Toronto, Ont. – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that Montreal Canadiens prospect Cam Hillis of the Guelph Storm is the OHL ‘On the Run’ Player of the Week with seven points including two goals and five assists over two weekend contests.
Hillis becomes the second Storm player to win the award in the past three weeks after goaltender Nico Daws recently received the honours. The third-year centreman helped the Storm win back-to-back games, extending their current winning streak to six. Hillis scored twice and added two assists while going 15-for-24 in the faceoff circle on Friday in Kitchener as the Storm doubled-up the rival Rangers 6-3. After a first star performance to start the weekend, Hillis earned second star honours on Saturday, picking up three assists as the Storm defeated the visiting Kingston Frontenacs 4-2. He helped set up teammate Cedric Ralph for the third period game winner as the Storm overcame a 2-0 deficit.
A 19-year-old native of Enniskillen, Ont., Hillis has rebounded strong from an injury riddled 2018-19 campaign that saw him hoist the Robertson Cup as an OHL champion with the Storm. Hillis sits second in club scoring with 27 points (7-20–27), 24 of which he has gathered over the course of the last 10 games. The 5-foot-11, 174Ib. forward was a third round (66th overall) pick of the Canadiens in the 2018 NHL Draft and was originally obtained by the Storm in the second round (29th overall) of the 2016 OHL Priority Selection. The York-Simcoe Express Minor Midget grad was an OHL Cup champion in 2016.
Also considered for the award this week was Washington Capitals prospect Connor McMichael of the London Knights who recorded seven points (2-5–7) over a pair of Knights victories, holding down the OHL scoring lead with 41 points (19-22–41). Draft eligible Sudbury Wolves forward Quinton Byfield was also considered after recording five points (2-3–5) in a pair of multi-point performances that each led to Wolves victories.
Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that forward Andrei Svechnikov of the Barrie Colts is the 2017-18 recipient of the Emms Family Award presented to the OHL’s Rookie of the Year.
Svechnikov led all OHL rookies with 40 goals and 32 assists in just 44 games for a point total of 72 that ranked 25th overall in league scoring and a points-per-game mark of 1.64 that was fifth best.
Andrei Svechnikov of the Barrie Colts. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.
“I am extremely happy to accept this award as the OHL’s Rookie of the Year,” Svechnikov said. “I’d like to thank my coaches and teammates for all of the help they have given me this year to achieve this goal. I am very excited.”
The 18-year-old from Barnaul, Russia, is the top ranked prospect for the 2018 NHL Draft among North American skaters as listed by NHL Central Scouting. He joined the Colts as the first overall pick in the 2017 CHL Import Draft and becomes the club’s fourth player to receive Rookie of the Year honours following Aaron Ekblad (2011-12), Bryan Little (2003-04), and Sheldon Keefe (1998-99).
“We are really proud of Andrei for the season he had with our club,” said Colts General Manager Jason Ford. “He came into the lineup and made an immediate impact. We feel that the composure he showed on and off the ice, really excelled his game to this level, which ultimately earned himself this award. We could not be more proud of him for what he did this past year and we wish him the best of luck at the NHL Draft this June in Dallas.”
Svechnikov was an OHL star from start to finish in 2017-18 beginning with a two-goal performance in his debut against the Ottawa 67’s on September 21, right through to season’s end where he carried the league’s longest point-streak at 23 games from January 18 through the final game of the regular season on March 17. He recorded 24 multi-point games including a stretch of nine-straight in January and was named OHL Rookie of the Month four of the six times the award was announced. The Russian National Junior Team member was also recognized in the annual Coaches Poll where he was voted Best Skater and second Best Shot in the Eastern Conference. His 72 points are the most by a Colts rookie since Mark Scheifele produced 75 in 66 games back in 2010-11, while his 1.64 points-per-game mark is the best among OHL rookies since London Knights Patrick Kane and Sam Gagner posted 2.50 and 2.23 figures respectively in 2006-07.
First presented in 1973, Emms Family Award recipients include Wayne Gretzky (Sault Ste. Marie 1977-78), Joe Thornton (Sault Ste. Marie 1995-96), Rick Nash (London 2000-01), John Tavares (Oshawa 2005-06), Taylor Hall (Windsor 2007-08), Connor McDavid (Erie 2012-13), Travis Konecny (Ottawa 2013-14), Alex DeBrincat (Erie 2014-15), Alexander Nylander (Mississauga 2015-16), and Ryan Merkley (Guelph 2016-17).
The Emms Family Award was donated by Leighton “Hap” Emms, former owner of the Barrie, Niagara Falls, and St. Catharines OHL franchises. The award is selected by all 20 member club General Managers. Teams were asked to submit only one nominee from their own club for consideration on the ballot and were not permitted to vote for the player from their own hockey club. Voting was conducted in two stages beginning with a Conference only vote followed by a Final ballot that included the top three candidates from the initial Conference phase. Players received five points for a first vote, three points for a second place vote, and one point for a third place vote.
Svechnikov earned 86 of a possible 95 voting points ahead of forward Cam Hillis of the Guelph Storm who finished second with 37 voting points and forward Arthur Kaliyev of the Hamilton Bulldogs who finished in third place with 31 voting points.
The Emms Family Award will be formally presented to Svechnikov at the OHL’s annual Awards Ceremony at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto on Wednesday June 6. He will be the OHL’s nominee for CHL Rookie of the Year to be announced at the Mastercard Memorial Cup on Saturday May 26
Svechnikov was also announced to the OHL’s First All-Rookie Team at right wing along with Hillis at centre and fellow NHL Draft eligible forward Blade Jenkins of the Saginaw Spirit at left wing. Rasmus Sandin of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Alec Regula of the London Knights comprise the First Team defence corps, with Mack Guzda of the Owen Sound Attack between-the-pipes. Kaliyev was among the Second Team honourees voted behind Svechnikov at right wing and joined up front by first overall Priority Selection pick Ryan Suzuki of the Colts at centre, and Maxim Golod of the Erie Otters at left wing. Oshawa Generals Mitchell Brewer and Nico Gross were both voted Second Team defenders, with the Knights’ Jordan Kooy in goal.
The OHL All-Rookie Teams were also selected by the OHL’s General Managers. Players were voted on initially by position within their conference receiving five points for a first place vote, three for a second place vote, and one for a third. Top vote getters in each position made up the final ballot that was then circulated to all 20 teams.
2017-18 OHL All-Rookie Teams (voting points in brackets):
First Team:
Centre – Cam Hillis, Guelph Storm (68)
Left Wing – Blade Jenkins, Saginaw Spirit (84)
Right Wing – Andrei Svechnikov, Barrie Colts (95)
Defence – Rasmus Sandin, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (87)
Defence – Alec Regula, London Knights (57)
Goaltender – Mack Guzda, Owen Sound Attack (55)
Second Team:
Centre – Ryan Suzuki, Barrie Colts (53)
Left Wing – Maxim Golod, Erie Otters (36)
Right Wing – Arthur Kaliyev, Hamilton Bulldogs (59)
As the captain of the York Simcoe express, Guelph Storm center Cam Hillis scored 25 goals and 47 assists in 33 games during his minor midget AAA season. He would lead the Express to an OHL Cup Championship with a goal and 7 assists in 7 games.
The Storm would select Hillis in the second round of the 2016 Priority Selection with the 29th overall pick. He would also be selected at the United States Hockey League’s Futures Draft in the 4th round, 56th overall in 2016 by the Youngstown Phantoms.
Cam Hillis of the Guelph Storm. Photo by Aaron Bell/OHL Images
Following those drafts, Hillis would go on to play a season for St. Andrew’s College. There, he helped St. Andrews win the CISAA (Conference of Independent Schools Athletic Association) championship scoring 9 goals and 13 assists in 15 games and then adding 2 goals and 5 assists in 5 games en route to the title.
Hillis would also represent Canada at the World Hockey Challenge Under-17 but was held pointless in 5 games.
Hillis’ transition to the Ontario Hockey League this season was rather seamless and has shown he can produce at this level. He sits tied for second among Storm players in goals (19), assists (33) and trails only Ryan Merkley (56) in points. His 52 points leads all rookies.
Hillis’ 19 goals come on just 93 shots, making for an impressive 20.4% shooting percentage. Even more impressive is that 9 of his 19 goals have come with the man advantage. Faceoffs, where he has 425 wins on 863 opportunities for 49.2%, continue to be a work in progress.
His pre-draft OHL Central Scouting report read as follows:
Cameron is an undersized center that plays the game with a lot of energy. He is very good skater that uses his speed to gain advantages in the offensive zone by getting to loose pucks or beating players to the net. He competes hard every shift and is not afraid to go to the dirty areas against any player. He has very good puck skills, good vision with the puck and was the leading scorer in the ETA. He is used in all situations and is very effective on the penalty kill.
Hillis has added some size since then as he’s playing at 5’11”. As for his skating, he possesses an explosive first step with above average top-end speed. He works his edges extremely well and has excellent lateral movement making him hard to contain. It also helps Hillis defensively. He back checks hard, quickly gets into lanes with his body or sick and combined with his high-end hockey smarts, regularly breaks up plays.
Offensively, Hillis has an ability to gain the zone, and when he does he is able to keep possession. He can slow the play down and be patient, waiting for the play to develop. He uses those assets wisely and when paired with his very good vision and passing abilities, makes him a dangerous playmaker. Those skills come to the forefront on the powerplay.
January 31 brings us within a hair of the three-quarter mark of the Ontario Hockey League season and there are many interesting individual races in a variety of statistical categories. As always, we look at players eligible for the National Hockey League Draft in June in Dallas Texas, for the first time. That is not meant to take away from players re-entering the draft. While I believe some of them will get drafted the second time around, history has shown that they are usually passed over the second time.
It’s hard to imagine, or maybe it is not, where Andrei Svechnikov of the Barrie Colts would be had he not missed almost two months with a wrist injury. Despite missing seven weeks and playing in twenty fewer games, Svechnikov leads all draft eligible players with 23 goals in 27 games. That’s two more then Aidan Dudas of the Owen Sound Attack and three more then Ty Dellandria of the Flint Firebirds, who both have played 47 games.
Andrei Svechnikov of the Barrie Colts. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.
Thanks in part to Svechnikov’s absence, a pair of highly touted defensemen lead all players in points. Evan Bouchard of the London Knights leads the pack with 60 points in 47 games. He is followed closely by Ryan Merkley of the Guelph Storm who has 57 points in 47 games. Akil Thomas of the Niagara IceDogs comes in third with 56 points in 47 games.
Of course, it goes without saying that Bouchard and Merkley lead all defensemen in the point scoring race. Rasmus Sandin of the Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds sits in the next tier by himself with 30 points in 34 games. Yours truly has made it no secret that Sandin would be my choice as the second defenseman taken from the OHL. Giovanni Vallati of the Kitchener Rangers comes in fourth with 20 points in 47 games.
Over the years, there has been a great debate over the value of the plus-minus stat. Whether you agree or not, there is some value to the stat. And Sandin leads the way with a plus-28. That’s a comfortable plus-10 more than teammate Barrett Hayton and Nathan Dunkley of the London Knights.
Serron Noel of the Oshawa Generals led the entire OHL for most of the season in shooting percentage. As of January 31, he drops to second, but still leads all draft eligible players at 25%. Svechnikov comes in second, scoring on 22.3% of his shots, while Cam Hillis of the Guelph Storm comes in third at 21.8%.
Bouchard leads all shooters in shots on goal with 211, which is good enough for second overall in the OHL. He has a comfortable lead over Dellandria (173) and Dudas (172).
While we take great care in compiling stats, always refer to the OHL website for official stats.
Points Leaders
Player
Team
GP
G
A
Pts
Evan Bouchard
London Knights
47
16
44
60
Ryan Merkley
Guelph Storm
47
12
45
57
Akil Thomas
Niagara Ice Dogs
47
13
43
56
Ryan McLeod
Mississauga Steelheads
47
17
36
53
Aidan Dudas
Owen Sound Attack
47
21
25
46
Cam Hillis
Guelph Storm
47
18
28
46
Barrett Hayton
Soo Greyhounds
47
17
27
44
Ty Dellandrea
Flint Firebirds
47
20
21
41
Nathan Dunkley
London Knights
40
15
24
39
Andrei Svechnikov
Barrie Colts
27
23
15
38
Goal Scoring Leaders
Player
Team
GP
G
GPG
Andrei Svechnikov
Barrie Colts
27
23
0.85
Aidan Dudas
Owen Sound Attack
47
21
0.45
Ty Dellandrea
Flint Firebirds
47
20
0.43
Cam Hillis
Guelph Storm
47
18
0.38
Serron Noel
Oshawa Generals
42
18
0.43
Pavel Gogolev
Peterborough Petes
43
18
0.42
Ryan McLeod
Mississauga Steelheads
47
17
0.36
Barrett Hayton
Soo Greyhounds
47
17
0.36
Evan Bouchard
London Knights
47
16
0.34
Kody Clark
Ottawa 67’s
38
16
0.42
Assist Leaders
Player
Team
GP
A
APG
Ryan Merkley
Guelph Storm
47
45
0.96
Evan Bouchard
London Knights
47
44
0.94
Akil Thomas
Niagara Ice Dogs
47
43
0.91
Ryan McLeod
Mississauga Steelheads
47
36
0.77
Cam Hillis
Guelph Storm
47
28
0.60
Barrett Hayton
Soo Greyhounds
47
27
0.57
Allan McShane
Oshawa Generals
47
27
0.57
Aidan Dudas
Owen Sound Attack
47
25
0.53
Rasmus Sandin
Soo Greyhounds
34
24
0.71
Nathan Dunkley
London Knights
40
24
0.60
Defencemen Point Leaders
Player
Team
GP
G
A
Pts
Evan Bouchard
London Knights
47
16
44
60
Ryan Merkley
Guelph Storm
47
12
45
57
Rasmus Sandin
Soo Greyhounds
34
6
24
30
Giovanni Vallati
Kitchener Rangers
46
3
17
20
Merrick Rippon
Ottawa 67’s
48
2
16
18
Peter Stratis
Sudbury Wolves
49
5
12
17
Caleb Everett
Saginaw Spirit
39
4
13
17
Kevin Bahl
Ottawa 67’s
48
1
16
17
Plus/Minus Leaders
Player
Team
GP
+/-
Rasmus Sandin
Soo Greyhounds
34
+28
Nathan Dunkley
London Knights
40
+18
Barrett Hayton
Soo Greyhounds
47
+18
Evan Bouchard
London Knights
47
+17
Tyler Tucker
Barrie Colts
40
+16
Adam Liska
Kitchener Rangers
44
+12
Andrei Svechnikov
Barrie Colts
27
+11
Alec Regula
London Knights
47
+11
William Sirman
Windsor Spitfires
46
+10
Ryan Roth
Soo Greyhounds
49
+10
Penalty Minutes Leaders
Player
Team
GP
PIM
M/G
Tyler Tucker
Barrie Colts
40
67
1.68
Kevin Bahl
Ottawa 67’s
48
67
1.40
Daylon Groulx
Owen Sound Attack
39
60
1.54
Merrick Rippon
Ottawa 67’s
48
57
1.19
Curtis Douglas
Windsor Spitfires
46
55
1.20
Ryan Merkley
Guelph Storm
47
50
1.06
Max Grondin
Saginaw Spirit
46
47
1.02
Faceoff Leaders (Minimum 200 faceoffs)
Player
Team
GP
FOA
FOW
%
Billy Moskal
London Knights
46
445
266
59.8
Allan McShane
Oshawa Generals
47
695
382
55.0
Nathan Dunkley
London Knights
40
484
263
54.3
David Levin
Sudbury Wolves
32
232
125
53.9
Ryan McLeod
Mississauga Steelheads
48
1043
556
53.3
Akil Thomas
Niagara Ice Dogs
47
761
405
53.2
Ty Dellandrea
Flint Firebirds
47
985
500
50.8
Aidan Dudas
Owen Sound Attack
47
662
326
49.2
Barret Kirwin
Guelph Storm
48
659
324
49.2
Cam Hillis
Guelph Storm
48
776
379
48.8
Longest Goal Scoring Streak
Player
Team
From
To
Gms
Goals
Brady Hinz
Sarnia Sting
10/9
10/19
5
7
Kody Clark
Ottawa 67’s
10/12
10/21
5
6
Nathan Dunkley
Kingston Frontenacs
11/26
12/3
4
5
Blade Jenkins
Saginaw Spirit
10/29
11/4
4
6
Ryan McLeod
Mississauga Steelheads
1/19
1/26
3
6
Longest Assist Streak
Player
Team
From
To
Gms
Assts
Ryan Merkley
Guelph Storm
10/22
11/16
9
13
Akil Thomas
Niagara Ice Dogs
9/30
10/19
8
10
Ryan Merkley
Guelph Storm
1/11
1/28
8
10
Ryan McLeod
Mississauga Steelheads
10/27
11/9
6
9
Akil Thomas
Niagara Ice Dogs
12/7
12/31
6
6
Longest Point Streak
Player
Team
From
To
Gms
Pts
Ryan McLeod
Mississauga Steelheads
10/6
11/10
14
20
Akil Thomas
Niagara Ice Dogs
12/9
1/13
12
18
Ryan Merkley
Guelph Storm
11/19
12/15
10
16
Ryan Merkley
Guelph Storm
10/22
11/16
9
17
Akil Thomas
Niagara Ice Dogs
9/29
10/19
9
15
Shooting Percentage
Player
Team
GP
G
S
%
Serron Noel
Oshawa Generals
42
18
72
25.0
Andrei Svechnikov
Barrie Colts
27
23
103
22.3
Cam Hillis
Guelph Storm
48
19
87
21.8
Nathan Dunkley
London Knights
40
15
74
20.3
Brady Hinz
Peterborough Petes
49
14
73
19.2
Shots On Goal Leaders
Player
Team
GP
SOG
Evan Bouchard
London Knights
47
211
Ty Dellandrea
Flint Firebirds
47
173
Aidan Dudas
Owen Sound Attack
47
172
Riley Damiani
Kitchener Rangers
49
133
Barrett Hayton
Soo Greyhounds
47
131
Goaltenders Leaders – Goals Against Average (Min 10 games)
Player
Team
GP
Min
GA
Avg
Jordon Kooy
London Knights
17
827
40
2.90
Nick Donofrio
Hamilton Bulldogs
11
581
30
3.10
Kai Edmonds
Barrie Colts
12
569
32
3.37
Jacob Ingham
Mississauga Steelheads
33
1865
117
3.76
Cameron Lamour
Saginaw Spirit
12
522
37
4.25
Goaltending Leaders – Save Percentage (Min 10 games)
Guelph, ON – The next wave of NHL Draft talent were put to the test on Wednesday competing on and off the ice in advance of the 2018 Sherwin-Williams CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.
All 40 of the Canadian Hockey League’s top prospects in attendance seized the opportunity to showcase their individual strengths with Sport Testing to gauge fitness and skill levels for NHL management and scouts.
The day began at the University of Guelph with a series of off-ice performance measures that included strength testing, agility runs, and leg power evaluations. The afternoon shifted to on-ice tests at Sleeman Centre including forward and backward sprints, reaction, weave agility, and transition agility drills each performed with and without a puck.
Forward Barrett Hayton of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, ranked 6th by NHL Central Scouting in their Midterm Rankings, finished atop the overall standings in the off-ice portion which factored performance results from across the seven different fields. Defenceman Kevin Bahl of the Ottawa 67’s (ranked 30th by NHL CS) finished in second, followed by a pair of London Knights including defenceman Evan Bouchard (ranked 5th by NHL CS) in third and forward Liam Foudy (ranked 91st by NHL CS) in fourth, and forward Ryan McLeod of the Mississauga Steelheads (ranked 16th by NHL CS) finished in fifth.
Defenceman Noah Dobson of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan (ranked 8th by NHL CS) led the way in overall on-ice testing based on results across the 10 different categories. Fellow defenceman Ty Smith of the Spokane Chiefs (ranked 14th by NHL CS) tied for second with Knights forward Liam Foudy, followed by forward Dmitry Zavgorodniy of the Rimouski Oceanic (ranked 54th by NHL CS) in fourth, and top ranked North American skater Andrei Svechnikov of the Barrie Colts finished in fifth.
In specialized Sport Testing for goalies, Jacob Ingham of the Mississauga Steelheads (ranked 3rd by NHL CS) claimed top honours in an array of reaction, agility, and movement challenges.
Images captured during the 2018 Sherwin-Williams CHL / NHL Top Prospects Events. Photo by Terry Wilson / CHL Images.
2018 Sherwin-Williams CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game – Sport Testing Combine Top Performers:
Sport Testing scores provide valuable performance benchmarks to coaches and players at all levels of hockey with data collected at the Sherwin-Williams CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game shared with NHL Central Scouting and distributed to all 31 NHL teams.
OHL Writers 