Toronto, Ont. – The Canadian Hockey League announced today the Week 17 edition of the Kia CHL Top 10 Rankings for the 2021-22 season.
The Hamilton Bulldogs are up two spots to number five in this week’s rankings while the Kingston Frontenacs follow at ninth and the Flint Firebirds make their Top 10 season debut in the 10th spot.
Winners of 11 of their past 12 games, the Bulldogs have pulled to within two points of first place in the OHL standings with a 29-11-2-2 record. Hamilton went 3-0 this past weekend, outscoring opponents 21-7. They created some distance for themselves atop the East Division with a decisive 8-2 victory over Kingston on Saturday. Logan Morrison has been a force offensively racking up 10 points in his last three outings while leading the club in scoring with 65 points (20-45–65) over 38 games. Avery Hayes leads the way in the goal-scoring column with 30 on the campaign while blueliner Nathan Staios sits second among OHL defenders with 45 points (9-36–45) in 40 games. The Dogs are expected to have Mason McTavish back in their lineup on Friday as he makes his return from China where he represented Canada at the Olympic Winter Games.
The Frontenacs are down one spot to ninth this week, defeating Ottawa twice while falling in Hamilton on Saturday. Overage winger Lucas Edmonds rides a nine-game point streak into another week, sitting one point back of the OHL scoring lead with 79 (24-55–79) on the season. Top 2022 NHL Draft prospect Shane Wright has multi-point outputs in four of his last five games, sitting third in club scoring with 57 points (20-37–57). Los Angeles Kings prospect Martin Chromiak made his return to the Kingston lineup from injury on Monday. The Fronts are in action on Wednesday in Ottawa before playing host to the Oshawa Generals on Friday night, a game that will be aired coast-to-coast on TSN.
The Western Conference-leading Flint Firebirds make their first Top 10 appearance of the season, collecting points in nine consecutive games. The ‘Birds picked up five of a possible six points last weekend, falling in overtime to Windsor, defeating the Spits in a shootout a night later and triumphing over Sarnia 7-3 on Family Day. New York Rangers prospect Brennan Othmann has 34 goals and 66 points through 45 games this season to pace the club offensively. Overage winger Ethan Keppen has given Flint a nice boost with 24 points (13-11–24) over 21 games since returning from the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks. Luke Cavallin has provided the Firebirds with top tier goaltending, going 23-9-1-3 on the season with a 3.28 goals-against average and .907 save percentage.
With wins in nine straight contests, the North Bay Battalion receive an honourable mention on this week’s list. The Troops have shot up the Eastern Conference standings, sitting two points back of the first place Mississauga Steelheads in the Central Division. North Bay features four 20+ goal-scorers in their lineup including San Jose Sharks prospect Brandon Coe, Edmonton Oilers draftee Matvey Petrov, overage forward Mitchell Russell and trade deadline acquisition Kyle McDonald who scored a hat trick in Ottawa on Sunday.
For further analysis on the Week 17 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 