Monday 28 November 2016

OHL Opening Trimester Awards

On Wednesday November 23rd the OHL reached the one third mark of its season as the London Knights battled the Owen Sound Attack in game number 227. What better time to take a look at some of the best performers through the first third of the season.

Who would your picks be for each Award?



Most Outstanding Player

  1. Alex Debrincat – Erie Otters

I don't know if there is a player in the OHL whose accomplishments are more under appreciated. DeBrincat is coming off of back to back 51 goal seasons in his 17 and 18 year old seasons and now has 23 goals in 22 games so far this year. Sure he has had great linemates from McDavid to Strome to Raddysh but Alex is an elite goal scorer who can score in multiple ways.

What impresses me most about DeBrincat this season is that he has been absolutely deadly at even strength. In his rookie season 21 of his 51 goals were on the power play. Last year 13 of his 51 came on the man advantage. This season only 2 of his 23 goals have come on the power play with one short handed marker tossed in there.

He is averaging more shots per game this year (4.91 vs 4.48) and scoring at a higher shooting percentage (21.2% vs 18.9%). He really slowed down in after getting injured at the world juniors last year and it seems like that is the only thing that can slow him down this year as after 3 seasons OHL defenses sure havn't.

  1. Jeremy Bracco – Kitchener Rangers

Honestly you could flip a coin between Debrincat, Bracco and Taylor Raddysh and make an argument for all in the top spot.

After coming over in the middle of the season last year from the NCAA Bracco picked up 64 points in 49 games. This year after a few graduations on the Rangers roster Bracco has made them his team. With 16 goals and 29 assists in 22 games Bracco has shown the elite finishing and play making skills that made him a Maple Leafs draft pick and what allowed him to break Patrick Kane's single season and career USNTDP assist records.

So far this year Bracco has 9 3+ point games (40% of his games), has gotten a point in every single one of his games and has been named OHL player of the week twice.

  1. Anthony Cirelli – Oshawa Generals

May be an off the board pick to some but I dont know if there is a player who has meant more to his team then Cirelli.

I know Oshawa plays in what some refer to as the “Leastern Conference” but still I dont think many expected them to be in 1st place at this point in the season and with a sizable 5 point lead at that.

What makes Cirelli special is that he affects the game for the Generals in so many different ways. He leads the team in scoring with 13 goals and 17 assists. His 30 points may have him in 14th in league scoring but he doesn't have the weapons around him that those above him do. On top of that he has been dynamite in the face off circle winning 61% of his draws and taking countless face offs in the D zone on the penalty kill and the O zone on the power play giving the Generals possession at critical times. Finally he is a perfect 3 for 3 in the shootout, this is something that cant be understated as the Gens don't have the scoring depth of other top teams so having their star player step up his critical.

Honourable Mentions

Taylor Raddysh – Erie Otters
League leader in points. Right up there with Bracco and DeBrincat although only 1 player from each team can get nominated for this award.

Cliff Pu – London Knights
Has taken huge strides this year and has helped fill the scoring void left by Marner, Dvorak and Tkachuk.

Michael McNiven – Owen Sound Attack
Best goalie in the league and has the Attack competitive in the West as they work their way up the junior hockey competitive cycle.

Overage Player of the Year

  1. Bobby Macintyre – Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds

Just a reminder to my readers who are Steelheads fans that the Greyhounds picked up MacIntyre for a 12th round draft pick before last season.

After coming over from Mississauga before the season MacIntyre went out and doubled his previous career high by picking up 48 points in 62 games for the Hounds. He then came out in the playoffs and helped the Hounds upset the Sting and push the Otters by picking up 11 points in 11 games.

This season MacIntyre has been on fire as he already has 41 points from 14 goals and 27 assists in 26 games. This value of this production for the Hounds can not be understated as Blake Speers has only played 1 game this season (NHL + Broken Wrist) and Zach Senyshyn is still getting up to speed after offseason bouts with Mono and Appendicitis.

Sometimes it takes a while for a young player to realize his potential. In MacIntyres case getting older and coming to the Greyhounds at the right time has allowed him to reach the potential that made him a 2nd round draft pick by the Steelheads in 2012.

  1. Ryan Mantha – Niagara Icedogs

Back in the spring of 2009 the Pittsburgh Penguins had a question to answer. Sign 2007 5th rounder Jake Muzzin or not to. The Penguins chose the latter and Muzzin returned to Sault Ste. Marie for his overage season and went on to win the Max Kaminsky award for top defencemen and finished runner up to Bryan Cameron for OA fo the year.

This past spring the Rangers chose not to sign Ryan Mantha whom they selected in the 4th round in 2014. Mantha has been a different player in Niagara this season as an OA as he has already tied his career high in points with 25 while anchoring a young blueline on the rebuilding Icedogs. Much like Muzzin in 09-10 Mantha's steller play on the backend is a big reason why the Icedogs are vastly exceeding expectations this season.

His 8 goals are tied for 1st among OHL Defencemen, he is 2nd in points and tied for 3rd in power play assists. In the shot department he has a 22 shot lead over the 2nd best defenceman and a 37 shot lead over number 3.

  1. Darren Raddysh – Erie Otters

The older brother of OHL scoring leader Taylor Raddysh, Darren his having a career year. His point per game average is highest in the league among Dmen at 1.32 which is more than double last season when he finished with 40 points.

The step up in play this season by Raddysh has given the Otters young blue line time to develop as they get over the lose of stud reargaurd Travis Dermott who has graduated on the AHL.

As an NHL free agent Raddysh has been garnering attention from scouts for his play this season.

Honourable Mention

Mathieu Henderson – Flint Firebirds
OHL defencemen of the month for October is having his best season of his career

Kevin Spinozzi – Sarnia Sting
Has helped the Sting stay competitive with Zacha, Konecny and Chychrun staying in the NHL.

Niki Petti – Hamilton Bulldogs
Bulldogs are a different team with him in the line up. Arguably the most underrated OA in the league.


Defenceman of the Year

  1. Victor Mete – London Knights

I don't know if there is a better defencemen in the OHL in transition then Victor Mete. Watching him patiently exit the zone whether it be carrying the puck or with a slick first pass is poetry in motion. Currently 5th in scoring among defence with 22 points in 25 games he is tied for the lead with 8 goals, 3 of which have been game winners.

The most impressive stat tidbit from Mete this season is that he has only taken 2 minor penalty while playing top pair minutes for the Knights.


  1. Ryan Mantha – Niagara Icedogs

Not much to add after what I posted under the OA of the year.

     3. Darren Raddysh – Erie Otters

Not much to add after what I posted under OA of the year.

Honourable Mention

Mathieu Henderson – Flint Firebirds
OHL defenceman of the month for October

Mitchell Vande Sompel – Oshawa Generals
Anchor on the East leading Generals blue line. Should garner WJC interest.

Conor Timmins – Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
After playing protected minutes last season Timmins has thrived in a higher leverage role this year and is climbing up draft boards.


Rookie of the Year

  1. Greg Meireles – Kitchener Rangers

The Rangers 2015 1st rounder who played last season on a “B” card while spending most of his time in the CCHL.

Meireles has cooled abit after a hot start with the Rangers this year but still leads all rookies in assists with 16 and points with 23. He also has 7 multi point games to his name this year as he has been an important cog in the Rangers lineup as they battle for home ice in the West.

  1. Ryan Merkley – Guelph Storm

In my opinion this is a two horse race between Merkley and Meireles and you could argue what Merkley has done is more impressive given his position, his age and the talent around him.

The OHLs 1st overall pick this past year has helped the Storm move from 10th in the West all the way up to 9th. More impressively he leads all rookie defencemen in points with 15. The next closes is 17 year old Barrie import Tim Hedberg with 11. On top of that he is only a -6 on a 9th place team that has been outscored by 20 goals this season.

  1. Matthew Villalta – Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds

Rookie goaltender the Greyhounds plucked as a free agent out of the Kingston midget program currently sits 15th in the OHL in wins with 7. While he hasn't played enough games to qualify he has a .911 save percentage and a 2.38 goals against average in 10 games this season.

The emergence of Villalta has given the Hounds piece of mind behind starter Joseph Raaymakers and is a key factor in the Hounds 13-2 record on the road this season as it has allowed them to keep both goalies fresh after long bus rides.

Was recently listed as a “C” prospect by NHL Central scouting and is a name you should watch if you are an NHL draft fan.

Honourable Mention

Allan McShane – Erie Otters
Tied with Merkley and Hinz for the scoring lead among '00 born rookies

Linus Nyman – Kingston Frontnacs
The Finnish import leads all rookies with 14 goals this year.

Brady Hinz – Sarnia Sting
The Stings 3rd round pick finds himself in a 3 way tie for the scoring lead among '00 born rookies

Coach of the Year

  1. Ryan Oulahen – Flint Firebirds

Currently 8th in the Western Conference with a 7 point lead over 9th place Guelph and I dont think anyone predicted that. I dont know if a coach of the year has ever coached a team that finished so low but you would be hard pressed to find someone who has extracted as much out of his team as Oulahen has.

The first year coach came to Flint after years as Stan Butlers lead assistant in North Bay and seems to have learned a thing or to about getting every drop of production from his lineup and maximizing every minute.

He may not win at the end of the year but I dont know if there is a coaching job that will have impressed me as much as his this year. If this young team continues to develop and they can maximize the plethora of assets they hold this team could be very dangerous very soon.


  1. Bob Jones – Oshawa Generals

The head man on the bench of the current Eastern Conference leaders Jones has the Generals getting better almost every game and has them in position to not only be a contender this year but next as well.

Led by Anthony Cirelli up front, Mitchell Vande Sompel on the back end and Jeremy Brodour between the pipes The Gens have a 5 point lead on division rival Hamilton and a 6 point lead on North Bay. They are also one of only 2 teams in the Eastern Conference with a positive goal differential.

  1. Kris Knoblauch – Erie Otters

No Devin Williams, No Travis Dermott and No Dylan Strome (well save for the last 2 games) yet here are the Erie Otters with the 2nd best point percentage in the OHL at .760

Every summer there is speculation that he will jump to the AHL or NHL yet he is back every September and all the Otters seem to do is win games. I dont know if another 50 win season isin the cards for them but given the constant turnover this start is the most impressive in my eyes of the last 4.


Goalie of the Year

  1. Michael McNiven – Owen Sound Attack

Back in his 16 year old season McNiven played for Georgetown in the OJHL. I voted on the year end awards that season and promptly put McNiven #2 to Milton Goalie Ben Blacker for Rookie of the Year, Goalie of the Year as well as the all prospect and all star teams.

3 years later I final get to put McNiven #1 in something although this means absolutely nothing. McNiven has been stellar for the Attack this season and has them in 6th position in the West while leading the league in GAA and save percentage.

  1. Stephen Dhillon – Niagara Icedogs

813 shots against this season for Dhillon, that is 100 more then the next closest OHL goalie. The man has faced more rubber than.... you know what I better not.

His play this season has been criminally underrated and is a major reason why the Icedogs are exceeding expectations a year after going all in during the Eastern Conference championship run. His .919 save percentage is 2nd in the league and he has stolen multiple points for the Icedogs this season. Makes you wonder what he has to do to get some recognition from NHL Central Scouting.

  1. Michael DiPietro – Windsor Spitfires

You could have one of any 5 goalies in this position but I went with DiPietro as he has been solid for the Spits as they continue to build their roster and gel as a team as they strive for a memorial cup title. He currently sits 4th in the OHL with a 2.55 GAA while playing in the Western Conference where half the teams have scored 100+ goals this year (0 teams in the East have done this).

Honourable Mentions
Jeremy Broduer – Oshawa Generals
Has blossomed in his OA season and is a major reason why the Generals have such a sizeable lead in the East.
Dylan Wells – Peterborough Petes
Finally with the crease all to himself Wells is tapping into the potential that made him such a high OHL draft pick.
Tyler Parsons – London Knights

Has come back strong after battling injury issues in the first bit of the season.

Sunday 27 November 2016

OHL Arena Naming Rights

The deeper we get into the 21st century names that have grown synonymous with the OHL like the Peterborough Memorial Centre, Sudbury Arena, Bayshore arena and Kitchener Memorial Auditorium have grown fewer and fewer. With the arena boom that was kicked off by the Barrie Colts cities looking for new revenue streams started attaching corporate sponsors to their arena names.

Arena's in most OHL cities tend to be a focal point for the community and in most cases were memorials for those who served Canada in war. While it is hard for the sentimentalist in us to swallow some of these corporate names the tax payers in most of us can see the logic behind them.

Out of the 20 teams in the OHL 17 are located in Ontario. Of those 17 teams 12 play in arenas with corporate names attached to them. The names of the Windsor Arena, London Ice House, Soo Memorial Gardens and Copps Coliseum are long gone. In their place is the WFCU Centre, Budweiser Gardens, Essar Center and First Ontario Centre.

Only the 4 arenas from the opening Paragraph ( Peterborough, Sudbury, Owen Sound and Kitchener) and the North Bay Memorial Gardens lack the commercialization that has touched their OHL cousins. With some of those teams in the market for new arenas in the near future and 4 current teams about to have their current naming rights expire by 2018 I thought this was the perfect time to look into the various naming rights deals signed by arena's across the OHL.

With deals signed in different years I took out my trusty Texas Instruments BAII Plus calculator and found the present and future values of these rights deals. A deal today signed for $170,000 a year sure sounds a lot nicer then a deal signed 10 years ago for $160,000 a year but it is easy to forget that $170,000 today is worth a lot less then $170,000 10 years ago and the opposite is true for $160,000 10 years ago compared to $160,000 today.

Where I could I found information on who received the money and if any went to the various teams or if the naming rights money only went to the city or another organization. Finally some naming rights deals have added benefits to it. For example the WFCU Centre and the Meridian Centre only have ATM machines in their building from those financial institutions. While the Budweiser Gardens and Sleemans Centre also come with the pour rights for those beers (Pour rights can bring in as much as $50,000 a year just for the right to serve a particular brand of beer at an arena).


average naming rights dollars brought in per year from various arena's around the OHL


Naming Rights adjusted to 2016 dollars



Ranking OHL Arena Rights in 2016 Dollars

London Knights – Budweiser Gardens
$610,073 AAV in 2016 dollars
10 years $6.4 million total
Signed in 2012

Far and away the largest naming rights deal in the OHL. The deal likely includes the pour rights for Budweiser products but even when you take that into account (it will be some of the highest in the league due to the high attendence and usage of the arena) the money generated from the Arena name is large. Very few teams get a piece of the naming rights money but I would be interested to see if the Knights get any as they are a big reason why the City of London is able to get so much for this.


Hamilton Bulldogs – First Ontario Centre
327,091 AAV in 2016 dollars
10 years $3.5 millon total
Signed in 2014

This is an interesting rights deal as the city of Hamilton gets none of the money from it. Well not directly anyways. Global Spectrum the bane of Bulldogs fans exictince and the company in charge of running what will always be Copps Colisium is the main benefactor.


Oshawa Generals – Communities Tributes Centre
224,564 AAV in 2016 dollars (according to sources)
10 years $2.5 million total (according to sources)
Signed in 2016

The newest deal signed in the OHL and also the only unconfirmed number. For some reason Oshawa is very tight lipped about its naming rights deals. Even the numbers for when GM was the sponsor were hard to get ahold of. The rumoured total for the Communities Tributes Centre (the only home builder to acquire naming rights) is 2.5 million over 10 years. In 2016 dollars this comes out to approx 2.24 million over 10 years. The deal for GM was 1.5 million over 10 years which in 2016 dollars was worth approx 1.81 million. If the rumoured numbers are true then the city of Oshawa did a very good job with an increase of 23.75% in 2016 dollars. With 4 teams entering new deals in the next 4 years it will be interesting to see if others can reach these numbers.

It should be noted that the previous deal for GM was not a straight cash deal. Only 77K a year was cash while the approximate 87K remaining was "indirect financial benefits" which could be why the city kept it under wraps.

Windsor Spitfires – WFCU Centre
$189,373 AAV in 2016 dollars
10 years $1.75 million total (payments made quarterly)
Signed in 2008

The 2nd of 3 community credit unions on this list. The payment for which is made quarterly as opposed to yearly which is the case for most arena naming rights based on my research. With the increase in rights fees to Oshawa recently it puts the city of Windsor in a nice position. Personally I can't see anyone else stepping up and surpassing WFCU as they are rather entrentched in the community.

Kingston Frontnacs – K-Rock Cenre
$186,145 AAV in 2016 dollars
10 years $1.7 million total
Signed in 2007

Expires after this season so we could be looking at a new arena name in Kingston if K-Rock doesnt renew. Cant see that happening though due to their partnership with the Fronts as well as the potential synergy that goes along with a radio station and an entertainment venue. I found 2 sets of numbers when it came to the naming rights. The Durham news reported a deal worth 3.3 million a year, a number which is quite outragous. In the feasability study for the Niagara arena done by accounting firm Deloitte the number was pegged at 1.7 million a year over 10 years which is more in line with the arena deals signed at the time.

Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds – Essar Centre
$179,263 AAV in 2016 dollars
10 Years $ 1.5 million total (Total paid upfront in 1st year)
Signed in 2008

Another unique deal as this was paid in full in the first year. All 1.5 million dollars. Because of this the value of this deal increases greatly and was a very shrewd business move by the city of Sault Ste. Marie. In fact it blew the previous agreement with Steelback Breweries out of the water, a deal which was voided after the second payment was missed. On top of that the city of Sault Ste Marie was able to shop the pour rights for beer at the arena which added even more money to the cities cauffers. Now this deal expires after next season and you will likely be seeing a new name. Essar has been a little slow in paying their 14 million dollar tax bill to the city.

Niagara Icedogs – Meridian Centre
$178,244 AAV in 2016 dollars
15 years $3 million total
Signed in 2014

In terms of actual dollars prior to discounting the Icedogs contract is actually the 2nd highest in the OHL. After the original 15 years is up there is an option to increase the deal by 10 years with a 2% compounding escaleter per year. This would bring the dollar total to just north of 5.2 million over 25 years. For the puropse of this I only used the 15 year 3 million dollar contract.

While the $200,000 a year is nice the length of the contract causes the final years to be worth not as much in 2016 dollars which is why its AAV in said dollars is lower then most other deals. The big thing with the length though is that some teams will be able to sign 2 more rights deals potentially with increases before St Catherines can look to rework their contract. While Oshawas total is rumoured it is considerably higher then what Meridian pays.

At the end of the day the city of St Catherines did very well with the dollar total that they got. The length could come back to haunt them but they have cost certainty with this deal for 15 maybe even 25 years. From a political stand point they can spout a munch of mumbo jumbo about it being worth north of 5 million dollars even though from a present value perspective that is far far far from the case.

Guelph Storm – Sleemans Centre
$90,040 AAV in 2016 dollars
13 years $1.1 million total
Signed in 2007

Sleemans Breweries took over exclusive naming rights of what was then the Guelph Sports and Entertainment Centre. Quite a few deals were signed form 2007 to 2008 and the Sleemans Centre turned out to be for the lowest total and yearly amount as well as the longest. While Kingston, Windsor and Sault Ste. Marie all had 10 year terms the Sleemans Centre's deal is for 13. The AAV is one of only 2 under 100k a year.

Sarnia Sting - Progressive Auto Sales Arena
$39,021 AAV in 2016 dollars
10 years $434,415 total
Signed in 2016

I honestly dont know what to say about this deal that was signed in Sarnia. This is an incredibly low total that the city of Sarnia snagged. On top of that the revenue is split between the city and the OHL team with approx 23K going to the city and 19K going to the team. Most deals come with perks such as suites and tickets but as mentioned in the Sarnia Observer these perks for Progressive Auto Sales which include a suite and 12 season tickets has an annual value of about 30K which is more than 66% of what they pay for the naming rights.

Barrie and Mississauga

I couldn't find any recent information on Barrie and Mississauga. All I was able to find on the Colts home is that the contract with Molson is up in 2018 so they could be in the market for a new arena name along with Sault Ste. Marie and Windsor.

As for Mississauga I was only able to find that they had a 10 year agreement worth $190.000 expire in 2008. Obviously Hershey's reupped but that was a very good deal for the time. While the Hershey centre may not be a big draw for OHL hockey it has some advantages that allow for high naming rights fee. For starters it is along a busy stretch of highway. While the location for fans attending games leaves a lot to be desired it is perfect for maximizing naming rights. Secondly it is a very well used facility. The Steelheads may be the anchor tenant but the city of Mississauga has done a good job of maximizing its use.

What will we see in the future?


Kingston is up for a new contract after this season. Barrie, Windsor and Sault Ste. Marie are up for a new contract after 2017-18. Sudbury seems to be moving ahead with a new arena and Peterborough is having some financial difficulty which may spur the city into looking at a new arena that is more cost efficient with new revenue streams. Niagara and Oshawa seem to have set the bar with deals that bring in north of 200K a year and will be a starting point for any city as they look to maximize revenue oppertunities.