Hits and misses
Award winners, predictions I got right (but mostly wrong), proof expansion can work and farewell to the Stache
The OHL 21 is all about accountability.
I don’t just make predictions and then scurry away.
No, I revisit my prophecies to revel in the wins (few) and minimize the losses (many) from six months back. So, what did I learn?
I’m good at picking losers, overrate age in the Ontario Hockey League and backing London is never a bad thing.
1. I’m going to give myself a nice big Barry Horowitz pat on the back for picking Sudbury Wolves star David Goyette to win the league scoring title. The Seattle Kraken prospect finished with 117 points in 68 games, six more than runner-up Anthony Romani of North Bay.
2. I had Saginaw and London going one-two in the west. I got the teams correct, just not the order. The Knights won their final game to finish with 104 points, two more than the Spirit, to claim the Hamilton Spectator Trophy.
3. I joke a lot at the Knights’ expense in this space, but it comes from a place of love. The club finished with a record of 50-14-1-3, lost three times in regulation since Christmas and has won the OHL regular-season crown seven times since 2004. Sick. Wicked. Nasty.
4. Loved seeing the Knights singing along and dancing arm-in-arm in a circle to the Opus’s banger “Live is Life” in the dressing room after claiming the hardware. The only thing missing was coach Dale Hunter hitting the Griddy in the middle.
5. Say this, I have a knack for picking teams on the downswing. I went four-for-four on clubs to miss the playoffs, getting Sarnia, Windsor, Peterborough and Niagara correct. I take no pleasure in this. OK, I take a little.
6. I went .500 on teams to snag home-ice advantage. That’s four of eight for the math challenged. Guelph and Owen Sound, you let me down. Sudbury and Ottawa, too. This is the point where I should do a George Costanza and end the column on a high note.
7. Still here? Oh man. Well, let’s start with the Kitchener Rangers. I believe I said “squeak into the playoffs” in my preview. Something like “lucky to win one playoff round” might have also appeared. Instead, the Blueshirts were the best team in the OHL in the first half and finished sixth overall.
8. I suppose I owe Oshawa an apology, too. I had the Gens eighth in the east. Yep, you guessed it. They won the conference. I figured next season was the big one. Still might be. As one of the youngest teams in the OHL, the ’Shwa proved that age doesn’t always drive wins.
9. Other gaffes by yours truly: the Brantford Bulldogs (had them sixth, finished third), Erie Otters (pegged as eighth, finished fifth) and Soo Greyhounds (had them fifth in the west but were third best in the OHL).
10. On to the awards. The Brownies? Kind of has a nice ring to it. Let’s start with coach of the year. Oshawa’s Derek Laxdal deserves strong consideration for winning a conference that saw nine points separate first to sixth. Much love to Jay McKee in Brantford, too, who balanced youth and injuries yet finished third.
11. In the west, there’s Saginaw’s Chris Lazary. Yes, he had a stacked roster, but you try managing all that talent. A Finnish fist pump also goes out to Kitchener’s Jussi Ahokas, who took a team most had finishing out of the playoffs to fourth in the top-heavy west.
12. The winner? Has to be Hunter in London. Dude knows how to coach. The Knights are a force. Every. Single. Year. He hasn’t won it since 2010. It’s his time.
13. Where would Owen Sound be without freshman goalie Carter George? Probably out of the playoffs. He tied for first in shutouts (4), was second in save percentage (.907) and third in games played (56). Oh, and he’s only 17. An easy rookie of the year.
14. Goalie of the year goes to Oshawa’s Jacob Oster. Just look at his line — 35 wins, 2.82 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage. And to think the Generals got him for 2 ⁄ seasons in a trade with 1 2
Guelph for G Patrick Leaver who’s not even in the league. Take a bow GM Roger Hunt.
15. There will be calls for Saginaw’s Zayne Parekh for dandiest d-man, but I’m giving it to Kitchener’s Hunter Brzustewicz, who tied a franchise record for points by a rearguard in a single season (92) on a team with less weapons than the Memorial Cup hosts.
16. And finally player of the year. For me, it’s London’s Easton Cowan. He finished seventh in scoring with 96 points but played 14 fewer games than Goyette. But it’s not just the points. The Maple Leafs prospect is a game-changer on the ice. Oh, and there’s his 36-game point scoring streak.
17. Top GM is tough. But a big bow-wow goes to Matt Turek in Brantford, who managed to rebuild and contend at the same time this season. His last two first rounders have also been gold in Jake O’Brien and Marek Vanacker. And how about getting 34 goals from free agent Florian Xhekaj?
18. Speaking of Brantford, for years we have heard that expansion will never work in the OHL. Well, the Bulldogs — and their rabid fan base — proved that there are new markets ready and waiting in the province. Would love to see a couple of more teams added to the loop.
19. So, east champs Oshawa would have been fourth in the west. Can we please just rank the top 16 teams in order for the playoffs regardless of conference? One plays 16, two gets 15, etc. That way we have the best two teams in the championship.
20. Commish David Branch’s days are dwindling as he gets set to pass the torch to his yet-to-be named replacement. Happy retirement DB. I’ll miss our annual calls to discuss suspensions.
21. And with that, the top five moustaches in the OHL in recent times: Branch, Windsor Spitfires reporter Jim Parker, retired London Free Press scribe Morris Dalla Costa, OHL grad Arber Xhekaj and every greasy duster grown by players during Movember.