Mews flying on 67’s power play

Few players in the OHL are more potent with the man advantage than Ottawa 67’s blueliner Henry Mews.

Through 30 games this season, the homegrown product has 24 power play points, which is tied for the league lead, and leads the OHL in power play assists with 20. Mews’ scoring prowess from the back end has been a big part of the reason the Barber Poles own the best unit in the OHL.

“We’re just keeping it simple, and making the right play,” Mews explained. “I think between Luca [Pinelli], [Cooper] Foster and I, we have an excellent connection out there. We’ve been good, and we’re up at the top of the league right now, so it’s keeping us in games. That’s where we score many of our goals, so it’s a huge part of the game, and we just got to keep it going.”

“It’s one of the strengths in my game. I just take it as my job to produce.”

Though chipping in on the offensive end of the pond has been a focus for the 18-year-old, his efforts at his own end have been an area of significance. It’s one of the biggest pieces of his game left to develop, and given that he only switched to playing defence in 2021, it makes sense that he’s still learning.

The OHL is a great spot to continue to grow — it has been long regarded as the number one development league in the world, after all. That’s exactly what Mews believes he has done this season, using the extra minutes that come as part of being a veteran in the league to fine-tune his ever-growing defensive abilities.

“We’re spending more time in the defensive zone than we were in my first two years, and I think that’s a good thing for my development,” Mews said. “I have a good partner in Frankie [Marrelli], and we have good chemistry there. I think it’s getting better and better every game, so it’s good.”

Last month, Mews had an opportunity to visit with the Calgary Flames, who used the 74th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft to acquire his services.

As the Flames rolled through Ottawa, 67’s alumnus Kevin Bahl returned to his old stomping grounds. Though both have different styles, Mews says that a defensive stalwart like Bahl is the kind of player he can draw inspiration from, and look up to in an effort to evolve his game and prepare himself for the next level.

“It’s huge,” Mews said. “You go to camp with those guys, and then you get to watch them live and go down and talk to them after the game. You get to see what you have to do to get to that level. Now, it’s about putting the work in.”

For the Barber Poles, defence is a remarkably important piece of the puzzle this season. Head Coach Dave Cameron has said many times that his team “doesn’t score easily,” but they have been holding themselves in games all year long. The reason: stout defensive hockey.

The 67’s have allowed 111 goals thus far, but 18 of those came in a two-game stretch. If you took those two games — which are clearly outliers for the Barber Poles — out of the equation, their 3.28 goals against average would tie them for the fifth-best mark in the league.

Of course, that’s not how it works. The 67’s are currently 12th in the category at 3.67, but they’ve been good defensively, keeping their opposition to fewer than six goals on 26 of 30 occasions thus far.

“We’re hard to play against, regardless of where we are in the standings,” Mews said. “You saw it the other night against Barrie, we gave him a fight, and we’re going to give each team a fight. It doesn’t matter what place they’re in, it’s going to be a close game. We’re a competitive team, even though we’re younger this year.”

Working to improve himself and help his team win, Mews has taken the initiative to help guide his younger teammates in the right direction, as well.

“I’m just teaching the younger guys and leading by example,” Mews said. “I’m using my experience in my first two years of being on a top team in the league to give them the wisdom.”