THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2022
We had some fun outdoors in Hamilton and now it’s time for the stretch run towards the 2022 OHL Playoffs, with four teams in Hamilton, North Bay, Mississauga and Kingston having already booked their ticket. Here’s what’s happening in the OHL This Week.
Rosters and captains announced for 2022 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game:
Shane Wright, Ty Nelson and Jake Karabela have been named captains of their respective teams for the 2022 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game set to take place on Wednesday, March 23 in Kitchener. Check out the full rosters here
Sights and Sounds of the Hamilton Outdoor Showcase:
Take in the sights and hear the sounds from the Hamilton Outdoor Showcase between the Bulldogs and Oshawa Generals at Tim Hortons Field. Watch
Rico Phillips gets warm welcome in Steeltown:
OHL Director of Cultural Diversity and Inclusion Rico Phillips got a warm welcome from the Hamilton Bulldogs ahead of the Outdoor Showcase at Tim Hortons Field. Watch
Bulldogs and Firebirds included in Week 20 edition of Kia CHL Top 10 Rankings:
The Hamilton Bulldogs and Flint Firebirds are included in the Week 20 edition of the Kia CHL Top 10 Rankings while the North Bay Battalion receive an honourable mention. Read more
Colts’ Ukrainian defender Cholach drops ceremonial face-off at Heritage Classic:
Ukrainian Barrie Colts defender Artur Cholach received a strong show of support at the NHL Heritage Classic in Hamilton. The Vegas Golden Knights prospect met Wayne Gretzky and conducted the ceremonial face-off between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres. Watch
Edmonds and Mintyukov named to CHL Team of the Week:
Kingston Frontenacs forward Lucas Edmonds and Saginaw Spirit defender Pavel Mintyukov are included on the 17th edition of the CHL Team of the Week. Read more
Frontenacs’ Lucas Edmonds named OHL Player of the Week:
Kingston Frontenacs forward Lucas Edmonds is the OHL Player of the Week, putting together nine points in his last three games, scoring three goals and six assists. . Read more
Attack’s Nick Chenard named OHL Goaltender of the Week:
Nick Chenard of the Owen Sound Attack is the OHL Goaltender of the Week after going 2-0-1-0 with a 1.99 goals-against average and .944 save percentage. Read more
Firebirds’ Head Coach Ted Dent adds Interim General Manager tag:
Head coach Ted Dent has been named interim general manager of the Flint Firebirds. The Firebirds currently own a 34-16-1-3 record and sit first place in the Western Conference. Read more
Firebirds name Jeff Blum as Assistant Coach:
The Flint Firebirds announced the hiring of Jeff Blum as the club’s new assistant coach. Blum spent two seasons behind the bench in the OHL for the Saginaw Spirit from 2012-14 before joining Brian Rolston on staff as an assistant coach with the Detroit Jr. Red Wings. Read more
OHL Weekend Notebook:
The OHL Weekend Notebook recaps the weekend that was with news, information and interesting facts from both on and off the ice. Read more
Jr. Canadiens on top in Week 9 edition of OHL Cup Top 10 Rankings:
The Week 9 edition of the OHL Cup presented by Under Armour Top 10 Rankings features the Toronto Jr. Canadiens in the top spot once again. Read more
Five to watch for the 2022 OHL Priority Selection:
Raine Hernandez and OHL Central Scouting join forces to examine five players to keep an eye on in advance of the 2022 OHL Priority Selection. Read more
Sauder scores first goal in OHL Milestone Moments:
Erie Otters defenceman Nathan Sauder scored his first career OHL goal in last week’s action. Watch
Petes’ Sproule headlines OHL Plays of the Week:
Dishing up a serving of the top plays in the OHL this week with appearances from Hamilton teammates Avery Hayes and Mason McTavish, Kitchener’s Joseph Serpa, Barrie’s Ethan Cardwell, and Peterborough’s Emmett Sproule. Watch
More big stops in OHL Saves of the Week:
Scoping out another set of Saves of the Week featuring Mississauga’s Joe Ranger and Roman Basran, Owen Sound’s Nick Chenard, Niagara’s Josh Rosenzweig, Guelph’s Jacob Oster, Hamilton’s Marco Costantini, Kingston’s Leevi Merilainen, Erie’s Nolan Lalonde, Flint’s Luke Cavallin, and Sarnia’s Ben Gaudreau. Watch
COMMUNITY CORNER
Sting launch Sting Assists to streamline and grow community contributions: The Sarnia Sting Hockey Club is proud to announce the launch of the Sarnia Sting Community Fund. Sting Assists is an independent non-profit organization, at arms length from the hockey club. Read more
Spits support Mighty Megan Fights Leukemia: The Windsor Spitfires are supporting a young fan. The club donated 55 Spitfires t-shirts that will be transformed into zipper shirts for kids undergoing cancer treatment. For more details visit windsorspitfires.com
Rangers host mobile vaccination clinics at upcoming games: The Kitchener Rangers have announced that they will be hosting free COVID-19 vaccination clinics this upcoming Sunday (March 20) and next Sunday (March 27). First, second and third doses are available to ticket-holding fans – choice of Moderna or Pfizer for adults age 30+, and Pfizer for fans age 5-29. For more details visit kitchenerrangers.com
Colts host IceDogs for St. Patrick’s Game on Thursday: The Barrie Colts will be suited up in green as they host Niagara for their annual St. Patrick’s Day game on Thursday, March 17th.
Frontenacs go retro for Friday’s matchup: The Kingston Frontenacs are going retro on Friday, March 18th as they host the Hamilton Bulldogs. The Frontenacs will be wearing a special throwback Count Frontenac jersey with a retro remix. The original Count Frontenac jersey was worn by the team from 2000 to 2007. The Fronts are wearing the jerseys in collaboration with the Ontario Federation for Cerebral Palsy to help promote Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month. Get a sneak peek at kingstonfrontenacs.com
Firebirds host Super Hero night on Saturday: The Flint Firebirds play host to the Windsor Spitfires on Saturday and its Super Hero Night at the Dort Financial Center. Benefitting Whaley Children’s Center, the Firebirds are asking for fans to bring a minimum of three hygiene products in order to receive a free ticket to the game. The first 300 fans in the door will receive a Superhero Cape as the players will be wearing specialty Spiderman jerseys during the game. A live jersey auction will take place after the game. More information at flintfirebirds.com
Steelheads to host their fourth Pucks N’ Paws game on Sunday: The Mississauga Steelheads are hosting their fourth annual Pucks N’ Paws game as they take on the Peterborough Petes on Sunday, March 20th. The Steelheads encourage all fans to bring their furry friends to the game. For full details visit mississaugasteelheads.com
IceDogs host Down Syndrome Awareness Day on Sunday: Rock your crazy socks with the Niagara IceDogs for Down Syndrome Awareness Day on Sunday when the Dogs host the Sudbury Wolves at 2:00pm.
Petes announce updates on 13th annual Pink in the Rink Game: The Peterborough Petes recently revealed this year’s Pink in the Rink jerseys that will be worn on Saturday, April 9, 2022, against the Niagara IceDogs at 7:05 pm. General Manager Michael Oke also presented this year’s co-chairs, Doug Gibson and Meaghan Roy, with their jerseys. More info at gopetesgo.com
ALUMNI NOTES
Robertson brothers go head-to-head: The Robertson brothers faced off as the Toronto Maple Leafs hosted the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night. Toronto’s Nick Robertson put together a 55-goal season with the Peterborough Petes in 2019-20, being named the league’s most sportsmanlike player. Jason Robertson is in the midst of a 30-goal season as an NHL sophomore in Dallas, and is a former Eddie Powers Trophy recipient with the Niagara IceDogs in 2018-19.
Foligno, Staal play 1,000th NHL contest: Sudbury Wolves graduates Marc Staal and Nick Foligno both made their 1,000th NHL appearance this past week. From Sudbury to now the Boston Bruins, Foligno debuted for the Ottawa Senators in 2007 at only 19 years old and then went on to play for the Columbus Blue Jackets before ending up in Boston. Foligno won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy (leadership, humanitarian contributions) and Mark Messier Leadership Award in 2016-17. Sudbury Wolves graduate Marc Staal also reached the milestone marker, playing 1,000 games for the New York Rangers and now the Detroit Red Wings. Staal joins his brothers, Eric and Jordan as they become the first trio of brothers in league history to each reach that milestone.
Holland announces retirement: Former Guelph Storm forward and 266-game NHL veteran Peter Holland announced his retirement over Twitter earlier this week. The 31-year-old from Brampton, Ont. had spent the season with Djurgardens of the Swedish Elite League following two years in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League. Holland played four seasons with the Storm from 2007-11, scoring at least 28 goals in three of those campaigns. He was the 15th overall pick of the Anaheim Ducks in the 2009 NHL Draft and spent his NHL tenure between Anaheim, Toronto, Arizona and the New York Rangers.
McCourt named ECHL Player of the Week: Flint Firebirds graduate Riley McCourt is the ECHL Player of the Week. McCourt currently plays for the Newfoundland Growlers. Under contract to Toronto of the American Hockey League, McCourt has 23 points (23-9-14) in 40 games with the Growlers this season. The 21-year-old had a strong showing with the Firebirds in his final OHL season, recording 62 points (18-44–62) across 63 games in 2019-20.
Ingham named ECHL Goaltender of the Week: Jacob Ingham of the Greenville Swamp Rabbits is the ECHL Goaltender of the Week for March 7-13. Under contract with the Los Angeles Kings, Ingham is 8-5-2 in 15 appearances with the Swamp Rabbits this season with two shutouts, a 2.82 goals-against average and a save percentage of .906. Prior to playing in the ECHL, Ingham appeared in 177 career OHL games for the Kitchener Rangers and Mississauga Steelheads. The Barrie, Ont. native was Los Angeles’ sixth round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft.
Hawel headlines OHL Alumni receiving AUS Awards and All-Star Team recognition: Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year Liam Hawel headlines a list of six OHL alumni who are award and all-star team recipients in Atlantic University Sport. Matthew Struthers, Austen Keating, Santino Centorame, Justin MacPherson and Troy Lajeunesse are also winners. Read more
KEY MATCHUPS
Mississauga Steelheads at North Bay Battalion
Thursday March 17th – 7:00pm
The top-two Central Division teams meet in North Bay on Thursday night as the Steelheads and Battalion are tied for first at 72 points. Bouncing back from a three-game losing slide, the Steelheads moved back to the win column on Tuesday defeating the Colts. The Battalion have won their last five matchups as Kyle McDonald continues to ride a 13-game point streak.
Hamilton Bulldogs at Kingston Frontenacs
Friday March 18th – 7:00pm
Winners of four straight, the Frontenacs host the first place Bulldogs on Friday night. Reigning OHL Player of the Week Lucas Edmonds and the Fronts clinched a playoff spot last week. Bulldogs top scorer Logan Morrison has points in 12 straight games. Hamilton has won 19 of their last 21, owning a 37-12-2-2 record for the league’s first place spot.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Thursday March 17th:
Mississauga at North Bay – 7:00pm
Niagara at Barrie – 7:30pm
Friday March 18th:
Hamilton at Kingston – 7:00pm
Sudbury at Mississauga – 7:00pm
Sault Ste. Marie at Flint – 7:00pm
Sarnia at Guelph – 7:30pm
Erie at Kitchener – 7:30pm
Saginaw at London – 7:30pm
Peterborough at Oshawa – 7:35pm
Saturday March 19th:
Hamilton at Ottawa – 2:00pm
Sudbury at Niagara – 7:00pm
Windsor at Flint – 7:00pm
Sault Ste. Marie at Saginaw – 7:05pm
Oshawa at Barrie – 7:30pm (Streaming Free on CBC Gem)
Erie at Owen Sound – 7:30pm
Sunday March 20th:
Hamilton at Ottawa – 2:00pm
Peterborough at Mississauga – 2:00pm
Barrie at North Bay – 2:00pm
Sudbury at Niagara – 2:00pm
Guelph at Kitchener – 2:00pm
Erie at Owen Sound – 2:00pm
London at Sarnia – 2:05pm
Flint at Windsor – 4:05pm
Kingston at Oshawa – 6:05pm
OHL Writers 