Christian Kyrou

KYROU AND DIVINCENTIIS NAMED OHL TOP PERFORMERS OF THE WEEK

Posted on March 6, 2023 by Dominic Tiano

Toronto, Ont. – The Ontario Hockey League today announced Top Performers of the Week for the week of regular season games ending Sunday, March 5, 2023.

Sting’s Christian Kyrou Named Cogeco OHL Player of the Week

Dallas Stars prospect Christian Kyrou of the Sarnia Sting is the Cogeco OHL Player of the Week, recording two goals, five assists and seven points in three games along with a plus/minus rating of plus-6.

Kyrou started his week off strong on Wednesday, recording an assist along with the shootout game winner as the Sting defeated the Soo Greyhounds 4-3 to clinch a spot in the 2023 OHL Playoffs. He found the scoresheet again on Friday, also recording three helpers as the Sting defeated the visiting London Knights 6-1. Kyrou helped the Sting close out a perfect weekend on Sunday, scoring the game winner late in the third period to finish with two goals, an assist and first star honours in a 9-6 win over the Windsor Spitfires.

A 19-year-old native of Komoka, Ont., Kyrou has recorded 67 points (18-49-67) in 56 games between Sarnia and Erie this season. He was a second round (50th overall) pick of the Dallas Stars last summer following 18 goals, 42 assists and 60 points in 68 games with the Erie Otters last season. The 5-foot-11, 182lb. defenceman was originally Erie’s fifth round (84th overall) pick in the 2019 OHL Priority Selection.

Also considered for the award this week, Barrie Colts overage forward Evan Vierling produced three goals, six assists and nine points in three contests last week. Detroit Red Wings prospect Amadeus Lombardi of the Flint Firebirds contributed three goals and three assists for six points in two victories.

2022-23 Cogeco OHL Players of the Week – Regular Season:
Feb. 27 – Mar. 5: Christian Kyrou (Sarnia Sting)
Feb. 20 – Feb. 26: Braeden Bowman (Guelph Storm)
Feb. 13 – Feb. 19: Nolan Burke (Sarnia Sting)
Feb. 6 – Feb. 12: Sean McGurn (London Knights)
Jan. 30 – Feb. 5: Matthew Maggio (Windsor Spitfires)
Jan. 23 – Jan. 29: Sahil Panwar (Hamilton Bulldogs)
Jan. 16 – Jan. 22: James Hardie (Mississauga Steelheads)
Jan. 9 – Jan. 15: Colby Barlow (Owen Sound Attack)
Jan. 2 – Jan. 8: Bryce McConnell-Barker (Soo Greyhounds)
Dec. 26 – Jan. 1: Connor Lockhart (Peterborough Petes)
Dec. 12 – Dec. 18: Evan Vierling (Barrie Colts)
Dec. 5 – Dec. 11: Ryan Gagnier (Oshawa Generals)
Nov. 28 – Dec. 4: Quentin Musty (Sudbury Wolves)
Nov. 21 – Nov. 27: Jorian Donovan (Hamilton Bulldogs)
Nov. 14 – Nov. 20: Matthew Poitras (Guelph Storm)
Nov. 7 – Nov. 13: Brody Crane (London Knights)
Oct. 31 – Nov. 6: Matvey Petrov (North Bay Battalion)
Oct. 24 – Oct. 30: Deni Goure (Owen Sound Attack)
Oct. 17 – Oct. 23: Owen Beck (Mississauga Steelheads)
Oct. 10 – Oct. 16: Matthew Maggio (Windsor Spitfires)
Oct. 3 – Oct. 9: Pavel Mintyukov (Saginaw Spirit)
Sept. 29 – Oct. 2: Tucker Robertson (Peterborough Petes)

Battalion’s Dom DiVincentiis Named OHL Goaltender of the Week

Winnipeg Jets prospect Dom DiVincentiis of the North Bay Battalion is the OHL Goaltender of the Week with two wins including a shutout, a goals-against average of 1.00 and a save percentage of .972.

DiVincentiis backstopped the Battalion in back-to-back victories last week, starting with a 23-save effort in Thursday’s 5-2 win over the visiting Sudbury Wolves. The win was DiVincentiis’ 31st of the season, pushing him ahead of Jake Smith’s previously established single season franchise wins record from 2015-16. DiVincentiis was back in the crease on Friday in Mississauga, stopping all 46 shots he faced to earn his third career OHL shutout as the Battalion defeated the Steelheads 3-0.

An 18-year-old native of Bolton, Ont., DiVincentiis owns a record of 32-9-2-0 on the season with a league-best 2.45 goals-against average along with a .915 save percentage. He was the recipient of the OHL’s F.W. ‘Dinty’ Moore Trophy in 2021-22, posting a league-low 2.59 goals-against average among rookies to go with a 14-8-0-1 record and .907 save percentage. DiVincentiis was selected in the seventh round (207th overall) by the Winnipeg Jets in the 2022 NHL Draft. He’s a former sixth round (116th overall) pick by the Battalion in the 2020 OHL Priority Selection.

Also in the running for the award this week, New York Islanders prospect Tristan Lennox of the Saginaw Spirit turned aside 88 shots, including a 59-save shutout in Peterborough on Thursday to end the week with a 1.44 goals-against average, and .967 save percentage. Marco Costantini of the Kitchener Rangers played to a 2-0 mark with a 2.00 goals-against average, .944 save percentage and one shutout.

2022-23 OHL Goaltenders of the Week – Regular Season:
Feb. 27 – Mar. 5: Dom DiVincentiis (North Bay Battalion)
Feb. 20 – Feb. 26: Michael Simpson (Peterborough Petes)
Feb. 13 – Feb. 19: Tristan Lennox (Saginaw Spirit)
Feb. 6 – Feb. 12: Zach Bowen (London Knights)
Jan 30 – Feb. 5: Nate Krawchuk (Sudbury Wolves)
Jan 23 – Jan. 29: Jacob Oster (Oshawa Generals)
Jan 16 – Jan. 22: Mason Vaccari (Kingston Frontenacs)
Jan 9 – Jan. 15: Matteo Drobac (Hamilton Bulldogs)
Jan. 2 – Jan. 8: Max Donoso (Ottawa 67’s)
Dec. 26 – Jan. 1: Michael Simpson (Peterborough Petes)
Dec. 12 – Dec. 18: Marco Costantini (Kitchener Rangers)
Dec. 5 – Dec. 11: Owen Flores (Niagara IceDogs)
Nov. 28 – Dec. 4: Dom DiVincentiis (North Bay Battalion)
Nov. 21 – Nov. 27: Brett Brochu (London Knights)
Nov. 14 – Nov. 20: Michael Simpson (Peterborough Petes)
Nov. 7 – Nov. 13: Joe Ranger (Sudbury Wolves)
Oct. 31 – Nov. 6: Tristan Lennox (Saginaw Spirit)
Oct. 24 – Oct. 30: Carter George (Owen Sound Attack)
Oct. 17 – Oct. 23: Collin MacKenzie (Ottawa 67’s)
Oct. 10 – Oct. 16: Ivan Zhigalov (Kingston Frontenacs)
Oct. 3 – Oct. 9: Alessio Beglieri (Mississauga Steelheads)
Sept. 29 – Oct. 2: Ben Gaudreau (Sarnia Sting)

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.

Christian Kyrou – Erie Otters – Player Profile

Posted on May 8, 2022May 8, 2022 by Dominic Tiano

HT	WT	DOB	POS	SHOOTS	OHL DRAFT	NHLCS	COUNTRY
5’11”	182	9-16-03	D	R	84^th 2019	48 NA	CANADA

SEASON	LEAGUE	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS
2018-19	ALL U-16	Elgin-Middlesex	32	5	17	22
2019-20	GOJHL	Komoka Kings	14	2	9	11
2019-20	OHL	Erie Otters	21	0	0	0
2020-21	OHL	Erie Otters	0	0	0	0
2021-22	OHL	Erie Otters	68	18	42	60

Christian Kyrou of the Erie Otters. Photo by Luke Durda/OHL Images

Patiently, I waited a couple of months for NHL Central Scouting to release its final draft rankings to see where they were going to slot Erie Otters Defenceman Christian Kyrou because I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me based on how Central Scouting was seeing him.

Not since 2010 when they ranked Jeff Skinner at 47 among North American skaters have, I waited with such anticipation. In the end, they ranked him at 34 but we all know by now he went 7^th overall to the Carolina Hurricanes. At the time, I had OHL players ranked: Tyler Seguin (1), Taylor Hall (2) and Skinner (3) saying Seguin would be the better overall player, Hall would record the most points and Skinner would score the most goals in their NHL Careers.

So, What about Kyrou? Well, the younger brother of St Louis Blues forward Jordan Kyrou wasn’t listed on Central Scouting’s pre-season Players to Watch List. They saw some of the light and, on their midterm, placed him 179 among North American Skaters. That still shocked me because by the time you add in European skaters and Goaltenders, that leaves him outside the 224 players that will get drafted.

I was pleased to see that on their final ranking for the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, that they bumped him up a whopping 131 spots to the 48 spot among North American Skaters (and that might still be a tad too low for my liking).

On OHL Writers, I gave him serious consideration as our Draft Eligible Defenceman of the Year. In the annual OHL Coaches Poll he was voted the most improved player in the Western Conference and the Most Underrated Player in the Western Conference as well as the second-best Offensive Defenceman in the Western Conference. Among draft eligible defencemen, he finished first in goals, second in points and third in assists. Among all OHL defencemen, he finished second in goals, ninth in assists and fourth in points.

With a September 16 birthdate, Kyrou missed the 2021 Entry Draft eligibility by just one day, making him the oldest first-time eligible player for the draft. And there are some that believe that alone is worthy of dropping him a few spots. However, I disagree. There has to be a cut off somewhere, and for Kyrou this just happens to be it, but with the lost season a year ago, everyone is on the same level in my opinion.

Kyrou’s strengths are in his offensive game. He has a tremendous shot from the point. His hockey IQ in the offensive zone is off the charts. He reads the plays quickly and always makes the right decision. He is an extremely dangerous powerplay quarterback. To put it simply, his offensive game is NHL caliber for a blueliner.

Where most have an issue in Kyrou’s game – and I can agree to a point – is in his skating and defensive game. He is okay on his blades, but I would love it if he could add an extra gear that will not only help him in transitioning to offence, but also in retrieving pucks. I’m not always as concerned as some when it comes to skating because with good pro coaching, that development can come along.

That improved skating would also help him defensively in keeping gaps tight and in forcing players to the outside. I will also say that you can’t get a true read on his defensive abilities. Erie was a bad team, finishing a collective minus- 44 on the season and Kyrou was the best blueliner at minus-3. Sure, putting up 60 points helps alleviate that, but teammate Spencer Sova, who for most of the season has been ranked ahead of Kyrou finished a minus-24 and put up 28 points.

Kyrou was used on the penalty kill throughout the season (and he was a threat to go on offence even then) so the Otters coaching staff saw something there.

Kyrou is going to be interesting to watch come draft day to see how NHL teams view him. But he’s definitely a player I would look to very late in the second round or early in the third. Older brother Jordan was ranked 34^th among North American skaters in 2016 and ended up going 35^th overall. Maybe the St Louis Blues will like the bloodlines.

A Look at NHL Central Scouting’s Final Draft Ranking

Posted on May 7, 2022May 6, 2022 by Dominic Tiano

So, I am not going to break down NHL Central Scouting’s rankings in its entirety, just those Ontario Hockey League players ranked (or not ranked). After all, this sight is all about the OHL, right?

Let’s begin in the blue paint. One name that we have been pushing on OHL Writers for most of the season is Patrick Leaver of the Oshawa Generals. We selected Leaver as our Draft Eligible Goaltender of the Year at the end of the regular season. Central scouting showed him a lot of love on their final list as Leaver had the highest jump among ranked OHL netminders climbing 13 spots from 29 on the midterm rankings to 16 on the final rankings.

Leaver wasn’t the only netminder with a massive jump. Niagara IceDogs Josh Rosenzweig went from unranked on the midterm list to 22 on the final list.

Of course, when you have risers, they must be accompanied by fallers and the OHL had their share. Brett Brochu of the London Knights dropped 15 spots from 16 to 31. Dom DiVincentiis of the North Bay Battalion dropped 10 spots from 14 to 24.

When it comes to skaters, we have been big fans of Christian Kyrou of the Erie Otters since about the drop of the puck this season. We gave him serious consideration as our Draft Eligible Defenceman of the Year. In the annual OHL Coach’s Poll he was voted the most improved player in the Western Conference and the Most Underrated Player in the Western Conference as well as the second-best Offensive Defenceman in the Western Conference. Among draft eligible defencemen, he finished first in goals, second in points and third in assists. Central Scouting (finally) moved him up a whopping 131 spots from 179 to 48.

But that wasn’t the biggest jump. Matthew Maggio of the Windsor Spitfires jumped 149 spots from being not ranked (there were 251 players ranked on the midterm rankings so we used 252 as Maggio was not ranked) all the way up to 103 on the final rankings. Among draft eligible players, Maggio finished second in goals, assists and points. He was our runner up to Draft Eligible Forward of the Year. In the Coach’s Poll, he finished just ahead of Kyrou as the most improved player in the Western Conference and tied for third as the Hardest Worker in the Western Conference.

But the highest jump belonged to Amadeus Lombardi of the Flint Firebirds who moved up from not being ranked all the way to 94 on the final rankings. I can’t understand how he was not ranked on their midterm ranking, but they got this right.

Another player that deserves mentioning is David Goyette of the Sudbury Wolves who moved up 22 spots from 35 to 13. It’s a massive jump in its own right as that puts Goyette in the bottom third of the first round instead of middle second. And that’s a much-deserved spot for him. He deserves first round consideration.

Two of the biggest fallers are Ruslan Gazizov and Colton Smith, both of the London Knights who dropped from 62 to 149 and 129 to being not ranked respectively. For Comparison’s sake, Bob McKenzie had Gazizov at 15 and Smith as an honorable mention on his midterm rankings (only 80 players were ranked).

I do think that Central Scouting got a couple of Guelph Storm prospects correctly. For most of the season, Matthew Poitras was ranked ahead of Danny Zhilkin on a lot of lists. Poitras was ranked 23 on the midterm rankings and drops to 45 while Zhilkin was ranked 27 and drops to 35. We’re not saying we agree with the overall ranking, but that Zhilkin is rightfully ranked ahead of Poitras and we’ve been saying that for some time.

Vsevolod Gaidamak of the Ottawa 67’s was the highest ranked player on Central Scouting’s midterm rankings to fall off the chart on their final ranking. He went from 121 to being not ranked.

Nice to see a little love for James Hardie of the Mississauga Steelheads who moved up 56 spots from 204 to 148. But we are also surprised to see Tucker Robertson drop 53 spots from 109 to 162.

If you are looking for our final list, it usually comes out after the Memorial Cup. Until then, here is NHL Central Scouting’s rankings with their midterm and final ranking shown:

PLAYER	TEAM	NHL MID	NHL FIN
Shane Wright	Kingston	1	1
Pavel Mintyukov	Saginaw	5	6
Luca Del Bel Belluz	Mississauga	11	8
Owen Beck	Mississauga	19	10
David Goyette	Sudbury	35	13
Matyas Sapovaliv	Saginaw	13	23
Michael Buchinger	Guelph	36	30
Ty Nelson	North Bay	25	32
Bryce McConnell-Barker	Soo	28	34
Danny Zhilkin	Guelph	27	35
Vinzenz Rohrer	Ottawa	46	42
Hunter Haight	Barrie	47	44
Matthew Poitras	Guelph	23	45
Christian Kyrou	Erie	179	48
Paul Ludwinski	Kingston	29	49
Gavin Hayes	Flint	68	51
Isiah George	London	42	53
Servac Petrovsky	Owen Sound	52	58
Cedrick Guindon	Owen Sound	76	59
Jake Karabela	Guelph	61	62
Pano Fimis	Niagara	77	75
Spencer Sova	Erie	28	80
Jorian Donovan	Hamilton	39	81
Evan Konyen	Sudbury	88	85
Beau Jelsma	Barrie	137	88
Amadeus Lombardi	Flint	252	94
Matthew Maggio	Windsor	252	103
Lucas Edmonds	Kingston	107	104
Kiriil Kudryavtsev	Soo	103	108
Liam Arnsby	North Bay	66	115
Rodwin Dionicio	Niagara	132	118
Kocha Delic	Sudbury	200	122
Jackson Edward	London	75	123
Tnias Mathurin	North Bay	152	126
Zakary Lavoie	Mississauga	124	134
Samuel Mayer	Peterborough	120	139
James Hardie	Mississauga	204	148
Ruslan Gazizov	London	62	149
Aidan Castle	Owen Sound	155	151
Brady Stonehouse	Ottawa	138	152
Nolan Collins	Sudbury	252	153
Kyle Jackson	North Bay	182	158
Tucker Robertson	Peterborough	109	162
Gavin Bryant	Owen Sound	160	179
Bryce Cook	Niagara	163	183
Braeden Bowman	Guelph	217	194
Kai Schwindt	Mississauga	252	196
Sam Alfano	Peterborough	190	207
Max Namestnikov	Sarnia	219	211
Landon Sim	London	213	215
Kasper Larsen	Mississauga	252	220
Kirill Steklov	London	196	221
Roberto Mancini	Saginaw	195	222
Caeden Carlisle	Soo	252	223
Vsevolod Gaidamak	Ottawa	121	225
Colton Smith	London	129	225
Stuart Rolofs	Oshawa	142	225
Bryce Cook	Niagara	163	225
Tyler Savard	Soo	183	225
Brody Crane	London	188	225
Ryan Abraham	Windsor	210	225
Nolan Dann	Sarnia	225	225
Simon Slavicek	Flint	LV	225

GOALIES		NHL MID	NHL FIN
Andrew Oke	Saginaw	8	9
Nolan Lalonde	Erie	10	14
Patrick Leaver	Oshawa	29	16
Charlie Schenkel	Soo	12	17
Jacob Oster	Guelph	15	18
Josh Rosenzweig	Niagara	33	22
Domenic DiVincentiis	North Bay	14	24
Marco Costantini	Hamilton	33	29

OHL Writers Draft Eligible Player of the Year

Posted on April 23, 2022 by Dominic Tiano

Shane Wright of the Kingston Frontenacs. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images

You’ll have to trust me when I say “this was no easy decision” especially since for this year only, we are including players re-entering the draft for the second time (thanks to the lost COVID Season). But we also expanded it so that instead of picking one player, we are picking one forward, one defenceman and one goaltender. So, here we go!

FORWARD

It took some time for consensus number 1 pick Shane Wright of the Kingston Frontenacs to reach the top of the lists in statistical categories, but he got there. At the turn of the calendar year, Wright was fifth among draft eligible players in points and assists and ninth in goals. But by the time the season had ended, he led in points, assists and fifth in goals.

There was a point in the season where some pundits were wondering out loud if there was anyone who could challenge Wright as the first overall pick and he did nothing but silence that crowd in the second half of the season.

Consideration was also given to our draft eligible player of the month in January and March (separated only by Wright in February): Matthew Maggio of the Windsor Spitfires. Not ranked by NHL Central Scouting on their mid-term rankings, the draft re-entry finished second in goals, assists, points and powerplay goals among draft eligible players. Maggio will certainly draw some interest from NHL scouts with the only thing left to be determined is whether that interest will come in the form of a draft pick or a development camp invite.

DEFENCEMAN

I can’t recall a decision that was as difficult to make as this one. It came down to two defenders: 1) In our opinion the top ranked defenceman out of the OHL and 2) a defenceman that wasn’t even on NHL Central Scouting’s mid-term rankings. They are: Pavel Mintyukov of the Saginaw Spirit and Christian Kyrou of the Erie Otters and we decided that is the order they would finish.

What Mintyukov did on the second last place Saginaw squad was just simply amazing. He led all draft eligible defencemen in points and was second in goals and assists. He finished third among all defencemen in the OHL just 4 points off the leader and led the Spirit in scoring. To put it simply, the offence ran through him. He was named the OHL defenceman of the month for March.

Kyrou finished first among draft eligible defencemen in goals, second in points and third in assists. He was fourth among all OHL defencemen in scoring. Kyrou’s Otters also missed the playoffs (9 points better then Saginaw) and Kyrou finished third on the Otters in scoring. Here’s to hoping Kyrou opened some eyes and he should be one of the biggest risers in draft rankings.

GOALTENDER

In the crease we gave the nod to Patrick Leaver of the Oshawa Generals. Leaver was named our draft eligible goaltender of the month in November, January and February and was our only repeat winner among goaltenders.

Among draft eligible goaltenders, Leaver finished fifth in goals-against-average, second in save-percentage, third in wins, second in minutes played, and second in shutouts. He was named the OHL’s goaltender of the week on three occasions and the runner up twice. You could regularly find Leaver in the OHL’s Save of the Week highlights throughout the season.

Leaver was not listed on NHL Central Scouting’s players to watch list at the start of the season. He did crack Central Scouting’s mid-term list as the 29^th ranked goaltender among North Americans.

Consideration was also given to Michael Simpson of the Peterborough Petes. While his numbers on the season won’t blow your socks off, on many nights Simpson was the Petes best player. It’s hard to imagine where the Petes would have been without him and he saved the best for last as he was named the OHL’s goaltender of the month for April and helping the Petes secure a playoff spot.

Statistically speaking, the nod probably should have gone to Dom DiVincentiis of the North Bay Battalion. But we felt his 27 games played didn’t match up to Leaver’s 49 games played or Simpson’s 45 games played.

Our monthly choices throughout the season were as follows:

FORWARDS

March – Matthew Maggio – Windsor Spitfires

February – Shane Wright – Kingston Frontenacs

January – Matthew Maggio – Windsor Spitfires

December – Luca DelBelBelluz – Mississauga Steelheads

November – Kyle Jackson – North Bay Battalion

October – Tucker Robertson – Peterborough Petes

DEFENCEMEN

March – Pavel Mintyukov – Saginaw Spirit

February – Michael Buchinger – Guelph Storm

January – Christian Kyrou – Erie Otters

December – Kirill Kudryavtsev – Soo Greyhounds

November – Gavin While – Hamilton Bulldogs

October – Ty Nelson – North Bay Battalion

GOALTENDERS

March – Dom DiVincentiis – North Bay Battalion

February – Patrick Leaver – Oshawa Generals

January – Patrick Leaver – Oshawa Generals

December – Pavel Cajan – Kitchener Rangers

November – Patrick Leaver – Oshawa Generals

October – Brett Brochu – London Knights

OHL’s Draft Eligible Statistical Leaders

Posted on April 20, 2022April 20, 2022 by Dominic Tiano

Shane Wright of the Kingston Frontenacs. Photo by OHL Images.

There were a few times during the 2021-2022 Ontario Hockey League season that had one wondering whether they would complete the season with the COVID-19 pandemic postponing games and keeping fans from the arena. There were some even calling on the league to cancel the season.

But credit to the league, the players, families, billet families and fans: They got through all 68 games but it wasn’t always easy. As the playoffs are set to begin Thursday, here at OHL Writers we’ll take a look at the statistical leaders in different categories of players eligible for the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.

In Previous seasons, we only looked at first time draft eligible players. As has been the case all season, because of the sheer number of players re-entering the draft, largely due to the lost season a year ago, we decided to add first- and second-year eligible players and that includes 2003 and 2004 birth dates. There are a few 2002 birthdates that would be on these lists, but we had to draw the line somewhere. It’s a rare occasion where a player is selected in his third draft and we should see Lucas Edmonds of the Kingston Frontenacs being one of those few, but he didn’t make this list. His 113 points are certainly worth mentioning.

Consensus number one pick Shane Wright of the Frontenacs took a while to appear on the top-10 scorers here but when the season came to an end, he found himself in his rightful place at the top of the board with 94 points in 63 games. Wright also easily led all skaters with 62 helpers. It may come as a surprise to many that draft re-entry Matthew Maggio of the Windsor Spitfires finished second to Wright in points and assists. Maggio also finished third in goals behind two other draft re-entries in Tucker Robertson of the Peterborough Petes and Avery Hayes of the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Perhaps the most surprising stat comes in the shooting percentage category. Five of the top six players in the OHL are all draft eligible, led by Kyle Jackson of the North Bay Battalion. Jackson may just be the most prolific scorer on the list with 30 goals with injuries limiting him to just 45 games on the season.

On the blue line, Ty Nelson of the North Bay Battalion led for most of the regular season. But by the time the season had ended, Pavel Mintyukov of the Saginaw Spirit took his rightful place (in my opinion) at the top of the leader board. However, the surprise came in the name of Christian Kyrou of the Erie Otters who finished with the most goals among defencemen and second in points to Mintyukov. Kyrou should get some love when final rankings are released as he was never on NHL Central Scouting’s players to watch list or their mid-term rankings.

Here are the leaders in a variety of different categories. We take great care in compiling stats, but as always, refer to the OHL Website for official stats.

Points Leaders
Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts
Shane Wright	Kingston Frontenacs	63	32	62	94
Matthew Maggio	Windsor Spitfires	66	38	47	85
Tucker Robertson	Peterborough Petes	68	41	40	81
Avery Hayes	Hamilton Bulldogs	66	41	38	79
Luca Del Bel Belluz	Mississauga Steelheads	68	30	46	76
David Goyette	Sudbury Wolves	66	33	40	73
Deni Goure	Owen Sound Attack	68	24	39	63
Kyle Jackson	North Bay Battalion	45	30	32	62
Ryan Humphrey	Hamilton Bulldogs	68	25	37	62
Pavel Mintyukov	Saginaw Spirit	67	17	45	62
Goal Scoring Leaders
Player	Team	GP	G	GPG
Tucker Robertson	Peterborough Petes	68	41	0.60
Avery Hayes	Hamilton Bulldogs	66	41	0.62
Matthew Maggio	Windsor Spitfires	66	38	0.58
David Goyette	Sudbury Wolves	66	33	0.50
Shane Wright	Kingston Frontenacs	63	32	0.51
Luca Del Bel Belluz	Mississauga Steelheads	68	30	0.44
Kyle Jackson	North Bay Battalion	45	30	0.67
Cedrick Guindon	Owen Sound Attack	68	30	0.44
Ethan Burroughs	Owen Sound Attack	68	30	0.44
Nolan Dann	Sarnia Sting	64	29	0.45
Assist Leaders
Player	Team	GP	A	APG
Shane Wright	Kingston Frontenacs	63	62	0.98
Matthew Maggio	Windsor Spitfires	66	47	0.71
Gavin White	Hamilton Bulldogs	66	46	0.70
Luca Del Bel Belluz	Mississauga Steelheads	68	46	0.68
Pavel Mintyukov	Saginaw Spirit	67	45	0.67
Ty Nelson	North Bay Battalion	66	42	0.64
Christian Kyrou	Erie Otters	68	42	0.62
Amadeus Lombardi	Flint Firebirds	67	41	0.61
David Goyette	Sudbury Wolves	66	40	0.61
Tucker Robertson	Peterborough Petes	68	40	0.59
Defencemen Point Leaders
Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts
Pavel Mintyukov	Saginaw Spirit	67	17	45	62
Christian Kyrou	Erie Otters	68	18	42	60
Gavin White	Hamilton Bulldogs	66	10	46	56
Ty Nelson	North Bay Battalion	66	9	42	51
Michael Buchinger	Guelph Storm	63	5	39	44
Kasper Larsen	Mississauga Steelheads	57	8	35	43
Sam Sedley	Owen Sound Attack	64	4	38	42
Kirill Kudryavtsev	Soo Greyhounds	68	5	34	39
Samuel Mayer	Peterborough Petes	68	11	26	37
Rodwin Dionicio	Niagara IceDogs	57	6	25	31
Plus/Minus Leaders
Player	Team	GP	+/-
Gavin White	Hamilton Bulldogs	66	+35
Jorian Donovan	Hamilton Bulldogs	64	+29
Ty Nelson	North Bay Battalion	66	+24
Isaiah George	London Knights	67	+23
Shane Wright	Kingston Frontenacs	63	+23
Luca Del Bel Belluz	Mississauga Steelheads	68	+23
Lawson Sherk	Hamilton Bulldogs	63	+18
Paul Christopoulos	North Bay Battalion	63	+18
Tnias Mathurin	North Bay Battalion	44	+17
Michael Buchinger	Guelph Storm	65	+15
Penalty Minutes Leaders
Player	Team	GP	PIM	M/G
Landon McCallum	Sudbury Wolves	62	97	1.56
Ethan Larmand	Sudbury Wolves	63	82	1.30
Ryan Humphrey	Hamilton Bulldogs	68	82	1.21
Marc Boudreau	Sudbury Wolves	71	81	1.14
Roberto Mancini	Saginaw Spirit	64	79	1.23
Faceoff Leaders
Player	Team	GP	FOA	FOW	%
Owen Beck	Mississauga Steelheads	68	1348	817	60.6
Stuart Rolofs	Oshawa Generals	62	395	225	57.0
Tucker Robertson	Peterborough Petes	68	1538	873	56.8
Danny Zhilkin	Guelph Storm	66	1092	616	56.4
Nolan Burke	Sarnia Sting	64	717	396	55.2
Max Namestnikov	Sarnia Sting	68	473	261	55.2
Jacob Maillet	Windsor Spitfires	69	869	472	54.3
Amadeus Lombardi	Flint Firebirds	67	866	464	53.6
Jax Dubois	Peterborough Petes	59	877	464	52.9
Vsevolod Gaidamak	Ottawa 67’s	60	830	437	52.7
Minumum 390 faceoffs
Shooting Percentage Leaders
Player	Team	GP	Shots	Goals	SH%
Kyle Jackson	North Bay Battalion	45	111	30	27.03
Dean Loukos	Saginaw Spirit	64	86	22	25.58
Thomas Johnston	Ottawa 67’s	47	61	15	24.59
Braeden Bowman	Guelph Storm	60	113	27	23.89
Nolan Burke	Sarnia Sting	65	144	34	23.61
Tucker Robertson	Peterborough Petes	68	187	41	21.93
Beau Jelsma	Barrie Colts	68	132	27	20.45
Avery Hayes	Hamilton Bulldogs	66	202	41	20.30
Ryan Humphrey	Hamilton Bulldogs	68	134	25	18.66
David Goyette	Sudbury Wolves	66	178	33	18.54
Powerplay Goals
Player	Team	GP	PPG
Avery Hayes	Hamilton Bulldogs	66	12
Luca Del Bel Belluz	Mississauga Steelheads	68	12
Matthew Maggio	Windsor Spitfires	66	10
Deni Goure	Owen Sound Attack	68	10
Kyle Jackson	North Bay Battalion	45	10
Powerplay Assists
Player	Team	GP	PPA
Shane Wright	Kingston Frontenacs	63	20
Ty Nelson	North Bay Battalion	66	20
Tucker Robertson	Peterborough Petes	68	19
Michael Buchinger	Guelph Storm	63	17
Deni Goure	Owen Sound Attack	68	17
Christian Kyrou	Erie Otters	68	17
Longest Point Streak
Player	Team	Gms	G	A	PTS
David Goyette	Sudbury Wolves	13	9	12	21
Longest Goal Streak
Player	Team	GMS	G
Tucker Robertson	Peterborough Petes	5	7
Longest Assist Streak
Player	Team	GMS	A
Ryan Abraham	Windsor Spitfires	8	8
Goaltenders Leaders – Goals Against Average
Player	Team	GP	Min	GA	Avg
Dom DiVincentiis	North Bay Battalion	27	1481	64	2.59
Brett Brochu	London Knights	43	2510	115	2.75
Max Donoso	Ottawa 67’s	27	1491	70	2.82
Jacob Oster	Guelph Storm	34	1845	90	2.93
Patrick Leaver	Oshawa Generals	49	2812	150	3.20
Charlie Schenkel	Soo Greyhounds	7	274	16	3.50
Samuel Ivanov	Soo Greyhounds	35	1847	108	3.51
Michael Simpson	Peterborough Petes	45	2492	148	3.56
Pavel Cajan	Kitchener Rangers	44	2578	155	3.61
Nolan Lalande	Erie Otters	54	3066	185	3.62
Goaltending Leaders – Save Percentage
Player	Team	GP	SH	SVS	SV%
Brett Brochu	London Knights	43	1288	1173	0.911
Patrick Leaver	Oshawa Generals	49	1623	1473	0.908
Dom DiVincentiis	North Bay Battalion	27	686	622	0.907
Max Donoso	Ottawa 67’s	27	743	673	0.906
Pavel Cajan	Kitchener Rangers	44	1561	1406	0.901
Jacob Oster	Guelph Storm	34	831	741	0.892
Michael Simpson	Peterborough Petes	45	1356	1208	0.891
Ian Michelone	Flint Firebirds	10	327	289	0.884
Josh Rosenzweig	Niagara IceDogs	40	1444	1274	0.882

OHL’s Draft Eligible Statistical Leaders as of February 28, 2022

Posted on March 2, 2022March 2, 2022 by Dominic Tiano

The month of February has seen a change in the statistical leaders among players eligible for the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. It was more to do with lost games being made up and the gap in games played between different teams than it had to do with players picking it up or others dropping off.

Look no further then the point leaders. For almost the entire season it’s been either Tucker Robertson of the Peterborough Petes or Luca Del Bel Belluz of the Mississauga Steelheads at the top. Don’t look now but here comes projected number one pick Shane Wright of the Kingston Frontenacs who sits in between the pair. I don’t think it will be too long before Wright is all alone at the top.

It’s no different for defencemen. Ty Nelson of the North Bay Battalion has been at the top of defencemen scoring since the first puck drop. Now he’s been passed by February’s Defenceman of the Month and Rookie of the Month Christion Kyrou of the Erie Otters as well as Pavel Mintyukov of the Saginaw Spirit and Gavin White of the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Offensively, it appears there are three tiers at the top of the draft class for defenders: The first tier has Kyrou all alone as it looks like he will begin to run away with it. That’s followed by the second tier of Mintyukov, White and Nelson. They are also a clear group ahead of the third tier.

In the crease, it’s been a season long battle between Brett Brochu of the London Knights and Patrick Leaver of the Oshawa Generals and I suspect that’s how it will be right up until the last whistle.

Here’s a look at the statistical leaders in different categories. As a reminder, we are including first year and second year eligible players where in the past we’ve only done first year eligible players. While we take great care in compiling stats, please refer to the OHL Website for official stats.

Points Leaders
Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts
Luca Del Bel Belluz	Mississauga Steelheads	51	26	38	64
Shane Wright	Kingston Frontenacs	43	21	41	62
Tucker Robertson	Peterborough Petes	47	26	31	57
Avery Hayes	Hamilton Bulldogs	45	30	23	53
Matthew Maggio	Windsor Spitfires	44	24	28	52
David Goyette	Sudbury Wolves	48	21	28	49
J. R. Avon	Peterborough Petes	44	19	30	49
Nolan Burke	Sarnia Sting	45	27	19	46
Kyle Jackson	North Bay Battalion	31	20	25	45
Deni Goure	Owen Sound Attack	48	21	23	44
Goal Scoring Leaders
Player	Team	GP	G	GPG
Avery Hayes	Hamilton Bulldogs	45	30	0.67
Nolan Burke	Sarnia Sting	45	27	0.60
Luca Del Bel Belluz	Mississauga Steelheads	51	26	0.51
Tucker Robertson	Peterborough Petes	47	26	0.55
Matthew Maggio	Windsor Spitfires	44	24	0.55
Shane Wright	Kingston Frontenacs	43	21	0.49
David Goyette	Sudbury Wolves	48	21	0.44
Deni Goure	Owen Sound Attack	48	21	0.44
Kyle Jackson	North Bay Battalion	31	20	0.65
Nolan Dann	Sarnia Sting	43	20	0.47
Assist Leaders
Player	Team	GP	A	APG
Shane Wright	Kingston Frontenacs	43	41	0.95
Luca Del Bel Belluz	Mississauga Steelheads	51	38	0.75
Michael Buchinger	Guelph Storm	46	33	0.72
Ty Nelson	North Bay Battalion	51	32	0.63
Gavin White	Hamilton Bulldogs	45	31	0.69
Christian Kyrou	Erie Otters	47	31	0.66
Tucker Robertson	Peterborough Petes	47	31	0.66
J. R. Avon	Peterborough Petes	44	30	0.68
Matthew Maggio	Windsor Spitfires	44	28	0.64
Jake Karabela	Guelph Storm	46	28	0.61
Defencemen Point Leaders
Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts
Christian Kyrou	Erie Otters	47	13	31	44
Pavel Mintyukov	Saginaw Spirit	47	10	28	38
Gavin White	Hamilton Bulldogs	45	7	31	38
Ty Nelson	North Bay Battalion	51	6	32	38
Michael Buchinger	Guelph Storm	46	4	33	37
Samuel Mayer	Peterborough Petes	47	9	18	27
Rodwin Dionicio	Niagara IceDogs	43	6	20	26
Kasper Larsen	Mississauga Steelheads	40	5	21	26
Sam Sedley	Owen Sound Attack	47	3	23	26
Kirill Kudryavtsev	Soo Greyhounds	50	3	23	26
Plus/Minus Leaders
Player	Team	GP	+/-
Avery Hayes	Hamilton Bulldogs	45	+33
Ryan Humphrey	Hamilton Bulldogs	47	+33
Isaiah George	London Knights	44	+29
Luca Del Bel Belluz	Mississauga Steelheads	51	+25
Gavin White	Hamilton Bulldogs	45	+18
Shane Wright	Kingston Frontenacs	43	+17
Jorian Donovan	Hamilton Bulldogs	45	+16
Jake Karabela	Guelph Storm	46	+16
Ty Nelson	North Bay Battalion	51	+16
Ben Roger	Kingston Frontenacs	43	+15
Penalty Minutes Leaders
Player	Team	GP	PIM	M/G
Landon McCallum	Sudbury Wolves	47	68	1.45
Samuel Mayer	Peterborough Petes	47	60	1.28
Ryan Humphrey	Hamilton Bulldogs	47	59	1.26
Roberto Mancini	Saginaw Spirit	46	58	1.26
Marc Boudreau	Sudbury Wolves	53	57	1.08
Faceoff Leaders (minimum 240 faceoffs)
Player	Team	GP	FOA	FOW	%
Owen Beck	Mississauga Steelheads	51	1009	606	60.1
Jacob Maillet	Windsor Spitfires	47	541	316	58.4
Stuart Rolofs	Oshawa Generals	43	248	142	57.3
Tucker Robertson	Peterborough Petes	47	1132	642	56.7
Danny Zhilkin	Guelph Storm	44	752	425	56.5
Max Namestnikov	Sarnia Sting	45	418	234	56.0
Braeden Kressler	Flint Firebirds	23	394	218	55.3
Landon McCallum	Sudbury Wolves	47	512	281	54.9
Nolan Burke	Sarnia Sting	45	479	259	54.1
Amadeus Lombardi	Flint Firebirds	49	612	330	53.9
Minumum 60 faceoffs
Shooting Percentage Leaders
Player	Team	GP	Shots	Goals	SH%
Braeden Bowman	Guelph Storm	39	68	19	27.9
Kyle Jackson	North Bay Battalion	31	73	20	27.4
Dean Loukas	Saginaw Spirit	44	56	15	26.8
Nolan Burke	Sarnia Sting	45	103	27	26.2
Thomas Johnston	Ottawa 67’s	39	52	13	25.0
James Jodoin	Windsor Spitfires	28	25	6	24.0
Beau Jelsma	Barrie Colts	45	105	25	23.8
Tucker Robertson	Peterborough Petes	47	120	26	21.7
Avery Hayes	Hamilton Bulldogs	45	141	30	21.3
Hunter Haight	Barrie Colts	41	95	19	20.0
LONGEST POINT STREAK
Player	Team	From	To	GMS	PTS
Nolan Dann	Sarnia Sting	11/5	11/27	11	15
LONGEST GOAL STREAK
Player	Team	From	To	GMS	G
Tucker Robertson	Peterborough Petes	10/28	11/7	5	7
LONGEST ASSIST STREAK
Player	Team	From	To	GMS	A
Stuart Rolofs	Oshawa Generals	2/11	2/24	7	9
Goaltenders Leaders – Goals Against Average
Player	Team	GP	Min	GA	Avg
Brett Brochu	London Knights	39	2306	102	2.65
Max Donoso	Ottawa 67’s	16	889	40	2.70
Dom DiVincentiis	North Bay Battalion	19	996	48	2.89
Patrick Leaver	Oshawa Generals	34	1920	97	3.03
Jacob Oster	Guelph Storm	21	1145	59	3.09
Samuel Ivanov	Soo Greyhounds	26	1432	81	3.39
Pavel Cajan	Kitchener Rangers	29	1690	102	3.62
Nolan Lalonde	Erie Otters	38	2504	157	3.76
Goaltending Leaders – Save Percentage
Player	Team	GP	SH	SVS	SV%
Brett Brochu	London Knights	39	1191	1089	0.914
Patrick Leaver	Oshawa Generals	34	1106	1009	0.912
Max Donoso	Ottawa 67’s	16	437	397	0.908
Pavel Cajan	Kitchener Rangers	29	1011	909	0.899
Dom DiVincentiis	North Bay Battalion	19	465	417	0.897
Jacob Oster	Guelph Storm	21	523	464	0.887
Michael Simpson	Peterborough Petes	29	879	776	0.883
Samuel Ivanov	Soo Greyhounds	26	677	596	0.880

OHL Writers’ Draft Eligible Player of the Month for January

Posted on February 1, 2022January 31, 2022 by Dominic Tiano

Matthew Maggio of the Windsor Spitfires. Photo by Tim Cornett – OHL Images

Just a reminder that for this season, we are breaking down our Draft Eligible Player of the Month down by position due to the number of draft eligible players this season. In previous seasons we named one player only. So, lets get right to it!

Forward

Up front we’re going with Matthew Maggio of the Windsor Spitfires. Maggio played in 8 games scoring 8 goals and adding 7 assists. He had 3 multi-goal games and 5 multi-point games while being held off the score sheet just once. He was named the game’s first star on 4 occasions and second star twice through the month.

Maggio is a late 2002 birthdate which means he is re-entering the draft in 2022. He has 18 goals and 22 assists in 34 games on the season.

Also considered was Nolan Burke of the Sarnia Sting. Burke also appeared in 8 games in January and also scored 8 goals and added 6 helpers. Like Maggio, Burke is a late 2002 birthdate and is re-entering the draft. He has 22 goals and 19 assists in 33 games on the season.

Defenceman

It’s never an easy choice when it comes to OHL blueliners, but for January we give the nod to Christian Kyrou of the Erie Otters. Kyrou is overshadowed a tad in draft circles by teammate Spencer Sova, but Kyrou is having quite the season with 9 goals and 20 helpers in 34 games.

In the month of January, Kyrou posted 4 goals and 5 assists in 8 games and finished a plus-5. He was kept off the scoresheet twice and had 3 multi-point games.

Also considered was Chas Sharpe of the Mississauga Steelheads. Sharpe posted 9 points in 11 games seemingly coming out of nowhere. He had just 2 assists in the previous 24 games heading into January. Kirill Kudryavtsev of the Soo Greyhounds also got some consideration after putting up a goal and 7 helpers in 11 games.

Goaltender

For the second time this season, Patrick Leaver of the Oshawa Generals is our choice. Leaver appeared in 7 games during the month – one of them in relief – and posted a sparkling .930 save-percentage. Unfortunately for Leaver he posted just a 3-3-0 record in his starts. One of those losses came on January 23, he stopped 48 of 49 shots in a 2-0 loss to the Kingston Frontenacs. That earned him first star honors.

Leaver had faced the Frontenacs 5 days earlier and in the contest the Fronts fired 41 shots at his net. He stopped 39 of those and leading his team to a 4-2 victory. His effort that night earned him second star honors.

On January 15 Leaver went up against Oshawa’s rivals the Peterborough Petes. He stopped 36 of 37, many of them of a difficult variety and backstopped his club to a 4-1 victory. He was named the games second star.

Also considered was Max Donoso of the Ottawa 67’s. Donoso appeared in 4 games and posted a save percentage of .939 and a 3-0-0-1 record. In his first appearance in January, he came in in relief and stopped all 12 shots he faced allowing the 67’s to come back and earn a victory in the shootout.

On the season:

FORWARDS

January – Matthew Maggio – Windsor Spitfires

December – Luca DelBelBelluz – Mississauga Steelheads

November – Kyle Jackson – North Bay Battalion

October – Tucker Robertson – Peterborough Petes

DEFENCEMEN

January – Christian Kyrou – Erie Otters

December – Kirill Kudryavtsev – Soo Greyhounds

November – Gavin While – Hamilton Bulldogs

October – Ty Nelson – North Bay Battalion

GOALTENDERS

January – Patrick Leaver – Oshawa Generals

December – Pavel Cajan – Kitchener Rangers

November – Patrick Leaver – Oshawa Generals

October – Brett Brochu – London Knights

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