Why this could be the second-best London Knights team ever

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This is shaping up to be one of the greatest London Knights seasons in the franchise’s storied history.

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The defending Ontario Hockey League champs are 27-6 and atop the standings at the Christmas break. They are ranked No. 1 in the Canadian Hockey League and are the mid-point favourites to lift the Memorial Cup trophy this spring at Rimouski, Que.

The Knights reeled off a 19-game win streak through the fall but the most promising sign was what happened after it ended Dec. 6 against Oshawa: London won four of its next five games and beat all the other Western Conference contenders – Windsor, Kitchener, Erie – while missing Canadian world junior players Easton Cowan, Oliver Bonk and Sam Dickinson.

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That proved this roster has the ability to overcome the loss of star talent and keep rolling. It also told the Spitfires, Rangers and Otters they better bring in some more help if they hope to compete with London in the playoffs.

If not, it’s going to take a loaded-up Eastern Conference power – Barrie, Brampton, Oshawa or Niagara – to knock London off its pedestal. We’ll know by the Jan. 10 trade deadline if they did enough.

STACKING UP AGAINST HISTORY

The Knights are on pace to win 54 games, which would be second in club history behind the 2004-05 Memorial Cup champs.

One of the members of that ‘Team of the Century’ was asked what he thought of this year’s edition so far: “Unreal,” he texted.

Their ultimate place in history, of course, will be dictated by how they perform in the playoffs – the 04-05 team, the 2015-16 Memorial Cup champs and last year’s crew all finished with 16-2 records on the way to OHL titles. The current roster’s road record is ridiculous (14-2) but the power play success rate (28.5 per cent) is not quite at the same level as last year’s historic run (32.6 per cent). But there is still time to change that and the personnel is basically the same.

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THE ALL-STAR CAST

The Knights fell into some early good fortune when reigning OHL MVP Easton Cowan (Maple Leafs) and Kasper Halttunen (Sharks) were returned for their 19-year-old seasons.

You throw in Denver Barkey (Flyers), Oliver Bonk (Flyers) and Sam Dickinson (Sharks), and London boasts five of the top 20 players in the league. They also have an eye-popping 13 NHL-drafted skaters on their roster.

They replaced No. 1 goaltender Michael Simpson with the tandem of over-ager Austin Elliott (14-0 record) and rookie Alexei Medvedev, one of the top goalie prospects in junior hockey, and it’s worked. The blue line is not yet at the level of last year’s top four – Bonk, Dickinson, Isaiah George, Jackson Edward – but the additions of Cam Allen from Guelph and free-agent signing Andoni Fimis are a big help.

THE ‘MAGIC’ FORMULA

Every one of London’s five league championship teams shared a special bond. They loved coming to the rink and being together. That ‘glue’ intangible follows nearly every winning club.

The younger players have to respect the veterans but the vets also have to make the rookies and sophomores feel like part of the group. Logan Hawery, the Knights’ rookie first-round forward, thought that imperative step developed early in his half-season with the team.

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“It starts with off the ice and how we bond away from the rink,” the 16-year-old said. “I think we’ve done that really well. That leads to the good stuff on the ice.”

It shows.

Over-ager Jacob Julien and Lawery hooked up on a beautiful goal in Erie last week and displayed some easy chemistry.

“He’s just a fantastic player,” Julien said of Hawery. “He’s really smart and easy to work with. He makes the simple plays and some fancy ones, right? He was really good in the defensive zone and makes it easy breaking the puck out and getting in on the defensive side.”

An older player’s confidence in a rookie just breeds more good feeling. This Knights group knows what it takes to win and they keep proving it.

CONSISTENCY IS KEY

Cowan has recorded a point in 56 straight regular-season games so his reliability factor is off the charts.

Dickinson leads the team in scoring as a defenceman and is rarely denied on the scoresheet.

Elliott hasn’t lost yet in net and Landon Sim brings the same up-tempo energy every single outing. Those are the obvious ones.

But the beauty of this Knights squad is they don’t rely on a handful of world junior stars and top NHL picks to get it done.

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Sure, they have plenty of those but head coach Dale Hunter finds creative ways to get the most production out of every player.

That is what made the 2004-05 team such a winning force and this team shares a lot of those qualities. It will be interesting to see if GM Mark Hunter makes more additions before the trade deadline. He doesn’t really have to – not with Allen’s arrival and highly skilled Senators prospect Blake Montgomery adapting so well up front to the major junior game.

You can bank on Islanders pick Jesse Nurmi’s improvement once he returns from world juniors with Finland and Halttunen’s personal production will obviously ramp up when he returns, too. It’s clear this is a memorable Knights team.

Now, the only thing left to do is see if they can replicate last year’s success – and take it one game further.

rpyette@postmedia.com

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