OHL 21: Team newsmakers
KITCHENER — The regular season is wrapping up.
And every Ontario Hockey League franchise has stories to tell from the 2017-18 campaign.
Some are good, some are bad. Here is one newsmaker for each franchise before the playoffs begin.
1. Barrie has almost gone from worst to first. The Colts finished in the basement of the OHL last season with a record of 17-44-6-1 but are five points behind Hamilton for the lead in the East this time around. They surpassed last year’s points total in mid-December.
2. Goalie Troy Timpano was a big part of Erie’s championship run last season. He had 49 wins and returned to be the Otters’ starter this season but was gone by early December. He’s now playing for the Georgetown Raiders of the Ontario Junior Hockey League.
3. Flint was supposed to be on the upswing. Instead, the Firebirds sold their stars and took a step back. The club is last in the Western Conference, close to being eliminated from playoff contention and in the running for the first-overall draft pick.
4. Change was the theme in Guelph early on. Coach Jarrod Skalde, assistant Todd Harvey and general manager Mike Kelly were out. Veteran bench boss/GM George Burnett took over and is tasked with turning the Storm into a contender as soon as next season.
5. Hamilton was one of two Eastern Conference clubs that wanted to host this year’s Memorial Cup (the other was Oshawa). The bid failed but the Bulldogs rewarded fans by being one of the busiest trade partners in an attempt to get to the tournament through the front door.
6. From all out to all in. Credit Kingston’s management for reading the market correctly and, ultimately, keeping its core pieces at the trade deadline. The team was a surprise buyer and made a big splash by adding some of the top players in the league.
7. No other OHL team acquired as many high-end NHL prospects as the Kitchener Rangers, who added two first rounders (Logan Brown and Logan Stanley), a second rounder (Givani Smith) and a free-agent signee (Kole Sherwood). It has been a long time coming for the Blueshirts.
8. Bad breaks have defined London’s season. Victor Mete stuck in the NHL at 18 years old, Olli Juolevi went back to Finland, Jesper Bratt made the New Jersey Devils, Brady Tkachuk kept his NCAA commitment and potential overagers Brandon Crawley and Tyler Parsons headed to the AHL.
9. Watching Peterborough native Owen Tippett get a long look with the Florida Panthers (at 18) and getting Michael McLeod back from the New Jersey Devils are up there. But Mississauga’s slow start for the second consecutive year is the main storyline. Can the Fish turn it around again?
10. Niagara kept it all in the family when owners Bill and Denise Burke promoted sons Billy to head coach and Joey to general manager. And the Burke Bros. delivered. Billy has Niagara eyeing home ice in the playoffs while Joey’s move to acquire Sam Miletic worked out.
11. Losing the Sarge that used to leap over the red carpet during pre-game festivities makes my list but on a team level the second-half surge deserves the nod. North Bay was 12-18-4-0 in the first half but is 14-4-3-2 so far in the second leg. The Troops are peaking at the right time.
12. No news is good news for the Oshawa Generals. The team pulled back after failing to land the Memorial Cup and preached patience. Next season is the focus and a likely battle with Niagara for the East crown looms.
13. It’s hard to find themes in transition years but one of the lesserknown stories to out-of-towners in Ottawa is the quiet development of the defencemen. The 67’s may have one of the youngest back ends in the OHL and it could be deadly as soon as next season.
14. Injuries and goaltending. That about sums up Owen Sound’s campaign. Jonah Gadjovich, Kevin Hancock and Sean Durzi have all missed substantial time while the club struggled to find a replacement for stud goalie Michael McNiven. But things are turning around just in time.
15. The Peterborough Petes came in with so much promise but failed to deliver. The team made waves when it fired coach Jody Hull in early January. The club had a record of 16-20-2-1 at the time. Since then, the Petes are 5-10-1-2 and fading fast.
16. That Saginaw appears to be playoff bound — and may even lock up home-ice advantage — is the talking point across the border. The club is ahead of schedule with its rebuild and the most surprising team in the west this season.
17. Like Kitchener, Sarnia’s aggression at the trade deadline took the team from conference contender to legitimate league threat. The additions of former Peterborough Pete Jonathan Ang, Cam Dineen, Michael Pezzetta and Mitch Eliot are the story for the Sting so far.
18. It’s all about the streak in Sault Ste. Marie. The Greyhounds won 23 consecutive games and went 29 straight before losing in regulation. The Soo can tie the 2004-05 Knights for best OHL regular-season record ever (120 points) if they win out.
19. Off-ice news continues to dominate the Sudbury Wolves. City council has approved a plan put forth by Wolves owner Dario Zulich for a new arena, hotel and casino but the project has residents debating.
20. Windsor was up front about its rebuild and, for the most part, followed through by trading most of its big guns. But the biggest headline during their fire sale is that they didn’t move goalie Michael DiPietro.
21. The Hamilton Bulldogs are reaching out to fans to find a new goal song to play after every marker. I’m thinking it has to be something by Snoop Dogg, MC Hammer, Steel Panther or Three Dog Night.