OHL Eastern Conference
CENTRAL DIVISION Mississauga IceDogs (34- 21- 12- 1) Off-season trade saw the club ship goalie David Shantz to Peterborough for forwards Jadran Beljo and Jordan Grant. Head coach Greg Gilbert has goalie Michael Ouzas, defencemen David Pszenyczny and Justin Dacosta set as the team’s over-agers entering the season. Imports are also set with Finnish rookie Oskar Osala and Czech sophomore Vladimir Svacina. Barrie Colts (33- 23-9-3) The Colts are once again led by standout centre Bryan Little (68 points), who returns for his third OHL campaign. Hunter Tremblay and Travis Fuller also key returnees. Traded goalie Francois Thuot to Saginaw for a draft pick in August, leaving Dan LaCosta and his 2.86 GAA as the last line of defence. Brampton Battalion (33- 24-9- 2) Leading scorer Wojtek Wolski (73 points) recently signed a three-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche. The first-rounder (21st overall pick in 2004) is still in camp with the Avalanche. The troops will need Mississauga native Luch Aquino (71 points), Howie Martin and sophomore defenceman Michael Vernace to pick up the slack. Stan Butler’s squad is always defensively sound and this year is no exception, especially with goalie Daren Machesney back for his third season. With rookie Bryan Pitton joining the squad this year, look for over-age netminder Kevin Couture to find a new home. Sudbury Wolves (32- 23-6- 7) Most penalized team in the league last season, the Wolves will have to work hard to avoid the sin bin with the new rules crackdown. Big things are expected once again from Minnesota first-rounder (fourth overall) Benoit Pouliot (67 points) and sophomore Nick Foligno up front, and Marc Staal, Adam McQuaid and Jonathan D’Aversa on the blue line. German goalie Patrick Ehelechner graduates, leaving the bulk of the duties to backup Kevin Beech. St. Michael’s Majors (29-30-6-3) The Majors hope to avoid another dismal start to the season this year, after squeaking into the playoffs and upsetting the IceDogs in round one. St. Mike’s loses feisty captain Darryl Boyce (50 points) but retains the offence of twins Tyler ( 43 points) and Justin (39 points) Donati and over-age Cory Vitarelli (39 points). Blueliners Ryan Wilson and Scott Lehman are back, as are goalies Justin Peters and Wayne Savage. EAST DIVISION Peterborough Petes (34- 21-9-4) The Petes should be the class of the conference this year with the return of a number of veterans including top scorers Liam Reddox and Daniel Ryder (82 points each), Jordan Morrison (64), Patrick Kaleta (52) and sophomore Jordan Staal (28). Ottawa 67’ s (34- 26- 7- 1) The defending Eastern Conference champs are always contenders with hall-of-fame coach Brian Kilrea. Last season’s surprising run should pay dividends this year with over-age top scorer Chris Hulit (71 points) and Julian Talbot (66) returning along with goalie Danny Battochio. Ottawa also stole forward Logan Couture, a projected top-three pick, with the 12th overall selection in the OHL draft. Belleville Bulls (29- 29-6-4) Forward Ryan Rorabeck is recovering from shoulder surgery and will be re-evaluated in the first week of October. Danish goalie Sebastian Dahm is pencilled in to back up 18-year-old returnee Kevin Lalande. The Bulls are expecting big things from sophomore forward John Hughes. Kingston Frontenacs (28-33-4-3) Coach Jim Hulton has his work cut out trying to guide this team to the post-season. The Fronts are carrying one over-age player, forward Todd Griffith. Sophomores Cory Emmerton and Ben Shutron have good potential. Picked up goalie Danny Taylor from Guelph in the off-season. Oshawa Generals (15-48-3- 2) The Gens have their imports set with returning Slovakian defenceman David Halasz and Swiss rookie goaltender Stefan Grauwiler. The Gens have an average group of forwards with some decent speed. Their back end is suspect, though.