OHL’s Draft Eligible Statistical Leaders: February

Posted on by Dominic Tiano

With all due respect to London Knights’ star defenceman Evan Bouchard, were it not for a two-month absence of Barrie Colts’ superstar Andrei Svechnikov, things may look a little different then they do statistically as we roll into the final couple weeks of the Ontario Hockey League season.

As you may be aware by now, I am a big fan of Bouchard, but one cannot deny that a healthy Svechnikov would change the leader board. However, for the third time this season, both were named by the OHL as best defenceman and best rookie respectively.

Andrei Svechnikovof the Barrie Colts. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.
Andrei Svechnikov of the Barrie Colts. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.

Bouchard led all draft eligible players in points with 76. He is followed by Akil Thomas of the Niagara IceDogs with 68. A trio of players that includes Aidan Dudas of the Owen Sound Attack, Ryan McLeod of the Mississauga Steelheads and Ryan Merkley of the Guelph Storm are tied for third with 58 points. Only Allan McShane of the Oshawa Generals lies between them and Svechnikov.

It goes without saying then that Bouchard also leads defencemen in scoring. Not only the draft eligible defencemen but all defencemen, and barring a meltdown in the final 9 games, he should end the season at the top of the list. Merkley sits in second place while Rasmus Sandin of the Soo Greyhounds places third with 39 points.

Despite playing in 20-plus fewer games, Svechnikov leads the way in goal scoring with 31. He is followed by Dudas with 28. Pavel Gogolev of the Peterborough Petes, who is climbing fast, comes in third with 26 goals.

Here is a list of leaders (first time draft eligible players) in a variety of categories. For official stats, always refer to the OHL website.

Points Leaders
Player Team GP G A Pts
Evan Bouchard London Knights 58 21 55 76
Akil Thomas Niagara IceDogs 59 19 49 68
Aidan Dudas Owen Sound Attack 59 28 30 58
Ryan McLeod Mississauga Steelheads 60 19 39 58
Ryan Merkley Guelph Storm 54 12 46 58
Allan McShane Oshawa Generals 59 17 39 56
Andrei Svechnikov Barrie Colts 36 31 24 55
Barrett Hayton Soo Greyhounds 57 20 34 54
Cam Hillis Guelph Storm 57 19 35 54
Ty Dellandrea Flint Firebirds 59 23 27 50
Goal Scoring Leaders
Player Team GP G GPG
Andrei Svechnikov Barrie Colts 36 31 0.86
Aidan Dudas Owen Sound Attack 59 28 0.47
Pavel Gogolev Peterborough Petes 57 26 0.46
Serron Noel Oshawa Generals 54 25 0.46
Ty Dellandrea Flint Firebirds 59 23 0.39
Evan Bouchard London Knights 58 21 0.36
Barrett Hayton Soo Greyhounds 57 20 0.35
Liam Foudy London Knights 56 20 0.36
Akil Thomas Niagara IceDogs 59 19 0.32
Ryan McLeod Mississauga Steelheads 60 19 0.32
Assist Leaders
Player Team GP A APG
Evan Bouchard London Knights 58 55 0.95
Akil Thomas Niagara IceDogs 59 49 0.83
Ryan Merkley Guelph Storm 54 46 0.85
Allan McShane Oshawa Generals 59 39 0.66
Ryan McLeod Mississauga Steelheads 60 39 0.65
Cam Hillis Guelph Storm 57 35 0.61
Barrett Hayton Soo Greyhounds 57 34 0.60
Nathan Dunkley London Knights 51 32 0.63
Rasmus Sandin Soo Greyhounds 43 31 0.72
Semyon Der-Arguchintsev Peterborough Petes 59 30 0.51
Defencemen Point Leaders
Player Team GP G A Pts
Evan Bouchard London Knights 58 21 55 76
Ryan Merkley Guelph Storm 54 12 46 58
Rasmus Sandin Soo Greyhounds 43 8 31 39
Giovanni Vallati Kitchener Rangers 57 3 20 23
Merrick Rippon Ottawa 67’s 59 3 18 21
Riley McCourt Flint Firebirds 48 4 16 20
Caleb Everett Saginaw Spirit 50 5 14 19
Connor Corcoran Windsor Spitfires 54 3 16 19
Plus/Minus Leaders
Player Team GP +/-
Rasmus Sandin Soo Greyhounds 43 +33
Barrett Hayton Soo Greyhounds 57 +26
Tyler Tucker Barrie Colts 52 +21
Ryan Roth Soo Greyhounds 60 +19
Andrei Svechnikov Barrie Colts 36 +16
Evan Bouchard London Knights 58 +16
Nathan Dunkley London Knights 51 +15
Curtis Douglas Windsor Spitfires 57 +14
Alec Regula London Knights 58 +12
Holden Wale Soo Greyhounds 33 +11
Penalty Minutes Leaders
Player Team GP PIM M/G
Tyler Tucker Barrie Colts 52 75 1.44
Kevin Bahl Ottawa 67’s 50 72 1.44
Daylon Groulx Owen Sound Attack 49 70 1.43
Merrick Rippon Ottawa 67’s 39 63 1.62
Curtis Douglas Windsor Spitfires 57 61 1.07
Ryan Merkley Guelph Storm 54 59 1.09
Max Grondin Saginaw Spirit 58 59 1.02
Faceoff Leaders  (minimum 200 faceoffs)
Player Team GP FOA FOW %
Billy Moskal London Knights 57 633 371 58.6
Nathan Dunkley London Knights 51 564 314 55.7
Allan McShane Oshawa Generals 59 737 410 55.6
Akil Thomas Niagara IceDogs 59 992 535 53.9
Ryan McLeod Mississauga Steelheads 60 1238 662 53.5
David Levin Sudbury Wolves 41 342 176 51.5
Blade Jenkins Saginaw Spirit 60 244 123 50.4
Ty Dellandrea Flint Firebirds 59 1292 647 50.1
Cam Hillis Guelph Storm 57 913 455 49.8
Max Grondin Saginaw Spirit 58 636 317 49.8
Aidan Dudas Owen Sound Attack 59 815 404 49.6
Longest Goal Scoring Streak
Player Team From To Gms Goals
Andrei Svechnikov Barrie Colts 1/26 2/9 7 11
Brady Hinz Sarnia Sting 10/9 10/19 5 7
Allan McShane Oshawa Generals 2/2 2/19 5 6
Kody Clark Ottawa 67’s 10/12 10/21 5 6
Nathan Dunkley Kingston Frontenacs 11/26 12/3 4 5
Longest Assist Streak
Player Team From To Gms Assts
Ryan Merkley Guelph Storm 10/22 11/16 9 13
Akil Thomas Niagara IceDogs 9/30 10/19 8 10
Evan Bouchard London Knights 2/10 2/25 8 10
Ryan McLeod Mississauga Steelheads 10/27 11/9 6 9
Rasmus Sandin Soo Greyhounds 12/29 1/10 6 6
Longest Point Streak
Player Team From To Gms Pts
Andrei Svechnikov Barrie Colts 1/18 2/25 15 29
Ryan McLeod Mississauga Steelheads 10/6 11/10 14 20
Akil Thomas Niagara Ice Dogs 12/9 1/13 12 18
Allan McShane Oshawa Generals 1/27 2/19 11 19
Ryan Merkley Guelph Storm 11/19 12/15 10 16
Shooting Percentage
Player Team GP G S %
Serron Noel Oshawa Generals 54 25 95 26.32
Andrei Svechnikov Barrie Colts 36 31 137 22.63
Nathan Dunkley London Knights 52 18 87 20.69
Brady Hinz Peterborough Petes 60 18 89 20.22
Cam Hillis Guelph Storm 57 19 98 19.39
Shots On Goal Leaders
Player Team GP SOG
Evan Bouchard London Knights 58 252
Ty Dellandrea Flint Firebirds 59 215
Aidan Dudas Owen Sound Attack 59 203
Akil Thomas Niagara IceDogs 59 177
Pavel Gogolev Peterborough Petes 57 161
Goaltenders Leaders – Goals Against Average
Player Team GP Min GA Avg
Jordan Kooy London Knights 21 1000 52 3.12
Kai Edmonds Barrie Colts 16 750 40 3.20
Nick Donofrio Hamilton Bulldogs 14 741 40 3.24
Jacob Ingham Mississauga Steelheads 38 2136 134 3.76
Mario Peccia Oshawa Generals 9 390 26 4.00
Goaltending Leaders – Save Percentage
Player Team GP SH  SVS SV%
Jordan Kooy London Knights 21 529 477 0.902
Kai Edmonds Barrie Colts 16 371 331 0.892
Nick Donofrio Hamilton Bulldogs 14 342 302 0.883
Jacob Ingham Mississauga Steelheads 38 1098 964 0.878
Mario Peccia Oshawa Generals 9 209 183 0.876
Goaltending Leaders – Wins
Player Team GP W L OL
Jacob Ingham Mississauga Steelheads 39 13 20 2
Nick Donofrio Hamilton Bulldogs 14 9 1 1
Jordan Kooy London Knights 21 8 7 1
Kai Edmonds Barrie Colts 16 7 4 0
Cameron Lamour Saginaw Spirit 15 5 5 1
Goaltending Leaders – Shutouts
Player Team GP SO
Mario Peccia Oshawa Generals 9 1
Nick Donofrio Hamilton Bulldogs 14 1
Kai Edmonds Barrie Colts 16 1

OHL Top Performers of the Month for February

Posted on by Dominic Tiano

Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced the Top OHL Performers of the Month for regular season games played in February 2018, including Barrie Colts forward Aaron Luchuk, London Knights defenceman Evan Bouchard, Barrie Colts rookie Andrei Svechnikov and Kingston Frontenacs goaltender Jeremy Helvig.


 OHL Player of the Month – Aaron Luchuk (Barrie Colts):
Ottawa Senators prospect Aaron Luchuk of the Barrie Colts is the OHL Player of the Month for February, leading all players with 26 points including six goals, 20 assists and a plus/minus rating of plus-9. Luchuk recorded points in all 12 games he played, extending his current point streak to 18 games, two shy of the OHL’s season-high. He earned first star honours on three different occasions, starting in a 6-2 win over his former Windsor Spitfires teammates with a goal and three assists on Feb. 3rd. Luchuk was again named first star in an 8-5 road win over the Flint Firebirds on Feb. 14th, recording a goal and two assists. His top performance of the month came in his return to the WFCU Centre on Feb. 15th as he netted the overtime winner and added three assists in a 5-4 Colts win. Eight of Luchuk’s 12 games featured multi-point outputs as he guided the Central Division-leading Colts to a 9-3-0-0 record in the month of February.

Aaron Luchuk of the Barrie Colts. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.
Aaron Luchuk of the Barrie Colts. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.


 A 20-year-old native of Kingston, Ont., Luchuk sits tied for second in league scoring with 99 points including a league-leading 43 goals and 56 assist in 60 games. He scored the game winner in last spring’s Mastercard Memorial Cup final, leading the Windsor Spitfires to a national championship on home ice. Originally Windsor’s fourth round pick in the 2013 OHL Priority Selection, Luchuk’s strong performance this season earned him an entry level NHL contract with the Ottawa Senators on Dec. 26th.


 OHL Defenceman of the Month – Evan Bouchard (London Knights):
For the third time this season, draft eligible blueliner Evan Bouchard of the London Knights is the OHL Defenceman of the Month after leading all blueliners with 16 points including five goals and 11 assists. After starting the month with two goals and an assist in an 8-4 loss to the Barrie Colts on Feb. 2nd, Bouchard was named first star on two occasions. He had two assists to claim top honours in a 5-3 win over the Sudbury Wolves on Feb. 10th and had a goal and an assist in a 3-1 win over the Windsor Spitfires on Feb. 19th. Bouchard also put forth a second three-point performance with two goals and an assist in a 6-2 win over Kitchener on Feb. 16th. Bouchard becomes the first three-time recipient of the OHL Defenceman of the Month award since Niagara’s Dougie Hamilton earned the distinction four times during the 2011-12 season.

Evan Bouchard of the London Knights. Photo by Aaron Bell/OHL Images
Evan Bouchard of the London Knights. Photo by Aaron Bell/OHL Images


 An 18-year-old native of Oakville, Ont., Bouchard leads OHL defencemen in points (76) and assists (55) along with 21 goals in 58 games. The right-hand shot rearguard has 137 points (34-103–137) over his 169-game OHL career and was an OHL champion and Mastercard Memorial Cup champion with the Knights during his rookie season in 2016. Bouchard was NHL Central Scouting’s fifth-ranked North American skater in January’s Midterm Rankings. He led Team Cherry to victory at the 2018 Sherwin-Williams CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Guelph, setting a new event record with four assists to earn MVP honours for his team. Bouchard was London’s first round pick in the 2015 OHL Priority Selection from the Oakville Rangers Minor Midgets.


 OHL Rookie of the Month – Andrei Svechnikov (Barrie Colts):
For the third time this season, draft eligible forward Andrei Svechnikov of the Barrie Colts is the OHL Rookie of the Month after leading all first-year players with 17 points including eight goals and nine assists. Svechnikov had points in all nine games he played, extending his current point streak to 15 contests. The Russian winger had six different multi-point performances, helping the Colts earn an honourable mention in the CHL Top 10 Rankings to close out the month. He recorded his third hat-trick of the season on Feb. 3rd, helping the Colts defeat the Windsor Spitfires 6-2. He added two more goals a week later as Barrie took a 5-1 road win in Hamilton on Feb. 8th. Svechnikov’s other three-point showing came on Feb. 22nd with a goal and two assists in a 7-4 loss to the Mississauga Steelheads. He’s the first three-time OHL Rookie of the Month award recipient since Mississauga’s Alexander Nylander accomplished the feat during the 2015-16 season.

Andrei Svechnikovof the Barrie Colts. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.
Andrei Svechnikov of the Barrie Colts. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.


 A 17-year-old native of Barnaul, Russia, Svechnikov leads OHL rookies in both goals (31) and points (55) over just 36 games. He represented Russia at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship in Buffalo, recording five assists in as many games against much older competition. The top-ranked North American skater in NHL Central Scouting’s January Midterm Rankings, Svechnikov represented Team Orr at the 2018 Sherwin-Williams CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Guelph. He was the first overall pick of the 2017 CHL Import Draft.


 Vaughn OHL Goaltender of the Month – Jeremy Helvig (Kingston Frontenacs):
Carolina Hurricanes prospect Jeremy Helvig of the Kingston Frontenacs is the Vaughn OHL Goaltender of the Month for February. The overage veteran led all netminders with a 2.32 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage over nine games, guiding the Frontenacs to a 6-1-2-0 record in the process. Helvig earned first star honours on three different occasions. He earned top honours on Feb. 3rd, guiding the Frontenacs to a 5-3 win over the Niagara IceDogs with a 36-save effort. He made 23 saves to backstop the Fronts to a 2-1 win over the Peterborough Petes on Feb. 16th and followed that effort up by setting a new all-time franchise record with his 76th win on Feb. 18th, turning aside 29 shots in a 6-1 win over the Kitchener Rangers. He finished the month of February by helping Kingston earn a point with 30 saves in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Hamilton Bulldogs on Feb. 23rd.

Jeremy Helvig of the Kingston Frontenacs. Photo by Aaron Bell/OHL Images
Jeremy Helvig of the Kingston Frontenacs. Photo by Aaron Bell/OHL Images


 A 20-year-old native of Markham, Ont., Helvig leads OHL goaltenders with a .920 save percentage to go along with a 2.53 goals-against average, a record of 27-13-6-3 and two shutouts in 49 games. Kingston’s all-time career wins and shutouts leader, Helvig is currently in his fourth season with the club, playing to a record of 77-46-12-7 with a 2.70 goals-against average, .912 save percentage and 10 shutouts over 149 games. Originally Kingston’s third round pick in the 2013 OHL Priority Selection from the Markham Majors Minor Midgets, he was Carolina’s fifth round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft.


 2017-18 OHL Performers of the Month:
 Player of the Month:
February – Aaron Luchuk (Barrie Colts)
January – Sam Miletic (Niagara IceDogs)
December – Morgan Frost (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds)
November – Jordan Kyrou (Sarnia Sting)
October – Jordan Kyrou (Sarnia Sting)
 Defenceman of the Month:
February – Evan Bouchard (London Knights)
January – Nicolas Hague (Mississauga Steelheads)
December – Evan Bouchard (London Knights)
November – Evan Bouchard (London Knights)
October – Sean Durzi (Owen Sound Attack)
 Rookie of the Month:
February – Andrei Svechnikov (Barrie Colts)
January – Andrei Svechnikov (Barrie Colts)
December – Rasmus Sandin (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds)
November – Blade Jenkins (Saginaw Spirit)
October – Andrei Svechnikov (Barrie Colts)
 Vaughn Goaltender of the Month:
February – Jeremy Helvig (Kingston Frontenacs)
January – Mario Culina (Kitchener Rangers)
December – Matthew Villalta (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds)
November – Matthew Villalta (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds)
October – Justin Fazio (Sarnia Sting)