This season we are planning to provide a new weekly blog to Hockeybuzz highlighting the happenings of arguably one of the top NHL feeder leagues in the world, the Ontario Hockey League. Commonly referred to as the "O" by those that follow the league closely, the OHL continues to provide the top teenagers in the world with a glimpse at the grind of a professional hockey schedule as teams play a 68 game regular season, followed by a 16-team playoff similar to the National Hockey League.
The OHL continues to be a leading supplier of talent to the National Hockey League with 37 OHL players selected in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft this past June, including eight players selected in the first round led by
Sean Monahan of the Ottawa 67's chosen sixth overall by the Calgary Flames.
Many of the league's top players have had the opportunity to pursue their NHL dreams with 166 returning-eligible players attending NHL Training Camps during the month of September.
Looking ahead, 45 players from the Ontario Hockey League were listed among NHL Central Scouting's 'Players to Watch' list for the 2014 NHL Draft which takes place June 27-28 in Philadelphia. The Kingston Frontenacs have three players who received 'A' ratings including forwards
Sam Bennett and
Spencer Watson, along with defenceman
Roland McKeown.
The OHL season culminates when the Canadian Hockey League hosts the 2014 MasterCard Memorial Cup May 15-25. This year the tournament will be hosted by the hometown Knights who square off against the champions from the OHL, the Western Hockey League, and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Last week, 20 OHL clubs began what will be a hard fought schedule 680 regular season games. One player who got off to a flying start was forward
Michael Dal Colle (2014 Draft Eligible) of the Oshawa Generals. Dal Colle was named the OHL Player of the Week for the first week of the 2013-14 OHL regular season, after scoring four goals and three assists for seven points in two games.
Dal Colle led the Generals to a pair of victories and was twice named first star of the game to open the new campaign in wins over Windsor and Sarnia. Originally selected seventh overall by the Generals in the 2012 OHL Priority Selection, Dal Colle collected 15 goals and 33 assists for 48 points in 63 games last season while earning a spot on the OHL’s First All-Rookie Team. Eligible for the 2014 NHL Draft, Dal Colle has been listed as an ‘A Skater’ by NHL Central Scouting in their Preliminary Players to Watch List for this season.
In other news over the weekend, the defending OHL champion London Knights picked up right where they left off with a 3-0 home victory over the Plymouth Whalers. Leading the way for the Knights was goaltender
Anthony Stolarz. The 2nd round selection (45th overall) of the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft made 30 saves for his 2nd career OHL shutout. Both teams are ranked in the Canadian Hockey League's preseason Top 10 (London #3, Plymouth #7) and could have been a preview of the league's two participants at the Memorial Cup in May.
Perhaps the most impressive start to the season came from the Kingston Frontenacs. Following a 5-0 pre-season campaign, the “Fronts”, with their aforementioned trio of 2014 NHL Draft eligible skaters, jumped out to a 2-0 start to their regular season with impressive victories over Peterborough (11-4) and North Bay (5-2).
A number of high-profile prospects such as Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds defenseman
Darnell Nurse are expected to return to the OHL this week after extended looks at their respective NHL training camps. However, one player who will not be returning to the OHL is Windsor Spitfires defenseman
Patrick Sieloff. Sieloff, a 2012 2nd round selection of the Calgary Flames (42nd overall), was informed by the Flames that he will either be sticking with the NHL club in Calgary or be assigned to their AHL affiliate in Abbotsford.
The Canadian Hockey League and the NHL have an agreement that, unless a player is playing in the NHL, he must be returned to his junior club. However, this rule only applies to players drafted out of the CHL. Sieloff became a member of the Windsor Spitfires in the summer of 2012, shortly following the draft.
The news comes as a significant blow to the Spitfires, who were expecting Sieloff to play a major role for the hockey club on the blueline. Such is the life of OHL franchises, as they have to straddle the fine line between attempting to win hockey games while developing hockey players to play professional hockey.
Fans can watch live OHL action at the league’s
LiveStream website.
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