Regular seasons across the Canadian Hockey League came to an earlier-than-expected conclusion due to COVID-19.
With hopes of still resuming for the playoffs, now is as good a time as any to take a look back at some interesting stats from across the country during the regular season.
In the Ontario Hockey League, Ethan Cardwell made the most of a new opportunity after a trade from the Saginaw Spirit to the Barrie Colts.
The 17-year-old forward got into 15 games with the Spirit last season, scoring five times.
Cardwell started the 2019-20 season well with the Spirit, but after getting traded to Barrie the winger exploded for a point-per-game pace thanks to an increased role. In 26 games with the Colts, Cardwell scored 11 goals and put up 26 points.
Speaking of players stepping up offensively, the 2019-20 season was a breakout year for Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds centre Rory Kerins.
In his second season with the club, the 17-year-old had a 21-goal jump from his rookie season.
The sophomore forward scored 30 times in 64 games this season and was solid in the faceoff circle, winning 632 draws
The 2019-20 season saw another Greyhounds player take a big jump offensively as third-year forward Zack Trott set career-highs offensively.
After scoring 15 goals and 40 points in 106 games through his first two seasons, Trott led the Greyhounds with 66 points in 62 games this season.
The cancellation of the final weeks of the regular seasons ended what was an impressive run for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Sherbrooke Phoenix.
The most eye-popping aspect of Sherbrooke’s 51-8-3-1 record was a 29-1-1-0 record on home ice.
Its one regulation loss was the lowest total in the entire country.
It’s not uncommon for teams to have strong records when leading games through two periods, but Sherbrooke was 38-0-1-1 when leading after 40 minutes.
Not to be outdone, the QMJHL had a pair of teams post perfect records when taking a lead into the third period and they came out of the same division.
The Moncton Wildcats went a perfect 40-0-0-0 with a lead after 40 minutes while the Cape Breton Eagles posted a 34-0-0-0 mark.
In the Western Hockey League, draft-eligible winger Jake Neighbours of the Edmonton Oil Kings was ranked 30th among Northern American skaters when NHL Central Scouting released its mid-term rankings in January.
A strong second half of the season could help improve that draft stock.
Neighbours, who turns 18 on March 29, posted 23 goals and 70 points in 64 games with the Oil Kings and was held off the scoresheet just five times after Christmas.
In leading the WHL in scoring, Minnesota Wild prospect Adam Beckman wasn’t held off the scoresheet very often in 63 games with the Spokane Chiefs.
The 18-year-old had 32 multi-point games for Spokane this season, which included three five-point games and three more four-point efforts.
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