL draft yet) which is why I was pretty surprised that Owen Sound only made 1 move at the deadline (traded a mid-round pick for Cordell James). Owen Sound is a very good team and it’s impressive that they made it to the Western Conference final doing very little at the deadline, but I think what happened the trade deadline will go a long way in determining this series. Erie adding experience and toughness in Cirelli/Foegele/Lizotte/Headrick are the kind of moves you need to win and I think that’ll push Erie over the top in this series. Home ice is big in this series as both teams are 5-1 this playoffs at home while both teams are just 3-2 on the road.

How Erie Could Win:

• Keep Staying Out Of The Box
  

Erie has been shorthanded only 31 times this playoffs (15 less than Owen Sound) and if they can limit the number of times that OS gets the man advantage, then Erie will have a considerable advantage

• Top Guns Stay Hot Against OS

This season against Owen Sound, DeBrincat had 5 G, 6 A in 6 games. T. Raddysh had 4 G, 4 A in 5 games. Strome had 2 G, 4 A in 3 games. If those 3 can keep up those kind of numbers against the Attack then Erie will be very difficult to beat.

How Owen Sound Could Win:

• Michael McNiven steals the show

Much like we just saw with Erie/London, Owen Sound has a massive advantage in net. Troy Timpano had an awful series against London and Tyler Parsons was unbelievable. McNiven has the ability to be as good as Parsons was, and Owen Sound might need him to be if they’re going to upset the top seed in this series.

• PK stays red hot

Owen Sound has the top rated PK of anyone still left in the OHL playoffs at 87.0%. Erie’s is way down at 74.2%, so if Owen Sound can keep that up and keep Erie from scoring powerplay goals, that would be huge for them in the series.

My Pick: Erie in 6

 

EAST:

(1) Peterborough vs (2) Mississauga

Both teams come in with nearly identical post-season special teams (Powerplay: PBO 26.1%, MISS 27.8%. Penalty Kill: PBO 75.0%, MISS 73.9%) so if one team pulls ahead in the special teams battle, obviously they’d be the favourite to win the series, but assuming they remain somewhat similar I think the biggest edge in the series is the Petes in net. Both teams have the top end scoring, Petes have more F depth, I like Mississauga’s D-men better, but the Petes are considerably ahead in goal with Dylan Wells back there.  The notion of home ice being such an advantage isn’t really a thing in this series because these are 2 of the 3 worst OHL teams in terms of attendance this season (cc: http://www.hockeydb.com/nhl-attendance/att_graph_season.php?lid=OHL1989&sid=2017). I’m very interested to see how PBO comes out to start game 1 considering they were not tested at all by Niagara or Kingston in the first 2 rounds.

 

How Peterborough Could Win:

• Out-goaltend Them

Dylan Wells is definitely the best goalie in this series and Mississauga has some question marks in net. Mancina seemed to be playing injured against the Gens and Ingham missed the entire MISS/OSH series with an illness so Peterborough should have a big advantage in net.

• Limit the damage of the Watson/M. McLeod/R. McLeod line

If Peterborough can limit Mississauga’s top line then they will have a very good shot to win this series. The Gens kept Michael McLeod without a goal in the entire series but Spencer Watson had 6 in the 5 game series to make up for him.

How Mississauga Could Win:

• Get the D-men involved

If Mississauga is going to upset Peterborough, they’ll need a big series from Hague/Saarijarvi/Moverare/LeBlanc on the scoresheet. It would take a ton of pressure of the Steelheads top line if the D-men can help find the back of the net

• Get ahead early

Petes scored first in 3/4 games vs KGN and only trailed only once in the entire series and it was only for 24:07. Mississauga scored first in 3/6 of their games in the 1st round and 3/5 of their 2nd round games. Mississauga would benefit big time from getting an early lead and being able to dictate the game that way, so scoring first could be a big advantage if they’re able to do it through the majority of the series.

My Pick: Peterborough in 6

Oshawa vs Mississauga- Round 2 Preview

Season series: 4-0 Oshawa

Oct 30: MISS 2, OSH 3 (OT)

Nov 11: OSH 5, MISS 4

Nov 16: OSH 2, MISS 1 (SO)

Jan 22: MISS 2, OSH 5

Advantage: Oshawa 

Playoffs Special Teams:

OSH PP: 8.6% (Last)

MISS PP: 25.0% (7th)

OSH PK: 84.6% (6th)

SBY PK: 78.3% (8th)

Advantage: Mississauga

Starting Goalie:

Jeremy Brodeur (4-2-0), 2.17 GAA, .935 save %

Jacob Ingham (4-2-0), 2.68 GAA, .876 save %

Advantage: Oshawa

Playoff Top Scorers:

MISS:

Michael McLeod: 6 G, 5 A, 11 P

Spencer Watson: 4 G, 5 A, 9 P

Nathan Bastian: 5 G, 2 A, 7 P

Owen Tippett: 1 G, 5 A, 6 P

OSH:

Jack Studnicka: 3 G, 4 A, 7 P

Joe Manchurek: 3 G, 3 A, 6 P

Renars Krastenbergs: 3 G, 2 A, 5 P

Domenic Commisso: 1 G, 4 A, 5 P

Advantage: Mississauga

Roster Makeup:

OSH:
96s: 3
97s: 3
98s: 7
99s: 6
00s: 4

MISS:
96s: 3
97s: 5
98s: 7
99s: 6
00s: 2

Advantage: Mississauga, they have the older roster

NHL Drafted Players:

MISS:

McLeod (NJ)

Bastian (NJ)

Watson (LAK)

Saarijarvi (DET)

Osmanski (BUF)

Moverare (LAK)

OSH:

Stillman (FLA)

Advantage: Mississauga 6-1

Projected OSH Lineup:

F:

Manchurek-Studnicka-Commisso

Krastenbergs-McShane-Huether

Henderson-Kohn-Noel

Antropov-MacLean-Burt

D:

Stillman-Mercier

Ennis-Brassard

Allen-Di Carlo

G:

Brodeur

Projected MISS Lineup:

F:

R McLeod-R McLeod-Watson

Tippett-Bastian-Fox

Boomhower-Cascagnette-Titus

Dow-Little-McFarland

D:

Moverare-Saarijarvi

LeBlanc-Hague

Osmanski-Gibson

G:

Ingham

OHL Round 1 Predictions

EAST

1 Peterborough vs 8 Niagara

The Petes bought more than anyone else in the Eastern Conference at the deadline (spent 12 picks (7 of them were 2nds), Nick Grima, CJ Clarke, and Nate MacDonald to get Korostelev/Paquette/Black/Bricknell). Petes have by far the better offence and the better goalie. With all that being said, I don’t see a young Niagara team being able to take any games from the Petes.

Prediction: PBO 4-0

2 Mississauga vs 7 Ottawa

Mississauga is by far the hottest team in the East coming into the playoffs (despite losing the last game of the season which gives them a less favourable 1st round matchup). Ottawa is able to get scoring chances better than most teams in the league, but they also give up a ton and I expect the top guys on Mississauga to take advantage of that.

It’ll also be interesting to see what MISS does in net. Mancina is the veteran and the guy they brought in to lead them, but the rookie, Jacob Ingham, has been great lately.

Prediction: MISS 4-2

3 Oshawa vs 6 Sudbury

The Gens aren’t your traditional 3 seed because of how young they are. They were able to give away the 2 best players in the Eastern Conference (Cirelli and Vande Sompel) and still managed to get a top 3 seed. Sudbury has a much older and bigger team and I expect Sudbury’s Yakimowicz, Dunda, Pilon(s) to try to bully the younger Gens all series. In the end I think Oshawa is deeper than SBY and has a much better goalie, but Sudbury has the best player in the series (Sokolov), which is always scary.

An interesting side story will be if anything carries over from the Pilon hit on Burt in the final OSH/SBY game of the regular season. Pilon hit Burt and knocked him out and Sean Allen wanted a piece of both Pilon’s but one was kicked from the game and the other wouldn’t go anywhere near Allen.

Prediction: OSH 4-2

4 Kingston vs 5 Hamilton

This will be the best East series in my opinion. Kingston is very good at shutting teams down and keeping the games low scoring but they also have a big problem scoring goals. Jason Robertson and Jeremy Helvig will need to have a huge series if Kingston is going to get out of the 1st round

Prediction: Hamilton 4-2

WEST

1 Erie vs 8 Sarnia

Your typical 1 vs 8 series. Sarnia has the potential to steal a game because Kyrou/Rymsha/Spinozzi/Fazio are some elite OHL players, but they don’t really have a chance to win this series.

Prediction: Erie 4-0

2 Sault Ste. Marie vs 7 Flint

Flint is a great story this year for making the playoffs after the disaster that was last season, but they run into an offensive buzzsaw in round 1. SSM scores with the best of them and I expected some very high scoring games in this series.

Prediction: Sault Ste. Marie 4-1

3 Owen Sound vs 7 Kitchener

Owen Sound has been the story of the OHL in the 2nd half of the season despite not really doing anything at the deadline (got Cordell James for a 4th, gave up Justin Brack for an 11th). Kitchener is pretty scary for a 7 seed because of Adam Mascherin and his ability to take over a series with his scoring ability, but I think Owen Sound is just too deep and McNiven is just too good for an upset here.

Prediction: Owen Sound 4-1

4 London vs 5 Windsor

“The Sportsnet Series” because surely Sportsnet will pick up every game between their favourite team and the Memorial Cup hosts that don’t deserve to be Memorial Cup hosts. I like London to win this series because of what they did at the deadline. Adding the talent they did (Vande Sompel, Stephens, Salituro) to a roster that already has Mete/Juolevi/Jones/Pu and maybe the best goalie in the CHL (Tyler Parsons) will make them a very tough out in this playoffs.

Prediction: London 4-2

Oshawa vs Sudbury- Round 1 Preview

Season series: 2-2

Sept 23: OSH 3, SBY 4

Oct 16: SBY 5, OSH 3

Oct 28: OSH 3, SBY 1

Nov 13: SBY 2, OSH 4

Advantage: Tie

Special Teams:

OSH PP: 18.8% (T11th)

SBY PP: 17.8% (15th)

OSH PK: 83.1% (5th)

SBY PK: 81.7% (6th)

Advantage: Oshawa

Starting Goalie:

Jeremy Brodeur (33-14-1-2), 2.84 GAA, .916 save %, 2 shutouts

Jake McGrath (17-18-6-0), 3.77 GAA, .896 save %, 1 shutout

Advantage: Oshawa

Top Scorers

SBY:

Dmitry Sokolov: 48 G, 24 A, 72 P

David Levin: 18 G, 35 A, 53 P

Macauley Carson: 30 G, 20 A, 50 P

Ryan Valentini: 18 G, 31 A, 49 P

OSH:

Domenic Commisso: 19 G, 44 A, 63 P

Eric Henderson: 22 G, 30 A, 52 P

Medric Mercier: 22 G, 30 A, 52 P

Jack Studnicka: 18 G, 34 A, 52 P

Advantage: Sudbury because of Sokolov

Roster Makeup:

OSH:
96s: 2
97s: 3
98s: 6
99s: 3
00s: 4

SBY:
96s: 3
97s: 4
98s: 6
99s: 4
00s: 1

Advantage: Sudbury, they have the older roster

NHL Drafted Players:

SBY:

Sokolov (MIN)

Sanvido (DAL)

Pezzetta (MTL)

Capobianco (ARI)

Yakimowicz (STL)

Dunda (STL)

OSH:

Stillman (FLA)

Advantage: Sudbury 6-1

Projected OSH Lineup:

F:

Henderson-McShane-Commisso

MacLean-Kohn-Huether

Manchurek-Studnicka-Krastenbergs

Antropov-Noel-Burt

D:

Mercier-Brassard

Stillman-Ennis

Allen-Di Carlo

G:

Brodeur

Projected SBY Lineup:

F:

Valentini-Levin-Sokolov

Pilon-Pezzetta-Pilon

Dunda-Carson-Yakimowicz

Lysczarczyk-Bulitka-Lane

D:

Sanvido-O’Grady

Jamieson-Capobianco

Wilkie-Lalonde

G:

McGrath

2016-2017 OHL Predictions (Post Deadline)

There are my predictions on what the final standings will be now that the rosters are set.

*The lines are based on talking to certain media members/fans, so may not be 100% accurate*

Eastern Conference:

1st: Peterborough

I didn’t love the Petes deadline, for the price they paid for Paquette they probably could’ve gotten an elite player and made themselves head and shoulders better than the rest of the East (if Korostelev doesn’t come back next year (AHL or KHL) then I really hate their deadline). Petes have 3 very balanced lines and one of the best goalies in the OHL this year.  They get outshot almost every night but Dylan Wells seems to thrive under those circumstances. I think PBO and MISS will be very close the rest of the season, but PBO starts with a 10 point lead over them, so I think the Petes finishing 1st in the Eastern Conference is a pretty safe bet.

F Lines:

Lorentz-Paquette-Korostelev

Isaacson-Gallant-Ang

DeNoble-Der’Arguchintsev-Timleck

Svoboda-Coyle-Gogloev

Extra: Rollo, Tammela (hurt), Schulz, Bricknell

D Pairings:

Prophet-Spencer

Jenkins-Timms

Black-Fraser

Extra: Chisholm, Henley, McNamara

Goalie:

Wells

Smith

2nd: Mississauga

Mississauga will benefit from being in the terrible Central Division and I think they’ll have no problem winning that, which would put them into 2nd place automatically.  On paper this team has looked pretty good all year but it hasn’t translated into on-ice success yet. Adding depth forwards like Fox and Cascagnette is what this team needed, they already have the top end talent.  Matt Mancina will be a key for this team once the playoffs come, but I think they will be able to take the Central Division (and therefore 2nd place) fairly easily.

F Lines:

Tippett-M McLeod-Bastian

Fox-R McLeod-Watson

Cascagnette-Boomhower-Harrogate

Dow-McFarland-Dickerson

Extra: Titus, Little

D Pairings:

Moverare-Saarijarvi

LeBlanc-Hague

Gibson-Osmanski

Extra: Ramalho, Wells

Goalie:

Mancina

Ingham

3rd: Hamilton

They didn’t get better at the deadline (got Garagan/Templeton but lost Fox/Laishram/Saban) but I still think they can finish 3rd. It’ll likely come down to OSH and HAM for 3rd, and the Gens start with a 7 point lead on Hamilton but Hamilton is a more veteran team and now that they have 2 strong goalies, they should steal them some games too.  Matt Luff staying healthy could be a key for this team if they are going to finish 3rd in the Eastern Conference.

F Lines:

Petti-Bitten-Luff

Cramarossa-Kutkevicius-Entwistle

Strome-Saigeon-Studenic

Jackson-Garagan-Roberts

Extra: Nurse

D Pairings:

Hanley-Walters

Candella-Lemcke

Templeton-Gleason

Extra: Webb, McCourt

Goalie:

Fulcher

Carty

4th: Oshawa 

The Gens are currently in 1st place but Roger Hunt took one look at the rosters of London/Erie/Windsor/Sault Ste. Marie and realized that he can’t compete so he smartly sold off and got elite young talent and picks back. The impressive thing about this being a “rebuild year” now for the Gens is that they will still likely finish top 4 in the Eastern Conference and get a home playoff series. I could see the Gens finishing 3rd, but more likely that they finish 4th. They will rely on a lot of young players for the rest of the year, which will likely mean a few extended losing streaks. Bob Jones will give the young guys lots of playing time, which is great long term, but will also likely cost a few points in the standings this year.

F Lines:

Huether-Commisso-Manchurek

Henderson-Studnicka-Krastenbergs

Antropov-McShane-Noel

Kohn-MacLean-Burt

Extra: Sparkes, Gottschalk

D Pairings:

Stillman-Mercier

Blacker-Brassard

Di Carlo-Ennis

Extra: Allen

Goalie:

Brodeur

Keyser

5th: Sudbury

A team that will struggle to score (especially if Sokolov has a cold streak) but has enough talent that I think they can finish 5th in the East. McGrath has taken over the net, which is good for Sudbury’s future, but there will be some growing pains there this year. Their 3rd/4th line aren’t going to be adding much offensively which puts even more pressure on McGrath. Although the Sanvido pickup will help in that regard, a good veteran defensive D-man.

F Lines:

Valentini-Carson-Sokolov

Lyszczarczyk-Levin-Yakimowicz

Dr. Pilon-Pezzetta-Da. Pilon

Dunda-Bulitka-Lane

Extra: Gilhula

D Pairings:

Jamieson-Capobianco

Sanvido-O’Grady

Wilkie-Lalonde

Extra: Ali

Goalie:

McGrath

Bowman

6th: Ottawa

This is the wildcard team in the East to me. I could see them finishing as high as 3rd or as low as 7th. Consistency is an issue for them but they have the top end scoring and goalies to make a serious push. They have a very inexperience D-core but picking up Chris Martenet at the deadline should help that. If Foget gets comfortable in the OHL and starts to put up points then this team could surprise a lot of people in the 2nd half.

F Lines:

Felhaber-White-Tyanulin

Keating-Chemelevski-Foget

Steege-Barron-Clark

Evans-Dorval-Pearce

Extra: Gardiner, Bitten

D Pairings:

Martenet-Hoefenmayer

Bahl-Auger

Orban-Stratis

Extra: Robertson, Wilson

Goalie:

Lazarev

Lafreniere

 

7th: Kingston

Back to another down year for the Fronts after going all-in last year and getting swept in the 2nd round. They have a pretty strong top 4 on D and Jeremy Helvig which should combine to make it pretty tough for other teams to score, but I don’t expect Kingston’s offence to be putting up a ton of goals, which is why I think they’ll finish in the 7th spot in the Eastern Conference.

F Lines:

Nichol-Harding-Robertson

Popov-Neumann-Nyman

Davis-Dunkley-Cranford

Pringle-Field-Caron

Extra: Supryka, Burnie

D Pairings:

Desrocher-Paquette

Billitier-Rasanen

Murray, Brahaney

Extra: Gordon

Goalie:

Helvig

Peccia

 

8th: North Bay

A tough year for Stan Butler, who usually relies on systematic play and strong goaltending. They’ve had a ton of injuries in the crease already this year and they just don’t have the depth to put up much of a fight in the Eastern Conference. If things go their way I could see them getting up to 6th, but I think it’s more likely that they end up in the 8th spot.

F Lines:

Kislinger-McKenzie-Harland

Chenier-Poirier-Hargrave

Vertiy-Potts-Brazeau

Walker-McMaster-Ball

Extra: Forhan

D Pairings:

Shankar-Bruce

Allair-Shoemaker

Saban-Thilander

Extra: Dineen (injured), Lyle

Goalie:

Moran

Sime/Woroniuk

9th: Niagara

Similar to the Generals in the 2nd half in that they’re a very young team, which will likely result in a lot of growing pains. The difference being that the Generals have 50 points already and Niagara has 31. Will be a good development year for the young players but won’t be a good year for Niagara in the standings.

F Lines:

Corneil-Jones-Maksimov

Brack-Langdon-Thomas

Castleman-Philip-Singer

Dame-Demin-Machala

Extra: Johnson

D Pairings:

Schaefer-Mantha

Lochead-Haydon

Hunter-Ham

Extra: MacPherson

Goalie:

Dhillon

Incze

 

10th: Barrie

Likely the worst offensive depth in the Eastern Conference along with the worst starting goalie is not a recipe for success. These struggles were expected this year for Barrie and I think they’ll live up to expectations and get the 1st overall pick in the draft next year.

F Lines:

Stefano-Hawerchuk-Radke

Chiodo-Magwood-Nizhnikov

Finoro-Willms-Brown

Heitzner-Smith-Peca

Extra: Douglas

D Pairings:

Murray-Keane

Hedberg-Landry

Proner-Tucker

Extra: Cameron

Goalie:

Ovsjannikov

Propp

 

 

Western Conference:

1st: London

Good luck trying to score on these top 4 D-men (who each play 20+ minutes a night) and Tyler Parsons. Add in these deep 4 forward lines and I think London is the best, and most deep team in the OHL. What puts London over Erie for me is that they have the better defence and goalie. You can’t win if you can’t score, and I don’t see London giving up very many goals the rest of the season.

F Lines:

Jones-Pu-Salituro

Piccinich-Stephens-Kuokkanen

Militec-Thomas-Formenton

Foudy-MacDonald-Carbonara

D Pairings:

Vande Sompel-Bouchard

Mete-Juolevi

Crawley-Mattinen

Goalie:

Parsons

Johnson

2nd: Sault Ste. Marie

One of the deepest and most explosive offences in the whole league. Everyone in their top 12 can score and that’ll carry SSM to a lot of wins down the stretch. Their defence is obviously their biggest question mark but it should be good enough with how much help it’ll be getting from the offence each night. I think Erie will end up with more points, but Sault Ste. Marie will win their division, which puts them in the 2nd seed in the Western Conference.

F Lines:

Senyshyn-Makinen-Speers

MacIntyre-Frost-Kopacka

Gettinger-Verbeek-Katchouk

Hayton-Miller-Martin

Extra: Gritz

D Pairings:

White-Hollowell

Timmins-Bouramman

Carroll-DeMeo

Extra: Leguerrier

Goalie:

Raaymakers

Villalta

3rd: Erie

3 very strong lines for Erie post-deadline will make them very tough to play against. I have them in 3rd (2nd most points in the West) because I think their D+Timpano is much more susceptible to a bad game here and there than London’s D+Parsons is. Erie’s real calling card will be puck possession and how many times they’ll get easy puck possession off Cirelli/Strome/Pettit winning draws. All 3 are above 60% which is unheard of to have on one team. They also will have a guy who’s over 60% on draws on the wing (Foegele) because they can’t even fit all the great centres into their natural position.

F Lines:

Debrincat-Cirelli-T. Raddysh

Foegele-Strome-Lodnia

Maksimovich-Pettit-Fellows

Girhiny-Poddubnyi-Edwardson

D Pairings:

D Raddysh-Fergus

Cernak-Sambrook

Lizotte-Byrne

Goalie:

Timpano

Murdaca

4th: Windsor

Windsor has one of the more balanced teams in the OHL but the fact that they are in the Memorial Cup no matter what might hurt them in the standings. They will be more likely to roll all 4 lines and keep guys out of the lineup longer to ensure they’re fully healthy than other teams might because they know that they just need to be healthy and ready to go for the Mem Cup tournament. DiPietro is a future superstar in the league but is he ready to carry a team down the stretch at 17 years old? That’ll be a big question for Windsor in the 2nd half.

F Lines:

Addison-Brown-Vilardi

Knott-Nattinen-Bracco

DiGiacinto-Laishram-Boka

McCool-Luchuk-Purboo

D Pairings:

Sergachev-Day

Chatfield-Stanley

McEneny-Robertson

Extra: Nother/Corcoran

Goalie:

DiPietro

Culina

5th: Owen Sound

A real dark horse in the Western Conference because they are playing with house money. They aren’t expected to win until next year but they have so much talent that they’ll play spoiler to a ton of good teams down the stretch. Nobody in the Western Conference wants to play these guys in the 1st round of the playoffs. Also Michael McNiven is probably the best goalie in the league, which just adds to why this team is no joke.

F Lines:

Gadjovich-Hancock-Suzuki

Sushko-Szypula-Palmu

Campbell-James-Schmalz

Roberts-Struthers-Dudas

Extra: Groulx, Pryce

D Pairings:

Friend-Centorame

Phillips-Durzi

Bourque-Cameron

Extra: King

Goalie:

McNiven

Vella

6th: Kitchener

They traded away Bracco but still have enough top end scoring talent to get by, unfortunately the top teams in the West are so strong this year that Kitchener will likely end up down in the bottom half of the standings. Season ending injuries to 2 key D-men (Hall and Blaisdell) also are a big factor in Kitchener not getting a home playoff series (and likely one of the reasons they decided to sell Bracco).

F Lines:

Llewellyn-Bunnaman-Henderson

Garreffa-Merieles-Mascherin

Carter-Seitz-McHugh

Schiemenz-Guest-Yantsis

D Pairings:

Roberts-Hora

Burns-DiPerna

Vallati-Gentles

Goalies:

Opilka

Richardson

7th: Sarnia

Another team that went younger this year and likely won’t do much in the standings, but it will be a big development year for them to make a run in the future. They hung on to Spinozzi to anchor the back end and still have some elite scorers and Justin Fazio in net so I wouldn’t be surprised if Sarnia snuck up into 6th but I think that might be their ceiling this year.

F Lines:

Lajeunesse-Rymsha-Kyrou

Josling-Sproviero-Lindo

McGregor-Ruzicka-Salinitri

Latta-Hinz-Helt

D Pairings:

Spinozzi-Ernst

Schlichting-Grima

Hatcher-King

Extra: Calvas

Goalie:

Fazio

Hughes

8th: Flint

Love what Flint has done this year after the circus that was last year.  They have put together a very solid team but it just doesn’t have the stars to compete in the Western Conference this year. I think they are a playoff team though and could push for as high as the 6th spot if they get a big 2nd half from Sherwood and Moore

F Lines:

Colella-Moore-Sherwood

Clarke-Clark-Caamano

Collins-Dellandrea-Durham

Littlejohn-Holmes-Phibbs

Extra: Kirwan (injured)

D Pairings:

Smereck-Peters

Gordeev-Henderson

Duchesne-Busby

Extra: Nilsen, Steinocher

Goalie:

Hicks

Forrest

9th: Guelph

Guelph is still paying the price for deciding to keep Bertuzzi, Dickinson, and Fabbri (got a 3rd for him but we all know they could’ve gotten a ton more) and letting them walk with no return in terms of young players or picks. I don’t think Guelph will make the playoffs, for the 2nd straight season but I don’t have them finishing last in the West this year. Merkley one of the dynamic young players in this league and with time and maturity he will turn into a superstar, but the team just doesn’t have enough scoring depth or ability to keep the puck out of their own net to make the playoffs in the West this year.

F Lines:

Ratcliffe-Schnarr-Smith

McEwan-Hawel-Michnac

Hotchkiss-Burghardt-Sicoly

Stevens-Kirwin-Deakin Poot

Extra: Ralph, Moncada

D Pairings:

McFadden-Merkley

Samorukov-Rhodes

Phillips-Makkonen

Extra: Hall, Hanna, Tetrault

Goalie:

Herbst

Popovich

 

 

 

10th: Saginaw

Saginaw wasn’t good to start with so obviously trading away their best player (and captain) will be too tough for them to overcome. They actually have a very good D-core but have one of the worst offensive groups in the OHL. They will struggle big time to score in the 2nd half of the season and I think they’ll have them end up in last place in the West.

F Lines:

Giroux-Bennett-Hodgson

Busdeker-Gilmour-Coskey

Kreis-Barwell-Davies

Bollers-Grondin-Fuoco

D Pairings:

Middleton-Hronek

Garcia-Neimelainen

Crawford-Davis

Extra: Hill

Goalie:

Cormier

Bonello

 

Early Look Ahead to the 2017-2018 Potential Memorial Cup Roster

The Oshawa Generals are trying to host the 2017-2018 Memorial Cup and here is what the potential roster might look like right now:

Gone: Cirelli (AHL), Vande Sompel (AHL), Templeton (odd OA out), Mercier (too old), Manchurek (too old), Brodeur (too old).

Forwards:
Henderson-Commisso-Noel
Krastenbergs-Studnicka-Antropov
MacLean-Burt-Huether(OA)
Sparkes-Welsh-Gottschalk

Defence:
Robertson(OA)-Stillman
Ennis-Di Carlo(OA)
Allen-Allison
Extras: Matt Stoia, Joseph Rupoli, Dante Fantauzzi

Goalies:
Keyser
Gauthier/Mundell/Torchia

Maybe’s: Eeli Tolvanen (Boston College), Jack DeBoer (Boston University), Matty Franche (Merrimack College), Brett Murray (Penn State)

-Will also add the first round pick from next years OHL draft
-If Tolvanen doesn’t come then you’ll get the 1st round pick from next year’s Euro draft

Memorial Cup Winning team: Half a Year Later

Where are the players from last year’s Memorial Cup winning team now?

Line 1:

Brad Latour: Windsor Spitfires (OHL). 27 GP, 9 G, 14 A, 23 P, +9, 14 PIM.

Cole Cassels: Utica Comets (AHL). 14 GP, 0 G, 1 A, 1 P, -5, 7 PIM.

Hunter Smith: Stockton Heat (AHL). 12 GP, 1 G, 2 A, 3 P, 0 +/-, 14 PIM.

Line 2:

Brent Pedersen: Laurentian University (CIS). 9 GP, 6 G, 3 A, 9 P, 0 PIM.

Michael McCarron: St John’s IceCaps (AHL). 21 GP, 9 G, 11 A, 20 P, +2, 35 PIM. 7th in AHL in scoring, 3rd in AHL rookie scoring.

Tobias Lindberg: Binghampton Senators (AHL). 17 GP, 3 G, 8 A, 11 P, +5, 4 PIM.

Line 3:

Michael Dal Colle: Oshawa Generals (OHL). 25 GP, 7 G, 14 A, 21 P, -6, 6 PIM.

Anthony Cirelli: Oshawa Generals (OHL). 23 GP, 5 G, 13 A, 18 P, -7, 15 PIM.

Matt Mistele: Sarnia Sting (OHL). 19 GP, 8 G, 8 A, 16 P, -10, 16 PIM.

Line 4:

Joe Manchurek: Oshawa Generals (OHL). 27 GP, 11 G, 12 A, 23 P, +12, 9 PIM.

Aidan Wallace: University of Toronto (CIS). 10 GP, 1 G, 2 A, 3 P, 4 PIM.

Michael Turner: Not playing competitively.

D-Pair 1:

Josh Brown: Manchester Monarchs (ECHL). 18 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 4 P, +9, 38 PIM.

Dakota Mermis: Rapid City Rush (ECHL) 5 GP, 1 G, 2 A, 3 P, +1, 6 PIM. Springfield Falcons (AHL) 7 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 P, +/- 0, 4 PIM.

D-Pair 2:

Will Petschenig: Saginaw Spirit (OHL). 26 GP, 1 G, 8 A, 9 P, -15, 43 PIM.

Chris Carlisle: Binghampton Senators (AHL) 12 GP, 2 G, 1 A, 3 P, -1, 2 PIM. Evansville IceMen (ECHL) 2 GP, 0 G, 2 A, 2 P, +1, 0 PIM.

D-Pair 3:

Stephen Desrocher: Kingston Frontenacs (OHL). 28 GP, 5 G, 11 A, 16 P, -3, 16 PIM.

Mitch Vande Sompel: Oshawa Generals (OHL). 13 GP, 1 G, 6 A, 7 P, -6, 4 PIM.

Goalies:

Ken Appleby: Adirondack Thunder (ECHL). 9-2-0-1, 1.99 GAA, .932 save %, 1 shutout. (7th in GAA, 5th in save %, 3rd in wins)

Jeremy Brodeur: Oshawa Generals (OHL). 10-9-1-2, 2.77 GAA, .899 save %, 4 shutouts. (Leads the OHL in shutouts)

Depth Players:

Kenny Huether: Oshawa Generals (OHL). 24 GP, 10 G, 11 A, 21 P, -2, 2 PIM.

Sam Harding: Oshawa Generals (OHL). 25 GP, 6 G, 3 A, 9 P, -4, 10 PIM.

Stephen Templeton: Oshawa Generals (OHL). 28 GP, 0 G, 2 A, 2 P, -4, 25 PIM.

Sonny Hertzberg: Herlev Eagles (Denmark). 21 GP, 4 G, 7 A, 11 P, – 14, 24 PIM.