Jonathan Drouin’s draft stock continues to rise & Leafs prospect Josh Leivo makes his former team pay for trading him away at the deadline. That and more in this edition of CHL Weekend Mashup.
The Kitchener Rangers and Sudbury Wolves broke headlines at the OHL trade deadline earlier this month with a six-player blockbuster deal that saw the Wolves ship leading scorer Josh Leivo, defensive gem Frank Corrado, and goaltender Joel Vienneau to Kitchener, as Rangers GM and head coach Steve Spott loaded up a top-end roster with intentions of making a deep playoff run this spring.
For the first time since the Jan. 8 trade, the two teams met on Sunday with Leivo making an impact in his old barn. The Toronto Maple Leafs’ 2011 third rounder reminded the Sudbury faithful of his offensive talent by posting a goal and two assists against his former teammates, including setting-up the equalizer in the final minute of regulation before burying the overtime winner with a laser wrist shot from the slot.
GOAL!!!! Josh Leivo with the OT winner! 24.7 seconds left in the extra frame and the former Wolves forward gives the Rangers a 5-4 win! — Kitchener Rangers(@OHLRangers) January 20, 2013
GOAL!!!! Josh Leivo with the OT winner! 24.7 seconds left in the extra frame and the former Wolves forward gives the Rangers a 5-4 win!
— Kitchener Rangers(@OHLRangers) January 20, 2013
Game highlights, including Leivo’s three-point performance, can be viewed here.
Jonathan Drouin’s impressive showing at the IIHF World Junior Championship in Ufa, Russia not only earned the 17-year-old forward much deserved recognition on the international stage while playing top-line minutes for Canada, but also helped increase his value in this year’s NHL Draft by jumping into third in Central Scouting midterm rankings.
Drouin continues to raise his stock with a current 10-game point streak in which the Halifax Mooseheads’ stud has seven goals and 11 assists. He leads the QMJHL with a remarkable 2.0 point-per-game average after producing two goals and five helpers this weekend — including the game-tying goal below against the Armada on Sunday, as Halifax won three in as many nights.
Disappointing news from Jim Parker of The Windsor Star who tells us Spitfires defenceman Slater Koekkoek is done for the season after reinjuring his left shoulder in a game against Belleville last Saturday. Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman made the decision to shutdown his 2012 first round pick
#NHL Tampa Bay #Lightning have shutdown #OHL Windsor #Spitfres LD Slater Koekkoek for the season. Will have surgery. Recovery is 4-6 months. — Jim Parker (@winstarparker) January 20, 2013
#NHL Tampa Bay #Lightning have shutdown #OHL Windsor #Spitfres LD Slater Koekkoek for the season. Will have surgery. Recovery is 4-6 months.
— Jim Parker (@winstarparker) January 20, 2013
Koekkoek, who was limited to 26 games last season with Peterborough by an injury to the same shoulder, played just two games with Windsor after a deadline deal between the Petes and Spits. Koekkoek was one of several deadline acquisitions for Windsor, who are 5-0-0-1 since Jan. 10 and two points out of a playoff spot.
For more on the Koekkoek story and the Spitfires recent success, check out Parker’s article from this morning here.
When you get good goaltending, you always have a good chance of winning and the Medicine Hat Tigers put that theory into practice this weekend. The goaltending duo of Cam Lanigan and Marek Langhamer stood tall in front of the cage with a combined .988 save-percentage to help the Tigers win three in as many nights – two of which came against two of the best in the WHL Eastern Conference.
That’s a sweep! Tigers take out EDM-CGY-RD in 3 straight nites, combined score of 9-1 with back-2-back shutouts!!!! — Medicine Hat Tigers (@tigershockey) January 21, 2013
That’s a sweep! Tigers take out EDM-CGY-RD in 3 straight nites, combined score of 9-1 with back-2-back shutouts!!!!
— Medicine Hat Tigers (@tigershockey) January 21, 2013
On Friday, Lanigan stoned the Edmonton Oil Kings in their own rink by stopping 28 of 29 shots, as the Tigers took a 2-1 win in one of the toughest barns in the league. Langhamer stood tall in the blue paint on Saturday with a 30-save shutout performance in a 4-0 victory over the Calgary Hitmen, before Lanigan made it back-to-back shutout wins for the Tigers on Sunday with 26 saves while downing the Red Deer Rebels 3-0 at home. The Tigers are 7-2-0-1 in their last 10 games, and have pushed themselves into seventh in the Eastern standings.
With wins over P.E.I. and Shawinigan, the Baie-Comeau Drakkar extended their win streak to 10 games … Not only did the Seattle Thunderbirds snap their 15-game winless streak with a 4-3 win over the WHL-leading Portland Winterhawks (of all teams), but they went two-for-two by defeating Lethbridge 6-5 in a shootout … The red-hot Kelowna Rockets (11-0-1-0 in their last 12) won two more and set a franchise record with their 19th consecutive home win in a 5-3 decision against Vancouver on Saturday … After going 27-0-1-0 in their previous 28 games, the London Knights lost their third straight, falling 5-2 to Windsor on Friday.