CHLGOTW: Soo vs. Saginaw — Five to watch
The two of the best teams in the OHL will meet this evening as the Soo Greyhounds (31-12-3) visit the Saginaw Spirit (32-12-1).
The two Midwest Division rivals have a combined 63 wins this year, are level on 65 points each and both enter tonight’s contest on extensive winning streaks.
Sault Ste. Marie are winners of five straight and with them tied for the second best record in the OHL, their return to the postseason after missing out last year is all but confirmed.
Offseason acquisition Jack Beck, a former Calgary Flames draft pick, has led the scoring charge for a Greyhounds squad that has scored the fourth most goals in the OHL this year with 197. Their euro led blue line – that features Arttu Karki (VGK) and Kirill Kudryavtsev (VAN) – have a combined 68 points while the former sits second in league goals by a d-men with 18.
The addition of Gavin Hayes (CHI) at the trade deadline has already paid dividends with seven goals and 13 points in seven games while Charlie Schenkel’s 21 wins are the second most among OHL goaltenders.
As for the Spirit, who are tied for the OHL lead with 32 wins and have won seven straight, their spot in the 2024 Memorial Cup presented by Dow is already secured as hosts but their focus remains on a first OHL title.
General manager Dave Drinkill has gone above and beyond to make that a real possibility with the additions of Owen Beck (MTL), Alex Christopoulos and Jorian Donovan (OTT) at the OHL trade deadline while the club also received former captain Josh Bloom from the Vancouver Canucks after he was reassigned after he spent the first half of the year playing professionally.
For all the NHL prospect talent the Spirit possess, that also includes Rodwin Dionicio (ANA), Hunter Haight (MIN) and Matyas Sapovaliv (VGK), among others, a lot of eyes remain on a pair of NHL Draft prospects in Zayne Parekh (2024) and Michael Misa (2025).
The pair are the Spirit’s top two scorers this year with a combined 120 points and each have already surpassed the 20-goal plateau.
Both clubs rank in the OHL’s top three in penalty kill, with the Spirit’s 85.2 per cent rate tops among all 20 clubs. Saginaw also owns the league’s third best power play at 27.8 per cent.
Tonight is the sixth meeting of the year between the two clubs with the Greyhounds holding a 3-2-0 edge. Over the past five years, the Spirit are 19-13-4 head-to-head.
The amount of talent on display tonight is impressive as two clubs that are expected to go on long playoff runs meet. Fans can watch tonight’s game on CHL TV and TSN+ at 7:05pm ET.
Jack Beck — Soo
Life in the Soo has been good Beck since an offseason traded from Ottawa.
For the first time in his junior career, the overage forward is truly healthy having appeared in all 46 games this season having missed 67 games, as well as the entire 2020-21 season, over the past four years.
His 58 points are a career high while his 18 goals are four shy of his total from 2021-22. He’s also a master setup man on the man advantage; his 20 power play assists are the second most in the OHL this year. Beck is on pace for 86 points which would be the most by a Greyhounds skater since Morgan Frost had 109 in 2018-19.
Owen Beck – Saginaw
Not related to Jack, Owen is on a quest to win a second straight OHL title after he was acquired from Peterborough at the OHL trade deadline.
A year ago, Beck was instrumental in leading the Petes to an OHL title, a scenario he hopes to repeat later this year.
After a six-point debut with the Spirit on Jan. 10, the Montreal Canadiens prospect has totalled 15 points in his nine games with Saginaw.
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🍎🍎🍎🍎#GoHabsGo prospect Owen Beck was sensational in his @SpiritHockey debut Wednesday! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/FHaifhk8A3— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) January 11, 2024
Hunter Haight – Saginaw
Since his acquisition from Barrie Dec. 1, 2022, Haight has done nothing but impress as a member of the Spirit.
Last season, he tallied 51 points in 42 games post-trade while this year he’s recorded 53 points and has surpassed the 20-goal mark for the third straight season.
On pace for an 80-point campaign, the Minnesota Wild prospect has also won 53.1 per cent of his draws this year.
"That's a highlight reel goal!" #mnwild prospect Hunter Haight headlines this week's Top 5 plays of the week fuelled by @SuppKingCanada after his wonderful solo effort for @SpiritHockey! #SupplementKingsOfTheWeek pic.twitter.com/RfkXaLXYte
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) December 11, 2023
Gavin Hayes – Soo
Coming off of a gold medal at the 2024 World Juniors with the USA, Hayes was swiftly moved to the Soo ahead of the OHL’s trade deadline.
With seven goals in seven games, as well as 13 points, the move has paid dividends for the Greyhounds.
The Chicago Blackhawks prospect departed Flint as the team’s second all-time leading goalscorer with 166 points while in 2023-24, he’s totalled 49 points between the Firebirds and Greyhounds. A year ago, he had 41 goals and 81 points with Flint.
Newly acquired #Blackhawks prospect, and #WorldJuniors gold medallist, Gavin Hayes had a pair of goals in his @OHLHoundPower debut Friday! 🚨🚨 pic.twitter.com/yeE9E1iW9l
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) January 13, 2024
Zayne Parekh – Saginaw
In his second OHL season, Parekh continues to astonish from the Spirit’s blue line.
This year, he leads all CHL defencemen with 22 points and a 1.53 point-per-game average while his 66 points rank second.
He is currently on pace for 102 points and if he passes the 100-point threshold, he’d be just the 11th OHL d-man to accomplish the feat and the first since Ryan Ellis in 2010-11.
Earlier this month, he competed in the Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game while NHL Central Scouting ranked him as the 10th best North American prospect in their mid-term rankings.
2024 #NHLDraft prospect Zayne Parekh showed his offensive upside with a hat-trick Wednesday for @SpiritHockey! pic.twitter.com/CsmAHQGSXF
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) January 11, 2024