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The Ontario Hockey League feels different this time.
David Branch, the commissioner for 45 years, passed the baton to former Golf Canada executive Bryan Crawford.
The OHL’s parent circuit – the Canadian Hockey League – has replaced the Top Prospects Game by matching its best NHL draft-eligible players against the American national under-18 team in two games slated for London and Oshawa in November.
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There will be a day soon when skaters end up in the U.S. college ranks again after their major junior career. The NCAA’s best decades-old argument for banning them over ‘professional status’ is being challenged after its own athlete sponsorship rules changed.
On the ice, the OHL pipeline to the pros appears to be going strong. Brampton winger Porter Martone, Saginaw’s Michael Misa, rookie of the year Jake O’Brien from Brantford and Erie’s Matthew Schaefer and Malcolm Spence lead the list of elite young talents eligible for the 2025 NHL draft.
Not everything is new, of course.
The London Knights, whether or not Easton Cowan sticks with the Toronto Maple Leafs, look strong again. But there are a handful of teams in position to supplant the defending OHL champs.
Brampton was a tepid market in its first go-round with the Battalion, but the Mississauga Steelheads relocated there this past summer and are contenders right away.
They still won’t get the support enjoyed by fellow hopefuls Oshawa, Barrie and Brantford, whose Bulldogs became an instant hit after leaving Hamilton.
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Saginaw won the Memorial Cup over the rival Knights in June. The two other American OHL markets – Erie and Flint – are poised to make some noise this time.
The fun gets going when the Spirit raise its Cup banner to the rafters Wednesday before facing the up-and-coming Windsor Spitfires. After that, anything is possible. That’s what makes the junior ranks so compelling.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
London Knights
- Last year: 50 wins, 104 points. Won OHL title. Lost Memorial Cup final to Saginaw.
- Head coach: Dale Hunter could reach 1,000-win milestone this season.
- NHL campers: 17, including Sharks first-rounder Sam Dickinson.
- Watch for: Who returns. What will the Maple Leafs do with reigning OHL MVP Easton Cowan? Will hard-shooting Kasper Halttunen (San Jose) and Jacob Julien (Jets) be back? Everything in flux until it gets sorted out.
- Prediction: Power play will still be NHL picks galore. First again.
Flint Firebirds
- Last year: 30 wins, 65 points. Eighth in West. Lost to London in first round in 4.
- Head coach: Paul Flache took over last year after Ted Dent was fired two games into the season.
- NHL campers: Eight, including goalie Nathan Day (Oilers).
- Watch for: Kaden Pitre (Lightning) had 30 points in just 35 games last season . . . Connor Clattenburg (Oilers) should do some damage and big D Blake Smith will keep opposing scorers honest.
- Prediction: Time for a run.
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Prediction: Riding the Cup afterglow.
Guelph Storm
- Head coach: Cory Stillman previously coached three years in Sudbury.
- NHL camps: 7, including 25-goal man Jake Karabela (back from Stars camp).
- Watch for: Londoner Jett Luchanko (Flyers) led the team in scoring as a sophomore . . . D-man Cam Allen (Capitals) should be dominant after injury woes . . . Goalie Brayden Gillespie has chance to be one of league’s most reliable stoppers.
- Prediction: Back on track.
Sarnia Sting
- Last year: 33 wins, 73 points. Sixth in West. Lost to Sault Ste. Marie in first round in 4.
- Last year: 25 wins, 54 points. 9th in West. Missed playoffs.
- Head coach: Alan Letang starts season suspended for the first three games.
- NHL campers: Three, including hard-battling blue-liner Lukas Fischer (Blues second-rounder).
- Watch for: Zach Filak (24 goals last year) should pace offence . . . Rookie Beckham Edwards could be an instant point-producer . . . Russian Ruslan Karimov (sixth overall in import draft) will be one of the best young Europeans in the Canadian Hockey League.
- Prediction: Begin to buzz again.
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