The OHL 21: Eastern promise?
KITCHENER — There is excitement in the Ontario Hockey League’s Eastern Conference.
And it has been awhile since fans have said that.
Sure, there were great runs by Oshawa, Niagara and Mississauga in recent years but they were isolated events rather than conference domination. But this season seven teams in the East own winning percentages above .500 and every club is in playoff contention.
Meanwhile, the West is a mess. The notoriously deadly Midwest Division is struggling and only league-leading Sarnia and the Soo seem stable. So, it’s the year of the East, right? Well, maybe.
Even with the slow starts, Western teams are still 29-16-5-0 against the East as the league hits the quarter poll.
1. Barrie is 2-2 since sniper Andrei Svechnikov suffered a hand injury that will keep him sidelined for six to eight weeks. The Colts aren’t exactly flush with draft picks but maybe it’s time to go overage shopping. There are two openings for 20-year-olds on the roster.
2. Taylor Raddysh continues to up his trade stock. The Erie forward has five goals and 11 assists during his current nine-game point scoring streak and the Otters have won five of their past six games.
3. Add the Flint Firebirds as a team keeping tabs on the goaltending market. Starter Garrett Forrest has allowed 21 goals in his past four games — all losses — and was yanked in two of those tilts. Backup Luke Cavallin is only 16 years old.
4. Guelph’s 4-0 win over London on Sunday snapped a six-game losing streak against the Knights stretching back about 21 months. But that’s nothing. Kitchener hasn’t defeated London in the past 14 tries.
5. It’s not a good time for Hamilton, losers of three straight, to stumble. The Bulldogs may have the hardest November schedule in the league. Only a date against Saginaw to end the month looks appetizing. If it wasn’t for OT/SO points, Hamilton would be two points out of the basement.
6. Kingston’s acquisition of Brendan Bonello from Saginaw on Monday leaves the club with three netminders and only cranks up the speculation that overage goalie Jeremy Helvig is on the move. The Fronts have one win in their past eight games.
7. Yes the Kitchener Rangers are 1-3 since trading defenceman Doug Blaisdell to Sudbury but that stretch also coincides with the injury to goalie Anthony Dumont-Bouchard. Let’s see how the team does with one of the best netminders in the league (statistically) in between the pipes before worrying about the record.
8. Well that didn’t take long. After a brutal start, the London Knights won four in a row before being shutout in Guelph on Sunday. The turnaround is a good reminder not to read too much into early season funks. Though let’s admit it, it was nice to see London struggle for a change.
9. Well that didn’t take long 2. The Mississauga Steelheads, who also under-delivered to start the campaign, have won three in a row and four of their past five. And the whispers of a Michael McLeod return are getting louder.
10. Niagara’s Akil Thomas recorded at least one assist in eight consecutive games earlier in the campaign, which is a league high this season. Since the streak ended, the IceDogs forward has no goals, one assist and is minus-four.
11. You have to feel for North Bay. The Battalion acquires potential goalie of the future Christian Propp from Owen Sound and the backstopper leaves the crease 5½ minutes into his debut after twisting his knee. At least the injury doesn’t look serious. He was walking around after the game and is listed as day-to-day.
12. There is an overage crunch in Oshawa that has forwards Kenny Huether, Hayden McCool, Mason Kohn and defenceman Alex Di Carlo fighting for ice time.
Kohn was recently scratched for five games and wants regular minutes. Now Di Carlo seems like the odd man out. Something has to give.
13. Keep an eye on Ottawa. The 67’s are two points out of first place in the East but, more importantly, are one of the best positioned clubs to make a major move due to their abundance of draft picks.
14. Is anyone else feeling like Owen Sound’s best shot to go for it was last season? This was supposed to be the year for the Attack but there are holes in the lineup. There is still time to fix things — goaltending, scoring depth — but last year’s squad seemed better.
15. So far Peterborough is getting the best value among first round picks from this year’s OHL draft. Centre Nick Robertson was taken 16th overall but is tied for third in rookie scoring with 10 points. Only first overall pick Ryan Suzuki is faring better.
16. Oh the rebuilding woes. Saturday sees Saginaw get absolutely hammered 11-3 by Ottawa. Then Sunday, the Spirit blew a 2-1 lead with 1:54 to go in Kingston before losing in overtime. The team could use some offensive help and there is an open OA spot.
17. Eight of Sarnia’s 14 victories are against eastern conference teams this season. But before you start thinking that the Sting has had it easy it’s worth pointing out that the team also has five wins against teams ranked second to sixth in the overall standings.
18. Goalie Tyler Johnson seemed like a bit of a throw-in to the deal that sent netminder Joseph Raaymakers from the Soo to London earlier this month. But the American sure looked sharp Sunday making 34 saves for his first OHL shutout as the ’Hounds blanked Flint.
19. Sudbury Wolves forward David Levin took a knee-on-knee hit against Niagara Saturday and is out for a couple of weeks. IceDogs forward Kyle Langdon was assessed a major penalty on the play but has yet to receive a suspension.
20. Three of Windsor forward Mathew MacDougall’s four goals are game winners. Talk about a clutch performance during your NHL draft year. Not a bad pick up for the Spits who sent a 14th and a conditional fourth-round pick to Barrie to acquire his rights.
21. Even with Sarnia’s blistering start the feeling, after informally polling a few NHL scouts over the past week, is that the OHL remains wide open. There really isn’t one team — yet — that looks to be on another level than the rest.