OHL Week 16 Power Rankings

The CHL has named the rosters for the Top Prospects game which will take place in Guelph on January 25th. Team Orr which will be coached by Eric Lindros will feature OHL stars Kevin Bahl, Ryan McLeod, Allan McShane, Kirill Nizhnikov, Serron Noel and Andrei Svechnikov.
Team Cherry which will be coached by Don Cherry and George Burnett will feature Jacob Ingham, Evan Bouchard, Nico Gross, Rasmus Sandin (my pick for MVP), Ryan Merkley, Kody Clark, Ty Dellandrea, Barret Hayton, Cam Hillis and Akil Thomas.

Games of the Week

January 17 Kitchener @ Niagara
A great East vs West Matchup features 2 of the hottest teams in the OHL. Can the Icedogs play spoiler this week to another team that made big deadline acquisitions?

January 19 Hamilton @ Kingston
This game has lost a little luster with Kingston's recent play and the fact that Hamilton has built such a large lead in the division. If Kingston has going to make this a race it has to start with this game.

January 19th Sault Ste. Marie @ Sarnia
The Greyhounds continue to look for a challenge and the revamped Sting offer the best chance at that. The Greyhounds greatest strengths are their patience and their speed and the Sting made sure they got a lot faster at the deadline.

Magic Numbers
Hamilton - 30
Niagara - 37
Barrie - 39
Kingston - 42

Sault Ste. Marie - 9 (36 for Hamilton Spectator Trophy)
Kitchener - 30
Sarnia - 26
Windsor - 38

Division quick hits

The Ottawa 67s finished their 2nd and final game against Gatineau of the QMJHL thumping them 5-0 in enemy territory... Peterborough Interim coach Andrew Verner picked up his 1st 2 career OHL coaching wins.

After moving Michael Pezzetta to Sarnia the Wolves needed to name a new captain and that honour was bestowed upon OA defender Kyle Rhodes.... Barrie Colts forward and former 15th round draft pick Lucas Chiodo picked up career point number 100 this week. He is only the 2nd 15th round pick since 2008 to hit that milestone (2nd this year) and only the 7th since 2001.... Sticking with Barrie recent deadline pick up Dmitry Sokolov potted career goal number 100. Need a goal? Call Sokolov. The sniper who cares....


The London Knights were in need of a new captain and turned to 2018 NHL draft prospect Evan Bouchard to wear the C.... Erie was also in need of a captain with Taylor Raddysh being moved so they turned to his minor midget teammate Kyle Maksimovich to carry the torch.... The Kitchener Rangers picked up a huge commitment in Micahel Vukojevic

The Sarnia Sting honoured Steven Stamokos this week making his #91 the first number retired to the rafters of the ubiquitous used cars centre..... Sticking with the Sting I missed this last week but Head Coach Darien Hatcheer picked up career OHL win number 100..... The Saginaw Spirit picked up a commitment from 2017 draft pick Mason Millman. He has been playing in the GOJHL where he was part of their young starts all start game for '01 born players.....


(1) Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds  37-3-3 Power Rank Percentage (PR%) .8635
They Hounds picked up 3 more wins this week pushing their home record to 20-1-1 on the seasons. Taylor Raddysh made quite the debut with 9 points in 3 games but the highlight of the week was the girl figure skating in the 2nd intermission of the Friday game to Istanbul by They Might be Giants. What a classic.
Games This Week: Jan 19 @ Sar; Jan 20 @ Fli

(2) Hamilton Bulldogs 27-9-9 PR% .7424
Hamilton had another perfect week although Flint gave them a bit of a scare on Sunday till Hakon Nilson turned the tank on and took a delay of game penalty with 51 seconds left and Hamilton scored on the ensuing PP.
Games This Week: Jan 17 @ OS; Jan 19 @ Kgn; Jan 20 @ Ott

(3) Niagara Icedogs 24-12-5 PR% .7077
After a perfect week which included a win over Barrie the Icedogs have catapulted themselves into 1st place in the central with a game in hand on the Colts. Niagara has the goaltending to fend off the Colts so this has the makings to be the best divisional race in the league.
Games This Week: Jan 17 vs Kit; Jan 19 @ Ldn; Jan 20 @ Bar

(4) Kitchener Rangers 27-14-2 PR% .6780
The only thing standing between the Rangers and a perfect week was London Knights 2nd year goalie Jordan Kooy who stood on his head in a 2-1 Knights win on Sunday night.
Games This Week: Jan 17 @ Nia; Jan 19 vs Eri; Jan 21 vs Gue

(5) Oshawa Generals 21-19-3 PR% .6440
After dropping Saturday afternoons tilt vs the Fronts the Generals exacted some revenge with a 3-0 shutout win on home ice. Dont look now but the Generals are only 3 points behind the struggling Fronts in the standings. After some early season struggles without Keyser in the lineup this Gens team has slowly but steadily gotten better. This team will be a dangerous playoff matchup for someone.
Games This Week: Jan 20 @ Pbo; Jan 21 vs Sar

(6) Sarnia Sting 29-12-2 PR% .6320
4 wins in a row for the Sting as they try to stake their claim as the best challengers to the Greyhounds. Still they are 17 points out of first in the division so this team will look to prep for the 3rd seed and hope to peak come round 2 and 3.
Games This Week: Jan 17 @ Fli; Jan 19 vs SSM; Jan 21 @ Osh

(7) London Knights 23-17-3 PR%.6311
How good has Jordan Kooy been these past few weeks for the Knights? Only 1 game has he had a save percentage below .900 as he has stopped  211 of 226 shots since Christmas. Will we have another Joseph Raaymakers trade watch in the offseason?
Games This Week: Jan 18 @ Wsr; Jan 19 vs Nia

(8) North Bay Battalion 18-19-6 PR% .6197
The giant killing Battalion now have points in 6 straight games after Sundays comeback victory vs the Pete's. Stan Butlers troops are playing strong hockey right now and are finding ways to win. Picked by many to miss the playoffs after the trade deadline they seem to have other plans.
Games This Week: Jan 18 vs Sby; Jan 20 @ Sby; Jan 21 vs Sag

(9) Windsor Spitfires 22-15-4 PR% .5952
Outside of Purboo and MacDougal there really isnt much on this team to get excited about for this season at least. They may need to think about bringing oxygen to the bench for Dipietro during the TV timeouts.
Games This Week: Jan 18 vs Ldn; Jan 19@ Gue; Jan 21 vs Fli

(10) Barrie Colts 24-15-3 PR% .5863
After putting up 10 on Sudbury to start the week the Colts offence went dry as they dropped games to Niagara and North Bay only scoring 3 goals in the process.
Games This Week: Jan 18 vs Sag; Jan 19 @ Miss; Jan 20 @ Bar

(11) Mississauga Steelheads 18-23-1 PR% .5717
The Steelheads split their Northern Ontario weekend and I must say they put together one of the better performances I have seen this year against the Greyhounds. If they could get some consistent goaltending they would be a force in the East.
Games This Week: Jan 17 @ Ott; Jan 19 vs Bar; Jan 21 vs Kgn

(12) Saginaw Spirit 22-16-3 PR% .5533
The Spirit finished off a murderers row a games where they lost to Sarnia, Sault Ste. Marie and Kitchener before squeaking out a shootout win against the Windsor Spitfires. This team is clearly a few steps below the big guns in the West but their young talent is so exciting to watch that you cant wait to see what they look like next year.
Games This Week: Jan 18 @ Bar; Jan 19 @ Sby; Jan 21 @ NB

(13) Kingston Frontenacs 21-15-6 PR% .5440
It wasn't the strongest week from the Fronts as they dropped a pair. The recent struggles have likely cost the team any chance at a division title and any more struggles could cost them the 3rd seed in the East.
Games This Week: Jan18 @ Pbo; Jan 19 vs Ham; Jan 21 @ Miss

(14) Guelph Storm 21-17-4 PR% .5267
Guelph opened the week with a loss in Peterborough but rebounded to win in Kingston and Ottawa. Picking up 4 of 6 points is a good weekend for their most eastern trip of the year.
Games This Week: Jan 19 vs Wsr; Jan 21 @ Kit

(15) Erie Otters 13-21-9 PR% .4959
The Otters picked up a SO win over the Flint Firebirds to complete a 3 point week. The benefit of winning in a shootout is that they dont gain too much ground on Flint in the standings. They playoffs are highly unlikely but they are only 6 points behind the Owen Sound Attack.
Games This Week: Jan 19 @ Kit; Jan 20 OS; Jan 21 @ OS

(16) Peterborough Petes 18-21-4 PR% .4909
A much needed 5 point weekend but what a lost opportunity against the Battalion with another late blown lead by the Pete's. If they miss the playoffs by 1 point this will be the game we can circle back too.
Games This Week: Jan 18 vs Kgn; Jan 20 vs Osh; Jan 21 @ Ott

(17) Ottawa 67s 17-20-5 PR% .4803
The 67s got saved by having a game scheduled against a team from the Q. The team then dropped their next game to Guelph in extra time. The Guelph game started a stretch of 11 of 12 at home which will go a long way in making or breaking their season.
Games This Week: Jan 17 vs Miss; Jan 20 vs Ham; Jan 21 vs Pbo

(18) Owen Sound Attack 16-18-7 PR% .4632
I got to watch this team live for the first time on Friday and I can see why this team did not trade for a goalie. They have way more issues than in net. To make matters worse they have lost Sean Durzi to a high ankle sprain as he seemed to get his skate caught in a rut trying to keep the puck in the offensive zone.
Games This Week: Jan 17 vs Ham; Jan 20 vs Eri; Jan 21 vs Eri

(19) Flint Firebirds 12-25-4 PR% .4120
They gave Hamilton quite the scare till the realized they need to tank so they took a delay of game penalty with less than a minute in the 3rd and promptly gave up the winning goal.
Games This Week: Jan 17 vs Sar; Jan 20 vs SSM; Jan 21 @ Wsr

(20) Sudbury Wolves 12-25-6 PR% .3893
This team is in an all out sprint for the 1st overall pick in the OHL with their sights set on the gold medal which in this case would be Quintin Byfield
Games This Week: Jan 18 @ NB; Jan 19 vs Sag; Jan 20 @ NB