First things first: Both OHL Subway Super Series rosters have been unleashed, and for the most part, they consist of a nice splash of the league’s elite—this time with the rightful inclusion of Josh Ho-Sang, who was left off Team Canada rosters in the recent past. My only quarrel is with exclusion of Dante Salituro, who has outshone Travis Konecny in the last couple weeks.
Here’s a link to rosters for both the Peterborough and Kingston games.
Konecny hit
Speaking of Konecny, the 17-year-old winger was helped off the ice by his teammates after a hit by Gianluca Curcuruto during Sunday’s Ottawa-Plymouth matchup.
The hit looked like an elbow to the head, something the league is supposed to be phasing out. Curcuruto was slapped with a 12-game suspension; some say he got off easy.
Centre Erik Bradford said he had “no hesitation whatsoever” in jumping to his captain’s defence and challenging Curcuruto afterward, and coach Jeff Brown commented: “This is the stuff that needs to get out of our league. It’s about the safety of our kids.”
I like to think there is no better revenge than what’s on the score sheet. The 67’s took the game 5–3, extending their record to 4-0 at home and improving to 4-5.
Players being shifted around
The 67’s were also involved in a trade this past week. Ottawa welcomed Trent Mallette to its fourth line in exchange for a 12th round conditional pick.
Meanwhile, the Knights sent overager and London native Brett Welychka to the Belleville Bulls for 19-year-old Aaron Berisha, plus Mississauga’s second-round pick in 2015 and Erie’s third-rounder in 2016. As a Knight for the past four seasons, I think it’s safe to say Welychka has had a pretty sweet ride in the OHL so far, and finishing up his career in Belleville isn’t a bad deal at all right now. The Knights can hold on to Berisha for another year next season. We knew it wouldn’t be long before they started making changes, albeit smaller ones to start.
But the London Knights moves don’t stop there. Mark Hunter has been hired by the Toronto Maple Leafs as new director of player personnel, thereby leaving behind his 12-year-long title as vice president and GM of the Knights. Basil McRae will be taking over as London’s GM.
The Sudbury Wolves bid farewell to Connor Burgess, who has chosen to pursue academics. Guelph goaltender Matt Mancina was sent home earlier to “clear his head,” according to the Guelph Mercury. It’s widely known that Mancina, backup goalie to Justin Nichols, is on the trade market (along with Owen Sound goaltender Brandon Hope).
Other highlights
The Niagara IceDogs picked up their first win of the season last Wednesday in their home opener at the new Meridian Centre, getting seven goals past Charlie Graham on 50(!) shots. This was also one of two losses for Belleville.
On a similar note, the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds had their first loss of the season at the hands of the Bulls Saturday night, ending their eight-game winning streak. I know I tout the top Western teams a lot, but it looks like the hottest teams in the East proved to be too much for the Soo this past weekend, as they went on to lose 4–2 to the Oshawa Generals as well.
Who isn’t losing to the Generals lately, though? They picked up all six available points over the weekend, scoring six goals in two of those games, including a 6–0 shutout over the Owen Sound Attack. This also means Ken Appleby has an 8-0 record in net, and leads the league with a 0.937 SV%.
NHL Draft Tracker
Dante Salituro, Centre, Ottawa 67’s: Salituro picked up a big five goals for the 67’s over the weekend. As I mentioned above, he’s been hotter than Konecny over the course of the past week. He now has 10 goals to his name and is ranked second in total goals scored, right below Erie rookie Alex DeBrincat.
Blake Speers, Right wing, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds: Speers continues to climb the scoring ladder with an accumulated 14 points.
Mitch Vande Sompel, Defence, Oshawa Generals: I know Oshawa is filled with flashy players, but Vande Sompel deserves a look as one of the players projected to go fairly high in the draft. He hasn’t been much of a goal scorer, but his 10 assists bring him to 11 points.
Three Stars of the Week
Ken Appleby, Goalie, Oshawa Generals: I’m throwing this one in here for obvious reasons. Appleby has been nothing short of solid for the Gens.
Cole Cassels, Centre, Oshawa Generals: Cassels, a now four-year veteran of the Generals, picked up four points in that 6–0 pounding of the Attack. (He’s one of those flashy players I was referring to earlier.)
Remi Elie, Left wing, Belleville Bulls: This Dallas Stars prospect is doing a fine job leading the Bulls through what has been a stellar start to the season, alongside some other mentionables (Jordan Subban, Charlie Graham). Elie picked up three goals and four assists in just three games.