OHL Power Rankings: Sept. 21, 2026
Who’s up:
London Knights – up one spot to #1 this week
The Knights take over the top spot after sweeping a home-and-home with Windsor to open the season 2-0. NHL Draft eligible defenceman Cooper McAslan won Friday’s opener in overtime, and a four-goal second period powered a 6-2 win in Windsor on Saturday. Evan Van Gorp led the way with five points (2-3–5) over the two games. The kids in the crease passed their first test, too: rookie Charlie Weiss won his OHL debut on Friday and Brian Cooke made 28 saves for his first OHL win on Saturday.
Kingston Frontenacs – up four spots to #2 this week
The Fronts opened with wins over two preseason top-five clubs. Kingston withstood a 47-25 shot disadvantage to win 6-3 in Peterborough on Thursday, then took down Ottawa 3-2 in Sunday’s home opener on Alex Misiak’s overtime winner. Rookie Royden Smith is 2-0 after a 44-save OHL debut, Nolan Snyder has four points through two games, and Alex McLean added a three-point night in the opener.
Sudbury Wolves – up four spots to #4 this week
The Wolves come out of opening week with four points. Rowan Henderson’s shorthanded goal decided a 2-1 win at home over Peterborough on Friday, and Sudbury spoiled opening night at Sadlon Arena with a 6-0 shutout of Barrie on Saturday. New acquisition Tanner Adams scored in each of his first two OHL games. After using six goaltenders last season, the Wolves may have found an early answer in overager Paolo Frasca, who stopped 56 of 57 shots and earned his first career OHL shutout.
Flint Firebirds – up two spots to #5 this week
Scoring was supposed to be the question in Flint. Xavier Tessier answered it a record-setting eight seconds into Saturday’s opener in Saginaw, finishing with a hat trick as the Firebirds edged their age-old rival 5-4. Darian Anderson and Brady Smith also scored, Mason Courville made 22 saves and Cooper Williams picked up two assists in his OHL debut.
Brantford Bulldogs – up four spots to #9 this week
Brantford opened 2-0 and allowed one goal all weekend. The Bulldogs handled Niagara 3-1 on Friday behind two goals from Xavier Lieb in his OHL debut, then blanked the Guelph Storm 6-0 on Saturday. Both goaltenders delivered: Vilmer Salen Forsberg stopped 27 of 28 for his first OHL win and Chase Petrova posted a 31-save shutout in his debut. Jason Musa scored in both games.
Sarnia Sting – up one spot to #13 this week
The Sting opened with a road win, scoring twice in the third period to beat the Greyhounds 4-3 on Saturday. Jack Van Volsen provided both third-period goals and Sarnia’s power play went 3-for-8. Ivan Tkach-Tkachenko stopped 27 of 30 for his first OHL win. For a club eager to get back into the playoff conversation, it’s the right kind of start.
Oshawa Generals – up two spots to #15 this week
The Generals spent the summer making sure last season’s playoff miss wouldn’t happen twice, and the early returns are strong. First overall pick Kane Cloutier scored his first OHL goal with 2:56 left to beat Brampton 3-2 on Friday, then added a goal and an assist in Sunday’s 7-2 home-opening rout of North Bay. Tyler Hinde scored twice in the win, and Jaden Cholette stopped 57 of 61 shots over the two games. Welcome to the Top-16, Gennies.
Erie Otters – up one spot to #16 this week
The Otters went into Guelph and won 5-1 in their only game of the week. Colin Kennedy scored twice in his OHL debut, Jake Murray collected two primary assists and David Egorov stopped 29 of 30 shots in his first game with Erie. The penalty kill went a perfect 5-for-5. Erie cracks the Top-16 with six of its first seven games on the road.
Who’s down:
Guelph Storm – down two spots to #3 this week
It was a rough opening weekend for the preseason favourites, but there’s good reason not to overreact. The Storm were outscored 11-1 in losses to Erie and Brantford, going 0-for-5 on the power play in Friday’s 5-1 defeat at home and getting shut out 6-0 on 31 shots on Saturday. Finley Butler’s first OHL goal is Guelph’s lone marker so far. With several veterans still away at NHL training camps, this isn’t the lineup the Storm will ice for most of the season, and it isn’t the one built to contend for a Memorial Cup on home ice.
Saginaw Spirit – down three spots to #6 this week
The Spirit scored eight goals in two one-goal games but came away with just one point. Saginaw forced overtime in the Soo on Friday before Trevor Daley Jr. won it 1:18 in, then fell 5-4 to Flint in Saturday’s home opener. Captain Dima Zhilkin already has three goals and added two assists against the Firebirds, while newcomer Braidy Wassilyn has slotted in comfortably on his line.
Ottawa 67’s – down three spots to #7 this week
The 67’s slide three spots after playing just once, though they came away with a point. Andrew Laurin scored his first OHL goal with 2:27 left in regulation to force overtime in Kingston on Sunday, but the Frontenacs won it 2:10 into the extra period. Theo Avila also scored his first OHL goal for the Barber Poles, who sit 0-0-1-0.
Peterborough Petes – down three spots to #8 this week
The Petes dropped both games, but the underlying numbers are kinder. Peterborough outshot Kingston 47-25 in Thursday’s 6-3 loss, then fell 2-1 in Sudbury on Friday on a shorthanded deciding goal, with both of those opponents now ranked in the top four. Landon Roulston scored the first goal of the 2026-27 OHL season in his first OHL action, and Owen Nelson stopped 29 of 31 in his debut.
North Bay Battalion – down one spot to #10 this week
The Troops slip a spot after a mixed week. Rookie Owen Loftus stopped 34 of 35 shots in his OHL debut as North Bay beat Barrie 2-1 on Friday, with new captain Nolan Laird and Parker Vaughan scoring. Sunday was a different story in a 7-2 loss in Oshawa, where Kam Hodgson scored his first OHL goal.
Owen Sound Attack – down one spot to #11 this week
The Attack split a home-and-home with Kitchener. Ryerson Leenders made 29 saves for a shutout and captain Pierce Mbuyi scored with 2:54 remaining to spoil banner night in front of 7,338 at The Aud on Friday. The Rangers returned the favour in Owen Sound on Saturday, outshooting the Bears 32-18 in a 4-1 win that included two empty-net goals. Leenders has allowed just two goals on 59 shots so far.
Kitchener Rangers – down one spot to #12 this week
The Rangers bounced back from a 1-0 loss on banner night with a 4-1 win in Owen Sound on Saturday. Tanner Lam scored twice, Cameron Arquette collected two primary assists and Ryder Roberson scored his first OHL goal. Jason Schaubel stopped 25 of 26 in Friday’s opener. The power play is the early sore spot after going 1-for-8 on Saturday.
Soo Greyhounds – down two spots to #14 this week
The Hounds split two home games to open the season. Noah Laus recorded a hat trick inside the first 8:21 on Friday and Trevor Daley Jr. scored his first OHL goal in overtime to beat Saginaw 5-4. Ryan Kaczynski potted a hat trick of his own on Saturday to give him four goals on the season, but Sarnia scored twice in the third for a 4-3 win. David Vermirovsky stopped 37 shots in his OHL debut.
Windsor Spitfires – down two spots and off the list this week
The Spits pushed London to overtime on Friday, with Bogdan Yakushevsky scoring his first OHL goal with 14 seconds left in regulation, but the Knights won it in the extra period and pulled away 6-2 in Windsor on Saturday. Yakushevsky has three points (2-1–3) through two games. A point against the top-ranked team is something to build on, but it isn’t enough to hold a spot on the list.
Barrie Colts – down one spot and off the list this week
The Colts dropped a 2-1 decision in North Bay on Friday despite 40 saves from Hagan Bach, then were shut out 6-0 by Sudbury in Saturday’s home opener at Sadlon Arena. William Schneid has Barrie’s lone goal through two games. It’s a young group, and some early growing pains were expected.
