EASTERN CONFERENCE

OSHAWA GENERALS

The bench: Coach Bob Jones won’t start the season because of illness, so assistants Greg Nemisz and Nathan McIver will run the bench. Last year: 40-23-3-2 85 points, third in East; lost in second round to Mississauga in 5. Big names: It was a bummer to trade away captain Anthony Cirelli and d-man Mitch Vande Sompel at the last deadline, but the Gens will enjoy ex-Otters first-rounder Allan McShane for years. He had 21 points in 29 game at age 16 with his new team . . . Just try to stop Domenic Commisso from leading this club offensively. He’ll outwork you and get there, anyway . . . Jack Studnicka (Bruins) doubled his points from his rookie season. Now, he’s the captain. The stat: The Gennies have won at least 40 games four of the last five years. They’ll probably do it again. Prediction: They’ll push old rival Peterborough at the top once more.

HAMILTON BULLDOGS

The bench: Coach John Gruden returns for a second season; ex-Wolves coach David Matsos signed on as an assistant. Last year: 33-27-4-4 74 points, fifth in East; lost in first round, seventhgame OT to Kingston. Big names: Matthew (Flyers) became third Strome brother to lead an OHL team in scoring last year. Next trick will be to join Dylan and Ryan with 100-point season . . . Will Bitten (Canadiens) didn’t score as much as everyone thought when he was acquired from Flint. He should be well over a point-a-game this time . . . Connor McMichael is a pretty awesome name to have as a hockey player these days. He’s Hamilton’s first rounder and was a potent minor midget scorer. The stat: 200 (goals allowed, or less). That should be an achievable target with their defence corps returning. Prediction: They’re top four all the way on this side.

KINGSTON FRONTENACS

The bench: American Jay Varady is in at coach, replacing Paul McFarland, now assistant with the Florida Panthers. Last year: 33-26-5-4 75 points, fourth in East; swept by Peterborough in second round. Big names: Jason Robertson (Stars) scored 42 goals last year. No one else had more than 26. He also racked up 18 points in 11 playoff games . . . That 26 belonged to Finn Linus Nyman, who scored a Game 7 OT winner against Hamilton . . . Goalie Jeremy Helvig (Hurricanes) recorded six shutouts in 2016-17, a franchise record . . . Finnish defender Eemeli Rasanen (Leafs) had 30 points on the power play in his first OHL season. The stat: Doug Gilmour had 177 points with Cornwall in 1982-83. The team he built last year scored a league-low 179 goals. Prediction: They’ll find enough offence and face Hamilton in another epic first-round series.

NIAGARA ICEDOGS

The bench: The Burke family calls every shot — Bill and Denise own the team, son Billy coaches it and son Joey is the GM. Last year: 23-35-6-4 56 points, eighth in East; swept by Peterborough in first round. Big names: Akil Thomas was only 16-year-old to score 20 goals in the league last year . . . He and Oliver Castleman (18-22-40) are the offensive future . . . Johnny Corneil, now the captain, scored 30 on pure grit and desire . . . Kirill Maksimov (Oilers) should put up a lot of points. That was a good get from the Spirit . . . No goalie made more saves than workhorse Stephen Dhillon (2,114) last year. Here’s hoping he doesn’t have to make as many this season. The stat: Lucky Dogs had 310 power-play opportunities in 2016-17. That was second in the league, behind only Flint. Prediction: Fourteen rookies played in St. Catharines last season, that experience will pay off this year.

NORTH BAY BATTALION

The bench: Stan Butler is celebrating 20 years as Battalion coach. Last year: 24-38-4-2 54 points, ninth in East; out of playoffs. Big names: A healthy Cam Dineen (Coyotes) means everything to the Troops’ back end. He’ll put up a bunch of points. A full season of Riley Bruce (Flames) will help, too . . . Overage forward Brett McKenzie (Canucks) led the way at a point-agame pace last season. He’s a difference-maker . . . Justin Brazeau is big and capable of putting the puck in the net. He might get 30-plus goals this season. The stat: The Battalion must fix the worst home power play in the league. They only scored 21 times on it last season. Prediction: They missed the playoffs for the first time in 15 years — that won’t happen again.

BARRIE COLTS

The bench: Dale Hawerchuk’s eighth season as coach. Last year: 17-44-6-1 41 points, 10th in East; out of playoffs. Big names: First overall pick Ryan Suzuki’s brother Nick (Attack) scored 20 goals in his first OHL season. You know he would like to beat that . . . He’ll have some import help with Russians Andrei Svechnikov and Alexey Lipanov . . . Colts brought in veteran goalie Leo Lazarev from Ottawa. He played 43 games last year for the 67’s . . . Small forward Lucas Chiodo looks like a point-per-game forward. The stat: Despite their woes, Barrie was pretty scrappy. They earned 23 points from shootouts and overtime, third-best in the conference. Prediction: Better, but still awfully young.

OTTAWA 67’S

The bench: Andre Tourigny, who coached Halifax last year, is behind the 67’s bench. He used to be a Senators assistant. Last year: 26-34-7-1 60 points, seventh in East; lost in first round to Mississauga in 6. Big names: Barber Poles need big season out of Sasha Chmelevski (Sharks), Sarnia’s former first pick. He had 21 goals last year . . . Austen Keating should lead the team in scoring. He was second last year with 63 points . . . Noel Hoefenmayer (14-26-40) gives the squad a little offensive punch at the back. The stat: The 67’s only won five playoff games in three years for ex-coach Jeff Brown. Prediction: They won’t win any postseason games this year, either.

SUDBURY WOLVES

The bench: Long-time NHLer Cory Stillman is sixth head coach since 2009. Last year: 27-34-7-0 61 points, sixth in East; lost in firstst round to Oshawa in 6. Big names: Russian Dmitry Sokolov (Wild) had 48 goals last year. He could lead the league in that category in his third season . . . Ex-first overall pick David Levin (18-35-53) needs to be a gamechanger now . . . Macauley Carson has turned into a confident scorer. He’ll improve on last year’s 30 goals . . . Goalie Jake McGrath had an interesting year. The Wolves were the only OHL team without a shootout loss — but they dropped seven in overtime. The stat: The Wolves were the OHL’s most penalized team in 2016-17 (982 minutes). Stillman wasn’t a big PIMs guy in his career, so it’ll be interesting to see if things change. Prediction: It’ll take a while to turn around.