OHL Power Rankings: Feb. 20, 2024

The Saginaw Spirit, Soo Greyhounds, Sudbury Wolves and Brantford Bulldogs joined the London Knights in the OHL playoff landscape, clinching spots leading into the Week 20 edition of the OHL Power Rankings presented by Power Staffing Solutions.

Who’s up:

Soo Greyhounds – up three spots to #1 this week
The Hounds defeated last week’s top-ranked team, and it wasn’t close. That’s perhaps the biggest reason for their return to #1 for the first time since before the holiday break, but the Hounds also defeated Sudbury and Sarnia last week as well. Every team in the top-four suffered one setback, with Sault Ste. Marie’s coming on Saturday in Windsor as they fell behind the Spitfires 5-0 before rallying to make a game of things in a 6-4 loss. The Greyhounds clinched a playoff spot with their win on Sunday.

Kitchener Rangers – up one spot to #5 this week
After a couple weeks of scuffling, the Blueshirts are on the upswing. Kitchener won all four games last week, defeating Guelph, Mississauga, Sudbury and Peterborough, creating a 15-point chasm between themselves and the Guelph Storm for home ice advantage in the first round of the OHL Playoffs. Carson Rehkopf and Hunter Brzustewicz are tied for the team lead with 78 points apiece, with Rehkopf’s 45 goals leading the OHL.

Brantford Bulldogs – up two spots to #7 this week
The Brantford Bulldogs clinched a playoff spot on Sunday to cap-off a 4-0 week that featured victories over Windsor, Owen Sound, Niagara and Erie. Brantford’s latest success has come despite having not seen star forward Nick Lardis in the lineup since Jan. 12th. Rising rookie star Jake O’Brien became the club’s all-time top-scoring rookie over the weekend, rounding out the quartet with 51 points (11-40–51) on the campaign. Montreal Canadiens prospect Florian Xhekaj has been red hot, riding a seven-game point streak with goals in six of those outings.

Flint Firebirds – up two spots to #14 this week
The Firebirds made the most of a big opportunity last week, rolling to three straight wins with defeats of Sarnia twice along with another topping the Windsor Spitfires. Flint’s big week put a four-point distance between themselves and Sarnia for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference as the Firebirds come away just shy of .500 with a record of 24-25-3-1. Saturday’s overtime heroics against Windsor came courtesy rookie forward Jimmy Lombardi. Dallas Stars prospect Tristan Bertucci made his return to the lineup last week, recording five points (1-4–5) in three games.

Kingston Frontenacs – up two spots to #15 this week
The Fronts had mixed results, but scored a big win over the Barrie Colts on Sunday to seal their return to the OHL Power Rankings after being bumped out last week. Kingston started the week with yet another win over the Ottawa 67’s before dropping contests against the Peterborough Petes and Mississauga Steelheads. Kingston sits at .500, owning the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference. They prepare to host the London Knights on Friday night.

Who’s down:

London Knights – down one spot to #2 this week
The Knights’ 23-game run of games undefeated in regulation came to a crashing halt against the Soo Greyhounds on Friday before London picked up the pieces and defeated Owen Sound and Windsor in succession to close out the long weekend. The Knights’ point streak is over, but Easton Cowan’s rages on as the Toronto Maple Leafs prospect is up to 24 straight with a point dating back to Nov. 25th. The Knights are the OHL’s first 40-win team. They’ve reached the benchmark in five of their last seven seasons.

Saginaw Spirit – down one spot to #3 this week
The Spirit hit the road, earning four of a possible six points from games in Barrie, Sudbury and North Bay. Cogeco OHL Player of the Week Rodwin Dionicio collected five of his nine points on Thursday in Barrie as the Spirit clipped the Colts 7-6. Saginaw stumbled against the Wolves on Friday as Zayne Parekh set a new single season mark for points by a blueliner in a 6-3 loss. The Spirit rebounded as Josh Bloom scored twice in his return to North Bay on Sunday. Saginaw remains four points up on Sault Ste. Marie in their quest for a West Division title.

Sudbury Wolves – down one spot to #4 this week
The Wolves split decisions last week, falling in a shootout against Sault Ste. Marie before beating the Saginaw Spirit on home ice thanks to a hat-trick from NHL Draft prospect Kieron Walton. Sudbury came out flat in Kitchener on Sunday, losing 6-1 to the Rangers before bouncing back to punch their ticket to the OHL Playoffs with Monday’s 4-1 win in Guelph. Captain David Goyette leads the OHL in scoring and is 10 points shy of 100 on the campaign. Quentin Musty wasn’t in the lineup for the Wolves over the weekend.

North Bay Battalion – down one spot to #6 this week
The Battalion defeated the Ottawa 67’s at home on Thursday before losing against Saginaw and Ottawa at the Gardens on Sunday and Monday, being leapfrogged by the Oshawa Generals in the Eastern Conference standings in the process. The Troops hit the road for Saginaw, Flint and Sarnia next week.

Oshawa Generals – down one spot to #8 this week
The Generals earned points in all four of their outings last week, winning a pair after losing two in overtime. The Gennies came up short against both Owen Sound and Niagara before defeating the Erie Otters in a shootout and exacting their revenge on Niagara in a 6-0 shutout win on Family Day. Oshawa is in Ottawa on Friday to face the 67’s, who they lead by three points in the middle of a tight Eastern Conference.

Ottawa 67’s – down one spot to #9 this week
The 67’s lost back-to-back games against Kingston and North Bay before getting back on track to defeat Barrie and North Bay on Saturday and Monday. Captain Luca Pinelli is the league’s newest 40-goal scorer. Ian Michelone continues to carry the load in the crease in the absence of injured partner Collin MacKenzie. The 67’s have collected at least a point in seven of their nine games in the month of February.

Barrie Colts – down one spot to #16 this week
The Colts manage to hang around despite going 0-3 last week. They hold down the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, with a five point cushion over Peterborough.

Sarnia Sting – down three spots and off the list this week
The Sting fall off the list for the first time since the start of January, dropping a pair of decisions against Flint before losing 7-3 to Sault Ste. Marie on Family Day.

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