OHL Power Rankings: Week 12 – Dec. 18, 2023

With a dozen Power Rankings entries in the books, we reach the holiday break of the 2023-24 OHL season. The Soo Greyhounds hold on to top spot with the Saginaw Spirit and Kitchener Rangers trailing close behind.

Who’s up:

Guelph Storm – up three spots to #4 this week
The Storm have consistently hung around in the top-10 throughout the opening half of the season, winding up in fourth heading into the holidays off a perfect 3-0 performance last week. Guelph defeated Owen Sound, Peterborough and Sault Ste. Marie, closing out their 33rd contest with a record of 19-12-1-1. Draft eligible centreman Jett Luchanko was a playmaking machine in Friday’s 7-5 win over Peterborough, racking up four assists in the win. Rookie forward Wil McFadden closed out Sunday’s shootout win over the top-ranked Greyhounds with a show of finesse.

London Knights – up four spots to #5 this week
The Knights had their share of ups and downs over the course of the past month, but put together a tidy week heading into the holidays with victories over Windsor, Owen Sound and Sudbury, doing so without Easton Cowan, Oliver Bonk or Kasper Halttunen. Overage forward Max McCue has scored in seven straight contests while Ruslan Gazizov ended Sunday’s first half finale in dramatic fashion, scoring a highlight reel goal in overtime. London owns the league’s second-best power play at 32.5% and scored 10 shorthanded goals in the opening half of the season. The Knights prepare for their annual home-and-home with rival Sarnia before closing out 2023 at home to the Flint Firebirds on New Year’s Eve.

Erie Otters – up one spot to #11 this week
The Erie, Flint, Owen Sound logjam in the middle of the Power Rankings for several consecutive weeks seems to have broken up, with Erie prevailing as the top squad at #11 moving into the holiday break. The Otters effectively recovered from a 0-3-1-0 start to their season, benefitting from the goaltending of Ben Gaudreau over the course of the past two months. The Otters bested one of the league’s best road teams in the North Bay Battalion on Friday as Ondrej Molnar scored the third period game winner. Erie came up short against the East Division-leading Ottawa 67’s by a score of 4-2 on Saturday, missing Carey Terrance (United States) and Martin Misiak (Slovakia) who are off preparing for World Junior duty.

Oshawa Generals – up three spots to #12 this week
After finding themselves out of the rankings entirely for a few weeks in the opening half of the season, the Oshawa Generals are back to full health and performing considerably better in recent weeks. Oshawa clinched back-to-back high-scoring wins over Central Division-leading Mississauga last week before heading into the holidays with a 5-1 win over the Peterborough Petes on Sunday night. Overage acquisition Connor Lockhart has been a force, scoring six goals in three games last week and 13 over his 16 games as a General. Matthew Buckley has quietly been very effective for Oshawa, joining Rasmus Kumpulainen in leading the team in scoring with 27 points (15-12–27) in as many games. First test out of the break is the Brantford Bulldogs, who have provided some closely-matched opposition in the opening half of the schedule.

Kingston Frontenacs – up one spot to #15 this week
Kingston’s fate on this week’s rankings very-much hung in the balance leading into Sunday’s home date against Brantford. The Fronts led 5-3 after two periods before Brantford rallied to tie the score at five. Draft eligible centreman Gabriel Frasca rode to the rescue with his second overtime winner in eight games this season, securing Kingston’s place at #15 heading into the holidays. New addition Roman Schmidt recorded three assists in three outings in his first weekend on the Fronts blueline.

Sarnia Sting – up one spot to #16 this week
The Sting took the second-ranked Saginaw Spirit to overtime at home on Friday before losing in the dying seconds of the extra frame. Sarnia came back strong, handing the Flint Firebirds their sixth-straight loss on Saturday night at the Dort Financial Centre as Zach Filak had a goal and two assists to put the buzz back on the list.

Who’s down:

North Bay Battalion – down one spot to #6 this week
The Troops enter the break as the top-ranked team in the Eastern Conference, falling one spot to #6 after losses to Sault Ste. Marie and Erie before defeating the Niagara IceDogs 3-2 on Saturday night. Both Ty Nelson and Dom DiVincentiis received an extended break after being released from Canada’s National Junior Team Selection Camp last week, with neither appearing in action over the weekend. The Battalion features five players with over a point-per-game at the midway mark.

Mississauga Steelheads – down one spot to #7 this week
The Trout took back-to-back losses against the Oshawa Generals, surrendering an uncharacteristic 13 goals over those two games. They came back strong to defeat the Ottawa 67’s by a score of 3-1 on Sunday as goaltender Jack Ivankovic turned-in a 35-save, first star performance. The Steelheads lead the Central at the break, owning a record of 18-11-2-0.

Ottawa 67’s – down four spots to #8 this week
The Barber Poles started the week off with a 7-5 loss to the Niagara IceDogs (who were very much in the conversation to potentially be included on this week’s rankings). Ottawa skated to a 4-2 win in Erie on Friday before dropping a 3-1 loss in Mississauga on Sunday, putting them behind the Trout on this week’s list. Ottawa leads the East Division with a record of 18-11-2-0.

Sudbury Wolves – down one spot to #9 this week
The Wolves hit the road for a trio of Western Conference matchups, defeating Flint 6-4 on Friday with David Goyette recording two goals and two assists. Sudbury lost a pair of one-goal decisions in Saginaw and London, both by scores of 4-3. With Jakub Vondras representing Czechia at the World Juniors, Marcus Vandenberg saw the lion’s share of the work in the crease over the weekend. Sudbury enters the break as the highest-scoring team in the Eastern Conference with 137 goals for.

Peterborough Petes – down two spots to #13 this week
The Petes have yo-yo’d up and down the rankings over the past month, reaching as high as #2 before dropping back down to #13, the range they found themselves in during the early part of the season. The maroon and white went 0-3 last week, with top centreman Owen Beck heading-off to prepare for World Juniors duty with Team Canada. Interestingly, the Petes have been much better on the road than they have at home in the first half, playing to a 9-5-1-0 mark away from the PMC.

Owen Sound Attack – down one spot to #14 this week
The Bears enter the break down at #14, which is the lowest they’ve come in at all season. It comes on the heels of an 0-3 week with losses against Guelph, London and Windsor. Owen Sound hasn’t had captain Colby Barlow in the lineup since Nov. 8th and it’s unclear when he’ll get the all clear to return as he works his way back from injury. The Bears look to open the second half on a positive note with back-to-back home games facing Niagara and Kitchener before visiting the Barrie Colts on New Year’s Eve.

Flint Firebirds – down three spots and off the list this week
The Firebirds had a forgettable start to the season, along with a forgettable end to the first half as their loss on Saturday against Sarnia marked their sixth-straight defeat. In fairness, the Firebirds had to go without Gavin Hayes (United States) and Simon Slavicek (Czechia) who are making their bid to represent their respective countries at the World Juniors. There have been glimpses of strong play from Flint along the way as they sit in a playoff spot with a record of 13-16-2-1.