Toronto, Ont. – The Canadian Hockey League announced today the Week 16 edition of the Kia CHL Top 10 Rankings for the 2021-22 season.
The Hamilton Bulldogs hold steady as the seventh-ranked team in the CHL while the Kingston Frontenacs are back into the Top 10 after being an honourable mention last week. The Western Conference-leading Flint Firebirds join the OHL’s first place Mississauga Steelheads in the honourable mention category.
Hamilton defeated the Barrie Colts 5-1 on Friday before falling to Kingston 5-4 on Sunday afternoon. The loss to the Frontenacs saw Kingston climb back into first place in the East Division as the Bulldogs trail by a point with a record of 25-11-2-2 with one game in hand. Veteran winger Avery Hayes had a productive week, scoring five times in three games while top scorer Logan Morrison returned from injury to earn OHL Player of the Week honours with two goals, seven assists and nine points. Hamilton is back in action at home to Oshawa tonight before a three-game long weekend with a pair of matchups against Erie and a home date with Kingston on Saturday.
The Fronts continue to re-appear in the lower half of the CHL Top 10, back in at eighth this week as Ottawa Senators prospect Leevi Merilainen made 53 saves in Sunday’s win over Hamilton. Lucas Edmonds had a strong showing last week, becoming the first Frontenacs player to produce six points in a game (2-4–6) since Nathan Moon on Oct. 8, 2010 in a 9-6 win over Mississauga on Saturday. While Edmonds has points in six straight, overage centre Jordan Frasca joined the League’s 30-goal club over the weekend and top 2022 NHL Draft prospect Shane Wright continues to produce racking up six points (2-4–6) in his last two outings.
Winners of five in a row, the Flint Firebirds are into the honourable mention category after defeating Kitchener, Guelph and Erie last week. The Firebirds boast the OHL’s best road record of 17-5-0-1, having won seven straight away from home. New York Rangers prospect Brennan Othmann leads the way offensively with 62 points (31-31–62) in 41 games as Flint features nine different players with double-digit goal totals.
The 29-12-1-4 Mississauga Steelheads also receive an honourable mention, rebounding from a string of five consecutive losses with a 5-0 shutout of the Ottawa 67’s on Sunday, giving netminder Joe Ranger a league-leading total of four to his credit. Top 2022 NHL Draft prospect Luca Del Bel Belluz leads the Fish on the scoresheet with 61 points (24-37–61) over 46 games this season while captain and Chicago Blackhawks prospect Ethan Del Mastro leads the OHL with a plus-31 plus/minus rating.
For further analysis on the Week 16 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.
OHL Writers 