Erie Unstoppable
To no one’s surprise, Erie’s dynamic duo continued to turn heads with more multi-point games and dazzling moves this past weekend. Connor McDavid can attach another four-point (and third consecutive) game to his resumé, and he and teammate Dylan Strome appropriately lead the OHL with 18 points each.
While McDavid remains the OHL’s human highlight reel (I like to think of Datsyuk as the NHL’s equivalent), this between-the-legs goal from winger Mason Marchment is worth a watch.
It’s easy to get caught up in the glamour of the Erie Otters’ success, but the undefeated Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds are nothing to sneeze at. Their most recent 5–0 win over the London Knights is their seventh consecutive victory as they sit atop the league standings with 14 points. I’m sure Kyle Dubas is as proud as ever.
In slightly more surprising news, Belleville continues their impressive start wth a 6–1 record. Without reading too closely into the tight Eastern standings so early into the season, the Bulls could have what looks like a solid squad headed by Dallas Stars prospect Remi Elie, and backed up by veteran goaltender Charlie Graham who currently has the winningest save percentage at 0.946%.
Ho-Sang returns
Josh Ho-Sang will make a much anticipated (and much needed, perhaps) return to Windsor’s lineup on Thursday, after serving the remainder of his six-game suspension following his release from the New York Islanders organization. The Spits have allowed 17 goals in their last three games, most prominently in their 9–2 loss to Sarnia over the weekend. Ho-Sang was a touchy subject last season, and arguably even more so heading into NHL Draft. Here’s hoping he makes headlines for all the right reasons. His clean slate begins against Saginaw, who haven’t been able to get a win since goalie Jake Paterson’s first game against, well, Windsor. Looks like the Spirit may need more than just veteran goaltending to pick themselves up. Regardless, Thursday’s matchup should be interesting.
Knights off to rough start
Again, while it’s too early to read into the standings in their entirety, London’s 2-5 record is noteworthy in a world where the Knights usually stand tall. It’s no surprise the Knights are one of the OHL’s more relevant teams as far as headlines go: a packed barn most nights, housing NHL-bound talent, and records that top the league.
If the Knights are going to be a third-period team this year, it’s obvious their offence has to step up in the first 40 minutes. I wouldn’t expect any surprises as they take on the red-hot Erie Otters tonight, but on a lighter note, the Knights will be retiring Dave Bolland’s #91 in front of a surefire enthusiastic crowd.
Kilrea to coach Friday’s game
It was Jeff Brown’s idea to honour the legendary Brian Kilrea this season and celebrate his 80th birthday. As a result, the 67’s have signed Kilrea to a “one-day” contract where he will accompany Coach Brown behind the net Friday night.
An Ottawa native himself, Brown has stated that although he was a kid while watching Kilrea’s team growing up, their coaching philosophies are similar.
“We’re not exactly the team I want us to be right now,” said Brown following their Saturday win over the top-seeded Oshawa Generals.
“We just need to keep improving every game, and become that team that Killer used to have.”
Highly touted NHL draft prospect Travis Konecny has been granted captaincy of the Ottawa 67’s, a fair choice when taking into consideration the leadership role he so quickly jumped into last season. Overager and former captain Brendan Bell will serve as the alternate.
Despite a fine effort Friday night against the 67’s, the Niagara IceDogs remain the league’s only winless team. Ottawa were in the same spot heading into Friday’s game having been down 0-4, but they managed to come back from a 3–1 deficit in the third to turn the tables in their home opener.
NHL Draft Tracker
Our weekly look at notable performances by the OHL’s top draft-eligible players.
Blake Speers, RW, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds: Speers continues to make a fantastic case for himself. He picked up six points last week, three of which were against London in his team’s boisterous 5–0 victory.
Nikita Korostelev, RW, Sarnia Sting: Sarnia downed Windsor 9–2 on Saturday, one of two victories the team enjoyed over the weekend. The Russian forward led the league with seven points in two games, ending the long weekend with a plus-six rating.
Dante Salituro, C, Ottawa 67’s: While most of the spotlight has shone on Konecny, Salituro started his season off with a bang. This weekend, he’s earned the spotlight with six points for the 67’s, five of which helped lead his team to their first two wins, both in the newly revamped TD Place. Salituro also scored Ottawa’s lone goal Monday afternoon.
Speaking of the new arena, it didn’t take long for someone to cause a dent in it. Here’s Niagara’s Mitchell Fitzmorris’s big hit on Travis Barron that caused a (brand new) pane of glass to explode:
Three Stars of the Week
Joseph Raaymakers, G, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds: The Greyhounds’ 5–0 win over the Knights was the rookie goaltender’s OHL debut, where he made 31 saves.
Dante Salituro, C, Ottawa 67’s: Salituro was pure speed this weekend, and came through for his team when they seemed to need him most. He totalled 59 points last season—I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to assume he’s on pace to top his previous total. Looks like Konecny may have more help after all.
Nikita Korostelev, RW, Sarnia Sting: The Sting are 3-3-1 so far, but a stellar performance this past week is a breath of fresh air given last year’s results. Korostelev’s high-scoring weekend was the icing on top of the cake.
In worthwhile Thanksgiving Monday news, North Bay’s Nick Paul scored a third-period hat trick, ending his team’s two-game losing streak and edging them over the Colts by a staggering 4–1.
Spencer Martin, recently signed with the Colorado Avalanche, continued his winning ways as the Mississauga Steelheads defeated the Frontenacs in a 3–2 shootout. Kingston should be particularly “thankful” for earning a point, considering they scored an own goal and managed to get a two-many men penalty in the dying seconds of overtime.
Lastly, if you’re wondering what happened to the “dry scrape”—the short-lived scraping of the ice before heading into overtime a la the NHL’s new rule—the CHL has scrapped the idea for exactly the reason you’d think they would: It just took too long.