Toronto, Ont. – The Canadian Hockey League announced today the Week 8 edition of the Kia CHL Top 10 Rankings for the 2021-22 season.
It was a big week for the Western Hockey League as WHL clubs occupy the top four spots on the list including the Winnipeg ICE, Everett Silvertips, Kamloops Blazers and Edmonton Oil Kings.
The London Knights are down two spots to fifth on this week’s list after a four-game week that yielded a pair of victories. The Knights suffered consecutive losses to the Sarnia Sting on Tuesday and Friday before rebounding to claim four points in a home-and-home with the Kitchener Rangers. Captain Luke Evangelista strung together back-to-back four-point performances on Saturday and Sunday, giving him the League’s third-highest point-per-game clip of 1.80. The Nashville Predators prospect has 27 points (15-12–27) over 15 games this season and sits second in OHL shots on goal with 87. The Knights also saw the debut of rookie netminder Owen Flores on Sunday in Kitchener as he gave Brett Brochu a rest, making 27 saves for his first OHL win.
The Mississauga Steelheads have forced their way into the Top 10 for the first time this season after another perfect week. The eighth-ranked Trout went 3-0 with wins over Niagara, Barrie and Sudbury, continuing a stretch of eight wins in their last nine games. Draft eligible centre Luca Del Bel Belluz recorded his first OHL hat-trick on Sunday against Sudbury, Chicago Blackhawks prospect and captain Ethan Del Mastro leads the OHL with a plus-20 rating and overage netminder Roman Basran leads the League with a 2.25 goals-against average. The Trout lead the OHL with an average of 38.6 shots-per-game while surrendering a League-low 24.3.
Another hot Central Division squad, the North Bay Battalion also make their season debut in the Top 10, coming in at ninth. Reigning OHL Player of the Week Brandon Coe and the Battalion scored victories over Ottawa, Oshawa and Niagara last week to improve to 12-6-0-1, three points up on second place Mississauga in the Central Division. Coe sits second in OHL scoring with 33 points (9-24–33) and is joined by teammates Kyle Jackson (11-18–29) and Matvey Petrov (15-12–27) among the OHL’s top 10 scorers. Montreal Canadiens prospect Joe Vrbetic recently came off a shutout streak of 203 minutes and four seconds in the North Bay crease. He’s one of two OHL goaltenders with a double-digit win total, owning a record of 10-2-0-1. The Troops defeated the eighth-ranked Steelheads 7-1 in their only meeting so far this season back on Oct. 15th.
The Kingston Frontenacs fell out of the Top 10 for just the second time this season despite grabbing three of a possible four points last week. The honourable mention Fronts defeated the Peterborough Petes 5-3 on Friday before falling 4-3 in a shootout to the Oshawa Generals on Sunday. Overage winger Lucas Edmonds remains hot with 10 points in his last three games.
For further analysis on the Week 8 edition of the Kia CHL Top 10 Rankings, visit CHL.ca.
About the Ontario Hockey League
The Ontario Hockey League is a proud member of the Canadian Hockey League which is the world’s largest development hockey league with 60 teams in nine Canadian provinces and four American states. In addition to the OHL, the CHL is made up of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and the Western Hockey League. The CHL supplies more players to the National Hockey League and U SPORTS than any other league. For more information visit http://www.ontariohockeyleague.com/.
OHL Writers 