2019-20 CHL Season in Review: Top Teams
With the 2019-20 campaign concluded, the Canadian Hockey League is reviewing many of the season’s best performances including the top teams:
Phoenix rise to record-setting season
A 51-win campaign helped the Sherbrooke Phoenix rewrite the franchise record books this season.
Topping the club’s previous high-water mark of 36 wins set twice previously, the Phoenix finished atop the QMJHL with 51 wins and 106 points, a breakout year for the young franchise that joined the league in 2012. Beginning the season on a high note, the Phoenix opened 2019-20 with a 4-0-1-0 showing before dropping their first contest to the defending Memorial Cup champion Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, one of just eight occasions this season in which the club lost in regulation. Led by talented veterans like Felix Robert and Alex-Olivier Voyer plus Pittsburgh Penguins first-round Samuel Poulin, the Phoenix were poised for a strong playoff run prior to the cancellation of the reminder of the 2019-20 season following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Elsewhere, the Ottawa 67’s finished atop the OHL with 50 wins on the season, marking the second straight year in which the franchise has reached the 50-win plateau, while the most victorious club out west was the Everett Silvertips who impressed in picking up 46 wins across 63 appearances.
67’s shoot out the lights
No team found the back of the net more often this season than the Ottawa 67’s, who sat at 296 goals and 4.77 goals per game at the conclusion of the 2019-20 campaign.
Headlined by CHL leading scorer and 2020 NHL Draft hopeful Marco Rossi, the Austrian-born forward was one of five 67’s skaters to hit the 30-goal plateau this season, finishing with 39 tallies, second to fellow draft eligible Jack Quinn whose 52-goal finish made him one of just two skaters alongside Peterborough’s Nick Robertson to reach the 50-goal mark this season. Meanwhile, the 67’s also saw impressive campaigns from veteran forward Joseph Garreffa (36 goals), New Jersey Devils prospect Mitchell Hoelscher (34 goals), and fifth-year forward Austen Keating (32 goals) who this season became the 13th player in franchise history to register 300 career points after he picked up the defining marker in an early February win over the Soo Greyhounds.
Around the CHL, other top scoring clubs included the QMJHL’s Sherbrooke Phoenix whose first-place finish also saw the squad top the charts with 290 goals powered by a 44-goal campaign courtesy of veteran forward Alex-Olivier Voyer, while top honours out west belonged to the Kamloops Blazers who led the WHL with 271 goals with 20-year-old left-wing Orrin Centazzo pushing the pace with 44 goals on the season.
Silvertips’ Wolf stymies the opposition
Responsible play in your own end is the key to team success and that was certainly the story this season in Everett where the Silvertips led the pack in allowing just 142 goals through 63 appearances, averaging just over 2.25 goals against per game.
Leading the way was Calgary Flames prospect Dustin Wolf who was once again dominant between the pipes in topping the charts in all major statistical categories including wins (34), goals-against average (1.88), save percentage (.935), and shutouts (nine). In all, this season saw Wolf limit the opposition to one or fewer goals on 21 occasions, including an incredible 41-save shutout performance coming against the Medicine Hat Tigers in early December in which Wolf was recognized as the game’s first star in the 5-0 road victory. Meanwhile, the Silvertips also saw strong support in the blue paint from backup netminder Braden Holt as the first-year keeper went 4-2-0-0 with a dazzling .926 save rate across eight appearances.
Across the circuit, other top teams that limited goals against this season included the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats who led by Edmonton Oilers prospect Olivier Rodrigue allowed just 148 goals through 64 contests, while top honours in the OHL went to the Ottawa 67’s and veteran netminder Cedrick Andree as the club led the league with 164 goals against across 62 games.
67’s on top again
The Ottawa 67’s were league leaders in many categories this season, including coming away with the year’s longest win streak.
Piecing together 17 consecutive victories spanning from Nov. 16 to Jan. 10, the streak saw this year’s edition of the 67’s set a new record for the storied franchise outscoring the opposition by a combined 100-40 margin. Among the top point producers during that stretch was CHL leading scorer and Austria-native Marco Rossi who accumulated 45 points counting 20 goals and 25 assists, demonstrating the offensive prowess that has him earmarked for early selection in the coming 2020 NHL Draft.
Around the CHL, other impressive win streaks were witnessed in Moncton where the Wildcats won a franchise record 16 straight games spanning from Jan. 31 to Mar. 5, while the longest winning streak this season in the WHL was earned by the Everett Silvertips who won 12 consecutive contests beginning Jan. 17 and spanning to Mar. 6.