OHL Western Conference Playoff Preview
The Western Conference playoff picture is set as eight teams embark on the 2022 OHL Playoffs that get underway on Thursday night. Here’s a look at how the teams stack up:
(1) Windsor Spitfires (44-17-4-3) vs. (8) Sarnia Sting (27-36-4-1) – #WSRvsSAR
The West Division champion Windsor Spitfires have their sights set on taking their first playoff round since 2011, but it won’t come without a fight at the hands of the Sarnia Sting, who battled their way into the OHL Playoffs on the final weekend of the regular season.
Sarnia managed to beat Windsor four times this season, and with capable goaltenders in both San Jose Sharks prospect Ben Gaudreau and Arizona Coyotes signee Anson Thornton, the Sting have things covered off in the crease.
34-goal scorer Nolan Burke missed the Sting’s final four games of the regular season but hopes to be ready to go come Thursday, joining one of the Western Conference’s top playmakers in Ty Voit on the attack. Known for a blistering shot, Nolan Dann lit the lamp 29 times this past season, while key face-off man Theo Hill is another player the Sting will count on if they hope to get past Windsor.
An early season acquisition from the Kingston Frontenacs, Ethan Ritchie has turned into one of Sarnia’s most reliable defenders, coming up with key shot blocks while covering off the little things defensively. He’s also put up 36 points (11-25–36) in his 53 games with the Sting this season. Expect 6-foot-5 Boston Bruins prospect Ryan Mast to also see a good amount of ice in the series.
Coming off a 13-game winning streak before dropping their final two decisions of the regular season, the Spitfires were among the hottest teams in the second half, powered by the offensive dominance of OHL leading scorer Wyatt Johnston. The Dallas Stars first rounder claimed the Eddie Powers Trophy with 124 points (46-78–124), collecting 21 of those (5-16–21) against Sarnia. In addition to Johnston, New York Rangers prospect Will Cuylle (43-37–80) and veteran winger Matthew Maggio (38-47–85) form a three-headed monster for Windsor, and don’t forget about Daniel D’Amico (32-26–58), who scored in 12 of his final 15 games of the regular season. Draft eligible rookie Ryan Abraham also stepped his game up down the stretch, finding the scoresheet in 12 of Windsor’s final 14 contests.
The Spits produced the League’s third-ranked power play, quarterbacked by overage veteran Louka Henault (8-57–65) with help from mid-season addition Andrew Perrott (5-44–49). Michael Renwick also played an important role for Windsor, playing in all situations while especially emerging as a key piece defensively, leading the blue line corps with a plus-28 rating.
In goal, Matt Onuska came over from the London Knights mid-season and played to a mark of 19-3-1-1. Like Sarnia, Windsor is another team with two capable goaltending options as Xavier Medina was 18-8-1-2 with a 3.05 goals-against average and .891 save percentage.
Marc Savard’s Spitfires have been red hot. With home ice advantage and an experienced group of veterans hungry for success, they’ll be a tough group for the scrappy Sting to overcome.
Season Series:
Windsor wins 6-3-1-0
Oct. 7 – SAR 6 at WSR 3
Oct. 8 – WSR 3 at SAR 2 (OT)
Nov. 12 – WSR 7 at SAR 3
Dec. 3 – WSR 7 at SAR 5
Jan. 14 – WSR 5 at SAR 6
Jan. 27 – SAR 2 at WSR 5
Feb. 6 – SAR 6 at WSR 2
Feb. 27 – SAR 1 at WSR 5
Mar. 15 – WSR 3 at SAR 4
Mar. 31 – SAR 1 at WSR 5
Playoff History:
This marks the sixth time that Sarnia and Windsor have met in the OHL Playoffs.
– 2018 SAR def. WSR 4-2 – 1st round / 2008 SAR def. WSR 4-1 – 1st round / 2000 WSR def. SAR 4-3 – 1st round / 1997 SAR def. WSR 4-1 – 1st round / 1995 WSR def. SAR 4-0 – 1st round
Series Schedule:
Game 1, Thurs., April 21 at Windsor 7:05
Game 2, Sat., April 23 at Windsor 7:05
Game 3, Tues., April 26 at Sarnia 7:05
Game 4, Thurs., April 28 at Sarnia 7:05
Game 5, Sat., April 30 at Windsor 7:05 *
Game 6, Sun., May 1 at Sarnia 7:05 *
Game 7, Tues., May 3 at Windsor 7:05 *
(2) London Knights (39-22-5-2) vs. (7) Kitchener Rangers (30-31-5-2) – #LDNvsKIT
An age-old 401 rivalry kicks off the first round as the London Knights meet their Midwest Division nemesis, the Kitchener Rangers.
The old rivalry is heating up again, with flashbacks to the days of Corey Perry and Michael Richards in the mid-2000s. The Knights had Kitchener’s number early this season, but the Rangers managed to beat London in four of their final five meetings.
The big concern in London lies with the health of goaltender Brett Brochu, who has been sidelined since March 8th and underwent minor surgery as a result of an ankle injury. The Knights are 7-7-3-2 since Brochu went down, relying on a rotation of younger netminders in his absence. Seventeen-year-old Owen Flores was the most prominent replacement, and he made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season on Sunday in a 1-0 win over Sarnia. Brochu was back at practice this week, so this is a situation to keep tabs on.
The Knights have no problem filling the net, putting the dynamic duo of 55-goal scorer Luke Evangelista and 84-point producer Antonio Stranges up against any other pair in the League. Sean McGurn emerged as a valuable part of the team this season as well, recording 73 points (20-53–73) while serving as a go-to guy on the penalty kill. Top faceoff man Cody Morgan gives the club some overage experience, and mid-season add Camaryn Baber could prove to be a big piece in the playoffs with his competitive edge.
Big 6-foot-5 blueliner Kirill Steklov has stepped up as a leader on the London blue line, filling big minutes alongside Gerard Keane and 2022 NHL Draft prospect Isaiah George. The Knights remain without Montreal Canadiens prospect Logan Mailloux, who has been sidelined with an injury since March 6th and recently underwent surgery.
The Kitchener Rangers will give the Knights all they can handle, with a veteran presence up front that features a pair of 30+ goal scorers in Mike Petizian and Reid Valade, the latter of whom lit the lamp eight times against London this season. The much-improved Joseph Serpa leaped from 14 points in 2019-20 to 69 (20-49–69) this past season and joins captain Francesco Pinelli as another reliable presence in the forward ranks. The physical presence of Nashville Predators free agent signing Navrin Mutter could come in handy for the Rangers in what’s sure to be an intense series.
Overager Justin Nolet will continue to be leaned on by coach Mike McKenzie, joining big Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Roman Schmidt in playing a prominent role defensively. The tandem of Pavel Cajan and Jackson Parsons will serve as Kitchener’s last line of defence, with both having proven that they can steal a game over the course of the season. The Rangers were outshot in 53 of their 68 regular season games, winning 24 of them.
Season Series:
London wins 6-2-2-0
Nov. 20 – KIT 0 at LDN 4
Nov. 21 – LDN 6 at KIT 3
Dec. 7 – LDN 6 at KIT 2
Jan. 9 – LDN 6 at KIT 2
Feb. 5 – KIT 3 at LDN 6
Feb. 11 – LDN 4 at KIT 6
Feb. 21 – KIT 5 at LDN 4 (OT)
Mar. 8 – LDN 2 at KIT 4
Mar. 26 – KIT 4 at LDN 3 (OT)
Apr. 13 – KIT 3 at LDN 4
Playoff History:
This is the ninth time the Knights and Rangers have done battle in the OHL Playoffs.
– 2015 LDN def. KIT 4-2 – 1st round / 2013 LDN def. KIT 4-1 – 2nd round / 2012 LDN def. KIT 4-0 – 3rd round / 2010 KIT def. LDN 4-3 – 2nd round / 2005 LDN def. KIT 4-1 – 3rd round / 1993 LDN def. KIT 4-3 – 1st round / 1984 KIT def. LDN 4-0 – 2nd round / 1978 LDN def. KIT 4-0 – 2nd round
Series Schedule:
Game 1, Thurs., April 21 at London 7:00
Game 2, Fri., April 22 at London 7:00
Game 3, Sun., April 24 at Kitchener 2:00
Game 4, Tues., April 26 at Kitchener 7:00
Game 5, Sun., May 1 at London 2:00 *
Game 6, Tues., May 3 at Kitchener 7:00 *
Game 7, Wed., May 4 at London 7:00 *
(3) Flint Firebirds (42-21-1-4) vs. Owen Sound Attack (34-26-5-3) – #FLNTvsOS
Expect speed, and expect physicality in this series between a pair of Western Conference foes that come off successful regular seasons, each in their own context.
Though they missed out on winning the West Division, the Firebirds were a force throughout the regular season, playing to the League’s best road record of 24-7-1-2. They produced the OHL’s top penalty kill, one that operated at an eye-popping 89.6 percent efficiency rate away from home, the best figure of any team since 1997-98.
Up there as one of the best pure goal-scorers League-wide, New York Rangers prospect Brennan Othmann put an exclamation mark on his season last weekend, scoring four goals in his final regular season game to reach 50 on the campaign. Othmann’s 97 points set a new Firebirds record and he’ll be a big part of any of the club’s success into the postseason.
The Birds have a few other veteran names that will try and match Owen Sound’s physicality in Riley Piercey (27-31–58), Ethan Keppen (23-17–40) and Tag Bertuzzi (21-24–45) while the ‘Birds can join the Attack in putting forth some impressive rookie players in forwards Gavin Hayes (19-30–49), Coulson Pitre (23-21–44) and first-year playmaker Amadeus Lombardi (18-41–59). Not to be overlooked, Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Braeden Kressler (5-11–16) made a late season return to the lineup and will join Sahil Panwar (17-27–44) in giving Flint the speed they’ll need to get past Owen Sound.
Winnipeg Jets prospect Dmitry Kuzmin (18-26–44) comes off a monster second half that yielded 17 of his 18 goals after January 1st. The mobile blueliner will share some of the load with fellow power play contributor Tyler Deline (7-31–38) and shutdown specialist Zack Terry (9-10–19) in front of overage netminder Luke Cavallin, who led the OHL with 36 wins.
Owen Sound always plays tough, and it starts from the leadership group on down with veteran captain Mark Woolley back for his final shot at an OHL championship. Woolley missed the last two weeks of the season to injury, but hopes to be ready to go and would join speedy forward Nick Porco and big 6-foot-7 rearguard Igor Chibrikov in the Attack’s overage group that will be laying it all on the line in this series.
Top scorer Deni Goure (24-39–63) and 30-goal man Ethan Burroughs (30-21–51) compliment a group of outstanding rookies in Cedrick Guindon (30-29–59), Servac Petrovsky (28-26–54) and Colby Barlow (30-17–47) leading the Owen Sound offence. Each of Guindon, Petrovsky and Barlow finished the season with at least 47 points, Owen Sound’s prior high watermark for a 16 or 17-year-old rookie set by current assistant coach Joey Hishon back in 2007-08.
Owen Sound’s defence will need to be able to fend off Flint’s speed, and Sam Sedley (4-38–42) gives the Bears a blueliner who can offset some of that. A healthy Nolan Seed (4-8–12), who has battled injuries throughout the season, will be another asset.
Nick Chenard won five of his final six decisions of the season in goal. The 6-foot-4 puckstopper went 24-13-4-1 on the season and will need to be sharp against a Flint team boasting no shortage of good shooters in this series.
The Firebirds set franchise records across the board this season, claiming 42 wins and 89 points. With 19 of those 42 wins coming against two non-playoff teams in Erie and Saginaw however, some speculative voices have wondered how the Birds will fare in a series of this nature. Owen Sound is a more than capable opponent that took three of four against Flint during the regular season – presenting the Firebirds with their golden opportunity to put those questions to rest.
Season Series:
Owen Sound wins 3-1-0-0
Dec. 4 – FLNT 7 at OS 4
Dec. 5 – FLNT 2 at OS 3
Dec. 10 – OS 8 at FLNT 4
Dec. 11 – OS 4 at FLNT 3
Playoff History:
This marks the first time Flint and Owen Sound are meeting in the OHL Playoffs. The Attack and Plymouth Whalers met in 2013 (PLY 4-2, 2nd round), 2011 (OS 4-0, 2nd round), 2005 (OS 4-0, 1st round) and 2003 (PLY 4-0, 1st round).
Series Schedule:
Game 1, Fri., April 22 at Flint 7:00
Game 2, Sat., April 23 at Flint 7:00
Game 3, Mon., April 25 at Owen Sound 7:00
Game 4, Wed., April 27 at Owen Sound 7:00
Game 5, Sun., May 1 at Flint 4:00 *
Game 6, Tues., May 3 at Owen Sound 7:00 *
Game 7, Wed., May 4 at Flint 7:00 *
(4) Soo Greyhounds (39-22-6-1) vs. (5) Guelph Storm (36-24-5-3) – #SOOvsGUE
The last team to hoist the Robertson Cup, the Guelph Storm find themselves in the same place they entered the 2019 OHL Playoffs, locking up in a 4 vs. 5 battle to begin the postseason. This time they won’t have home ice advantage as they ride into the playoffs with one regulation loss in their last nine games. They’re tasked with finding a way to slow down the high-powered Soo Greyhounds, who finished the season five goals shy of 300.
While the two opponents haven’t met in three months it was the Greyhounds who won four out of six contests, highlighted by a primetime victory on TSN in their last meeting on January 21st. Over the course of those six meetings the Hounds scored at least four goals five different times.
The Greyhounds are powered by an offensive duo up front with Calgary Flames prospect Rory Kerins who finished second in OHL scoring with 118 points in 67 games and recently signed Seattle Kraken prospect Tye Kartye who finished the season fourth in goals in the OHL with 45 in in 63 games.
The star power for the Greyhounds is not limited to their forward unit as the back end is anchored by one of the strongest shutdown defencemen in the league in Minnesota Wild prospect Ryan O’Rourke. One of the largest moves of the 2022 OHL Trade Deadline saw the Greyhounds acquire Sudbury Wolves captain and Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Jack Thompson who finished the season tied for the league lead in goals by a blue liner with teammate Robert Calisti. The pair also finished tied for sixth in scoring by defencemen with 57 points.
Make sure to stay out of the penalty box against this Greyhounds group, especially at GFL Memorial Gardens. The league’s top overall power play team converts on over 31 percent of their extra-man opportunities on home ice. Twenty-three of Tye Kartye’s team-leading 45 goals came on the man advantage which led the league while it was often Kerins setting him up as he led the league in power play assists with 32.
In goal for the Soo it was a two-headed approach after they traded for Tucker Tynan (17-10-6-1 in the Soo) from the Niagara IceDogs as well as fourth overall 2020 U18 draft pick Samuel Ivanov (20-9-0-0). The pair equally split the last 14 starts of the regular season for head coach John Dean, resulting in comparable numbers with Ivanov having a slight edge in GAA while Tynan has a slight edge in SV%.
At the other end Vegas Golden Knights prospect Daniil Chayka leads a group of four returnees from the 2019 championship roster and the only member of that group to appear in games on that championship run. One of the youngest teams in the league, the Storm shattered pre-season expectations falling just a few points short of hosting a first-round playoff series.
Up front they’re led by Anaheim Ducks prospect Sasha Pastujov who led the Storm in Goals, assists and points. Alongside him are four 2022 NHL Draft Eligible prospects who all attended the 2022 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects game in Danny Zhilkin (23-32-55), Matthew Poitras (21-29-50), Jake Karabela (12-33-45) and defenceman Michael Buchinger (5-39-44).
At the deadline the Storm acquired some veteran experience in a pair of overagers in forward Brayden Guy and defenceman Ashton Reesor from the Sarnia Sting. Guy was officially named captain by coach George Burnett in mid-february, a title he also held with the Sting prior to the move. He made an instant impact in Guelph as 19 of his 25 goals on the season came in the 36 games he played in a Storm uniform.
Defensively the Storm allowed 228 goals as a team, the fourth-best mark in the Ontario Hockey League. Jacob Oster battled injuries in the final stretch of the regular season as Owen Bennett started nine of Guelph’s final twelve games in net. Oster finished the season with the eleventh-best GAA in the OHL with a 2.93, second among rookie netminders. Who exactly is going to take the ball and run with it in the Storm crease has been a storyline throughout the season, perhaps one that will result in a postseason answer.
One of the most intriguing first round matchups in the opening round of the 2022 OHL Playoffs pits the experienced Greyhounds against a young Storm group. The Series kicks off Thursday night in the Soo. Only the conference-leading Spitfires had a better home record than the Hounds in the Western Conference, and a building where the Storm had only one win in three visits in 2021-22. The Greyhounds are winless in their last three playoff matchups against the Storm, with their first and only win coming in 1994.
Season Series:
Sault Ste. Marie wins 4-2-0-0
Oct. 15 – SOO 4 at GUE 2
Oct. 30 – SOO 1 at GUE 4
Nov. 5 – GUE 4 at SOO 9
Nov. 6 – GUE 6 at SOO 5
Dec. 3 – GUE 2 at SOO 7
Jan. 21 – SOO 4 at GUE 2
Playoff History:
This marks the fifth time the Greyhounds and Storm have met in the postseason.
– 2015 SOO def. GUE 4-0 – 2nd round / 2008 SOO def. GUE 4-1 – 2nd round / 1997 GUE def. SOO 4-2 – 2nd round / 1994 SOO def. GUE 4-0 – 2nd round
Series Schedule:
Game 1, Thurs., April 21 S.S. Marie 7:07
Game 2, Sat., April 23 S.S. Marie 7:07
Game 3, Tues., April 26 Guelph 7:00
Game 4, Thurs., April 28 Guelph 7:00
Game 5, Sat., April 30 S.S. Marie 7:07 *
Game 6, Mon., May 2 Guelph 7:00 *
Game 7, Wed., May 4 S.S. Marie 7:07 *