Toronto, Ont. – The Canadian Hockey League announced today the Week 20 edition of the Kia CHL Top 10 Rankings for the 2021-22 season.
The Hamilton Bulldogs continue their climb up the list, coming in at a season-high second slotting in Week 20. The Dogs had a 12-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday night in Peterborough, but had Steeltown on its feet on Monday night at Tim Hortons Field, winning the fourth outdoor matchup in OHL history over the Oshawa Generals by a score of 3-0. The 37-12-2-2 Bulldogs lead the OHL standings and have won 19 of their last 21 games. Top scorer Logan Morrison is on a current 12-game point streak dating back to Feb. 18th while blueliner Nathan Staios sits second in scoring among OHL defenders with 52 points (12-40–52) in 45 games. Staios and teammate Mason McTavish were out of the Hamilton lineup on Tuesday night in Peterborough. The Bulldogs have just embarked on eight straight games on the road, with a three-in-three slated for the coming weekend in Kingston and Ottawa.
The Flint Firebirds keep cruising, winning back-to-back last week to climb to ninth on this week’s list. The ‘Birds defeated highly-skilled Western Conference opponents in London and Guelph on Friday and Saturday, improving to 35-16-1-3 with a league-leading 235 goals scored. New York Rangers prospect and captain Brennan Othmann tied the club’s single season goal-scoring record with his 39th on Saturday. Overage goaltender Luke Cavallin made 49 saves against Guelph to earn his 29th win, tying Anthony Popovich’s high franchise watermark from the 2019-20 season. The Firebirds are at home for games against Sault Ste. Marie and Windsor on Friday and Saturday this weekend before visiting Windsor on Sunday afternoon.
The North Bay Battalion are an honourable mention in this week’s rankings, riding a five-game winning streak into Thursday action at home to Mississauga. Having punched their ticket to the OHL Playoffs last week, the Battalion sit tied with the Steelheads for first place in the Central Division, owning a 33-17-3-3 record. The Troops recently welcomed captain Liam Arnsby back into the lineup after he missed time due to injury. The Troops feature four different 30-goal scorers in their lineup, with Mitchell Russell (34), Kyle McDonald (33), Matvey Petrov (31) and Brandon Coe (30) making up that group. McDonald has points in 13 straight games dating back to Feb. 6th.
For further analysis on the Week 20 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 