2019-20 Season Summary: Ottawa 67’s

The Barber Poles picked up right where they left off as Eastern Conference champions last spring, soaring to the top of the OHL with a second straight 100-point season. They boasted a talented group in all three zones with a near-unmatched effort from their veteran and second-year skaters while stamping in some new records along the way.

Back-to-back league-leaders
Though this year they wouldn’t get the opportunity to make a postseason run toward the trophy that was well within reach in the OHL Championship Series last spring, finishing first in the league in back-to-back seasons is an impressive feat all on its own. They held an unmatched 50-11-0-1 record, earning 100 points for the second straight season with a league-high 17-game win streak that stretched from November to January; notably without head coach André Tourigny and seasoned blueliner Kevin Bahl who were both away with Team Canada at the World Juniors. The Barber Poles’ all-around success saw them finishing highest in both goals scored (294) and goals against (164) while boasting the most successful power play in the league at 29.8%.

Winning numbers
On top of being the best team in the league for a second straight year, they’d also hit the record books along their journey to earning that distinction. It’s the fifth time they’ve finished the regular season atop the league standings, and earning that Hamilton Spectator Trophy twice in a row made them the first Eastern Conference team to achieve such a feat since the Petes did the same back in ’92 and ’93. That 17-game winning streak – just one of many impressive win streaks they’d ride this season – set a new franchise record after they blew past their previous mark of 14.

Head-turning performances from top NHL Draft prospects
Two of the most anticipated prospects heading into the 2020 NHL Draft put up spectacular numbers with the 67’s this season. Marco Rossi’s 120 points in just 56 games was highest among all OHL players, as was his 81 assists and plus-69 rating. His chart-topping total makes him the first European player to earn the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as the league’s leading scorer. He was also the first OHLer to hit the 100-point milestone over the course of the season. Fellow top prospect Jack Quinn had a dynamic sophomore stint with the squad, posting 52 goals for second highest in the league; a massive uptick from last year’s 12 goal output. He was the second OHL player to reach 50 markers on the campaign and the sixth NHL Draft eligible to do so over the last 20 years. Quinn was also the club’s second straight player to reach the 50-goal club following Tye Felhaber’s 2018-19 season. The two NHL Draft hopefuls further wowed scouts and fans alike at the 2020 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects game in January and were recently given final rankings of sixth and seventh respectively among North American players by NHL Central Scouting.

Graduating on a high note
Ottawa’s overaged trio of Austen Keating, Noel Hoefenmayer and Joseph Garreffa are moving on from the league on a positive note. Garreffa, who only saw two penalty minutes all season, put up a career-best 90 points, the second highest among his teammates, while Hoefenmayer led all OHL defenceman in scoring with 82 points as the club’s first to do so since 1998-99. He also notably notched eight gaming winning goals, the highest among OHL defenders since 2004-05 and the most by a 67’s d-man since way back in the ’83-84 season. Keating finished fourth in Ottawa scoring, tying Quinn’s 89 points. He notably put up seven points in an 11-6 blowout of the Kingston Frontenacs on Nov. 27, falling short of a franchise record. Hard work paid off for all as Garreffa and Hoefenmayer earned AHL contracts with the San Jose Barracuda and Toronto Marlies respectively and Keating will head out east to suit up with the defending Atlantic University Sport champion University of New Brunswick Reds.

Dominating on the back end
The red hot Barber Poles were a force to be reckoned with on the back end as well. Between the pipes, Cedrick Andree wrapped up his third OHL term with a 2.42 goals-against average, placing him second in the league with a mark that stands as the best by a 67’s netminder going back to 1998-99. Veteran blue liner Kevin Bahl impressed on the OHL and international stages, helping Team Canada to their World Junior gold medal under coach Tourigny.