Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced the seventh edition of the weekly minor midget rankings for the 2019 OHL Cup Showcase Tournament powered by Under Armour and hosted by the Greater Toronto Hockey League.
The 2019 OHL Cup powered by Under Armour and hosted by the GTHL is scheduled for March 12-18 and will feature 20 teams from across Ontario and the United States showcasing many of the top players eligible for the 2019 OHL Priority Selection. All games will be played at Scotiabank Pond in Toronto until the Championship Final moves to the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Monday March 18 where it will be broadcasted nationally on Sportsnet.
The weekly rankings are determined by a panel of OHL Central Scouting staff and represent the top teams that are competing to play in the annual year-end championship tournament.
Minor Midget Rankings for the 2018 OHL Cup powered by Under Armour – Week 7
|
RANK
|
TEAM
|
LEAGUE
|
LAST WEEK
|
WEEKS RANKED
|
|
1
|
Don Mills Flyers
|
GTHL
|
1
|
7
|
|
2
|
Toronto Young Nationals
|
GTHL
|
4
|
7
|
|
3
|
Whitby Wildcats
|
OMHA
|
3
|
7
|
|
4
|
Toronto Marlboros
|
GTHL
|
2
|
7
|
|
5
|
Toronto Red Wings
|
GTHL
|
5
|
7
|
|
6
|
North Central Predators
|
OMHA
|
8
|
7
|
|
7
|
Sudbury Minor Midget Wolves
|
NOHA
|
6
|
7
|
|
8
|
York-Simcoe Express
|
OMHA
|
9
|
3
|
|
9
|
Kitchener Jr. Rangers
|
ALLIANCE
|
10
|
4
|
|
10
|
Brantford 99’ers
|
ALLIANCE
|
7
|
7
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Honourable Mention
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mississauga Rebels
|
GTHL
|
–
|
5
|
|
|
North York Rangers
|
GTHL
|
–
|
–
|
|
|
Niagara North Stars
|
OMHA
|
–
|
–
|
The Toronto Marlboros Holiday Classic champion Don Mills Flyers remain atop the weekly rankings for the seventh straight week while the tournament finalist Toronto Young Nationals rise two spots to number two on the list. Also moving up in this week’s edition are the North Central Predators, York-Simcoe Express and Kitchener Jr. Rangers while the North York Rangers make their season debut in the honourable mention category.
Tournament Structure:
15 of the 20 spots in the 2019 OHL Cup powered by Under Armour are guaranteed through league competition. The 15 guaranteed spots continue to include all four GTHL Semi-Finalists, and the top four teams that place at the OMHA Championship. Three teams from the ALLIANCE will still be guaranteed a spot in the tournament including the Champion and Finalist, along with the winner of a best-of-three Semi-Final Wild Card Series to be played between the losers of the two league Semi-Finals. Also as in past years, two tournament entries are reserved for United States competition, while both an HNO and NOHA representative will also compete. This season there will not be a representative from HEO.
Wild Card Games:
The final five entries at the 2019 OHL Cup powered by Under Armour will be Wild Cards determined among 10 teams that will play a one game ‘win and in’ scenario. The 10 competing teams aiming for the final five tournament spots will continue to include the fifth place team at the OMHA Championship, and the loser of the ALLIANCE Semi-Final Wild Card Series. As introduced in 2016, two spots in Wild Card games will be reserved for GTHL teams. The two competing GTHL teams will be determined through a pair of Wild Card Play-In Series matchups involving the four GTHL teams who qualified for the playoffs but lost in the first round. As introduced in 2017, one spot in a Wild Card will also be reserved for the winner of an OMHA SCTA Consolation Game that features both teams who lost in the SCTA Tournament Semi-Final. The OMHA teams eligible for this matchup will be determined annually based on the league not hosting the OMHA Championship. Finally, the five remaining teams who will compete in the Wild Card matchups will be named by the Tournament Selection Committee. The Committee will evaluate and review a team’s post-season success as the first criteria for selection, with additional criteria to include regular season play and tournament play. All five Wild Card games will take place on Tuesday March 12 with specific matchups and times of play to be determined by random draw among the eight competing teams in advance of the event.
History:
Last season the Toronto Jr. Canadiens were crowned OHL Cup Champions, capturing the annual Minor Midget showcase for the first time since 2008 with a 5-1 victory over the Vaughan Kings. Current Oshawa Generals forward Dylan Robinson finished second in event scoring with 11 points (6-5–11) over seven games, earning the Tim Adams Memorial Trophy as tournament MVP.
The 2018 OHL Priority Selection featured 17 players chosen in the first round who competed for the OHL Cup including Quinton Byfield (York-Simcoe Express – 1st overall Sudbury Wolves), Evan Vierling (York-Simcoe Express – 2nd overall Flint Firebirds), Will Cuylle (Toronto Marlboros – 3rd overall Peterborough Petes), Jamie Drysdale (Toronto Marlboros – 4th overall Erie Otters), Cole Perfetti (Vaughan Kings – 5th overall Saginaw Spirit), Cameron Tolnai (Oakville Rangers – 6th overall Ottawa 67’s), Daniil Chayka (Toronto Jr. Canadiens – 7th overall Guelph Storm), James Hardie (Barrie Colts – 8th overall Mississauga Steelheads), Pacey Schlueting (Team NOHA – 9th overall North Bay Battalion), Ty Tullio (Vaughan Kings – 11th overall Oshawa Generals), Lleyton Moore (Toronto Marlboros – 12th overall Niagara IceDogs), Jake Murray (Oakville Rangers – 13th overall Kingston Frontenacs), Luke Evangelista (Oakville Rangers – 14th overall London Knights), Riley Piercey (Toronto Marlboros – 16th overall Barrie Colts), Reid Valade (Toronto Marlboros – 17th overall Kitchener Rangers), Logan Morrison (Guelph Gryphons – 18th overall Hamilton Bulldogs), Ryan O’Rourke (Vaughan Kings – 20th overall Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds).
Notable OHL Cup graduates currently playing in the NHL include Robby Fabbri (Mississauga Rebels/St. Louis Blues), Travis Konecny (Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs/Philadelphia Flyers), Mitch Marner (Vaughan Kings/Toronto Maple Leafs), Connor McDavid (Toronto Marlboros/Edmonton Oilers), Max Domi (Don Mills Flyers/Montreal Canadiens), Sean Monahan (Mississauga Rebels/Calgary Flames), Taylor Hall (Greater Kingston Frontenacs/New Jersey Devils), Tyler Seguin (Toronto Nationals/Dallas Stars), John Tavares (Toronto Marlboros/Toronto Maple Leafs), P.K Subban (Markham Islanders/Nashville Predators), and Steven Stamkos (Markham Waxers/Tampa Bay Lightning).
2019 marks the third season of a three-year partnership between the OHL and GTHL with Under Armour that includes title sponsorship of the OHL Cup Showcase Tournament. The OHL and GTHL are also in the third season of a five-year partnership extension announced in 2017 that ensures the event will continue to be hosted by the GTHL through 2021.
For more information, please visit ohlcup.ca.
OHL Writers 