OHL forwards come with speed to burn
Wednesday November 11, 2015
By Josh Sweetland/CHL
The Ontario Hockey League has no shortage of a coveted commodity on Hockey Canada’s wish list in their National Junior Team roster evaluations throughout the 2015 CHL Canada Russia Series.
Speed.
A high tempo effort from the WHL has set the table for Team OHL to embark on Game 3 of the series against Russia in Owen Sound on Thursday with a 6-0 lead in points, marking just the second time they’ve inherited that scenario in the past six years.
It’s no secret. The braintrust at Hockey Canada wants to see players capable of pushing the pace as the 2016 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship heads overseas to Helsinki, Finland this December.
Tack on an extra 15 feet of width to the ice surface and having that extra gear off the rush can suddenly prove invaluable.
Cue forwards Travis Konecny (Ottawa 67’s) and Zach Senyshyn (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds), voted first and third respectively in the best skater category of the 2015 OHL Coaches Poll last season. Pencil them in with offensively gifted waterbugs in Calgary Flames prospect Andrew Mangiapane (Barrie Colts), Los Angeles Kings draftee Spencer Watson (Kingston Frontenacs) and Ottawa 67’s veteran scorer Dante Salituro and it’s clear that the OHL boasts an intriguing group of forwards that will be looking to make their mark in Thursday’s tilt.
For Hockey Canada Director of Player Personnel Ryan Jankowski, it presents a great opportunity to see what fleet-footed players with an offensive touch can bring to the international stage.
“More than anything, we want our final product to be skilled and fast as we play on a bigger ice surface this year,” he noted during the second intermission of Monday’s Game 1 of the series in Kelowna. “We want to play the right way. We want to play the Canadian way and play strong physically without surrendering much in the way of skill. We need to manage the puck intelligently and create offence that way.”
With the above target demographic in mind, it’s clear that Jankowski has a guy joining the Team Canada bench this fall who was just that type of player throughout his junior hockey career.
Windsor Spitfires associate coach Trevor Letowski guided Canada to a bronze medal finish at the 2014 World Under-18 Hockey Championship in Finland. The Thunder Bay, ON, native will be an assistant with Canada’s National Junior Team in December and brings considerable experience to the job, having won gold as a member of Team Canada in the 1997 World Junior Hockey Championship. The once speedy diminutive winger remains among the leaders in Sarnia Sting franchise scoring, amassing 93 goals, 155 assists and 248 points over 187 career OHL games from 1994-97 before an eight year NHL career.
“There are a number of guys on this roster who can really push the pace and cover a lot of ice,” Letowski, who will serve as an assistant coach for Team OHL in both Owen Sound and Windsor noted. “The competition level in these games is very high, so we want to see who can dictate the play and be a difference maker out there. If guys are on the bubble and they have quiet games in this setting, they really don’t help themselves so you want to see them step up and be noticed.”
In addition to names such as Konecny and Senyshyn, Team OHL will include a pair of top 2015 NHL Draft selections in Mitch Marner (London Knights/Toronto Maple Leafs) and reigning Pioneer Energy OHL Player of the Week Dylan Strome (Erie Otters/Arizona Coyotes). With New York Islanders prospect Michael Dal Colle (Oshawa Generals), who made it to the final cut of Canada’s National Junior Team Selection Camp last December also in the fold, the OHL brings a deep talent pool to games three and four of the series.
“We’ve watched these young men extensively in an effort to get our World Junior roster intact and these games are obviously huge in our evaluation process,” Jankowski added. “You want to see players step up and whether they’re on our long list or our short list these are the games for them to do that. This is where they can show us that they can play this calibre of hockey, play internationally and show us that they belong in a World Junior Camp or maybe even a World Junior Championship.”
Kingston Frontenacs power winger Lawson Crouse certainly proved that to Jankowski and his staff last year, putting forth a dominant physical showing in the OHL’s 5-1 win over Russia in Game 4 enroute to securing a roster spot with Team Canada. Crouse returns to the series after winning gold less than a year ago and serves as a great example of what can happen when a player gets himself noticed.
Opportunity knocks on Thursday night when the puck drops on Game 3 of the 2015 CHL Canada Russia Series at 7:00pm ET/10:00pm PT live from Owen Sound on Sportsnet 360.
The 2015 CHL Canada Russia Series will be nationally broadcasted in its entirety live on Sportsnet and TVA Sports.
For more information including how to purchase tickets please visit canadarussia.chl.ca.