OHL This Week: May 25 to 28, 2017

Get caught up on the latest OHL news and notes from the 2017 Mastercard Memorial Cup and beyond.

 

SPITFIRES DEFEAT OTTERS TO ADVANCE TO MASTERCARD MEMORIAL CUP FINAL:

Jeremiah Addison recorded a hat-trick and Gabriel Vilardi chipped in with four assists as the Windsor Spitfires defeated the Erie Otters 4-2 to advance to the Mastercard Memorial Cup Final. Goaltender Michael DiPietro turned in a 33-save performance for Windsor as the Spits will face the winner of a Semi-Final matchup between Erie and the QMJHL champion Saint John Sea Dogs on Friday. Read more / Highlights

ART OF THE KILL: SPITFIRES RECORD SETTING PENALTY KILL CENTRAL TO TEAM’S SUCCESS:

The 2016-17 Windsor Spitfires set an OHL record this season, recording the best penalty kill since the league began tracking special teams totals at the outset of the 1997-98 season. The Spitfires killed 224 of their 253 disadvantages this season, surrendering just 29 power play goals to finish with an 88.5% efficiency rate on the penalty kill, just a shade better than Peter DeBoer’s 2005-06 Kitchener Rangers who came in at 88.3%. Read more

STANLEY’S RETURN TRANSFORMED SPITS BLUE LINE:

The return of 6-foot-7 Winnipeg Jets prospect Logan Stanley has given the WIndsor Spitfires a formidable top four on the blue line. The big man’s return gives Spitfires head coach Rocky Thompson and defensive-minded associate Trevor Letowski a top-four consisting of Mikhail Sergachev and captain Jalen Chatfield while Stanley pairs up with smooth-skating New York Rangers prospect Sean Day. Read more

OTTERS BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD AHEAD OF SEMI-FINAL:

It’s not the way they drew it up, but the Erie Otters have turned their attention to regrouping ahead of Friday’s Mastercard Memorial Cup Semi-Final against the QMJHL champion Saint John Sea Dogs, a team they overwhelmed in a 12-5 victory on Monday. Read more

PERFECT FIT: CIRELLI AND FOEGELE PUT OTTERS OVER THE TOP:

Midseason acquisitions Anthony Cirelli and Warren Foegele brought maturity and experience to Erie, putting the Otters over the top in their championship run. On the brink of their fourth straight 50-win season after failing to capture the coveted J. Ross Robertson Cup in the previous three, the Otters knew this needed to be their year and GM Dave Brown acted accordingly, making a splash at the OHL trade deadline. Read more

STROME’S SEVEN POINT GAME MAKES MASTERCARD MEMORIAL CUP HISTORY:

Arizona Coyotes prospect Dylan Strome of the Erie Otters posted the best single game performance in Mastercard Memorial Cup history this past week, recording seven points (4-3–7) in a 12-5 win over the Saint John Sea Dogs. Read more

WOLVES INTRODUCE CORY STILLMAN AS NEW HEAD COACH:

The Sudbury Wolves have introduced former OHL champion and two-time Stanley Cup winner Cory Stillman as the club’s Head Coach. A native of Peterborough, Stillman has played more than 1000 games in the NHL and has been developing Junior and College players for the past six seasons, the last five with the Carolina Hurricanes organization. His experience playing for a range of coaches over the years such as Joel Quenneville, Peter Laviolette, and John Tortorella have allowed Cory to work with some of the best and most successful coaches in the NHL. Read more

STEELHEADS FINALIZE HOCKEY OPERATIONS STAFF FOR 2017-18 SEASON:

The Mississauga Steelheads made a number of moves this past week, adding the title of General Manager to James Richmond’s pre-existing role as Head Coach. Richmond finalized his staff for the 2017-18 season on Thursday, promoting both Assistant Coach Jeff Kyrzakos and Coordinator of Analytics Mike Doyle to the role of Assistant General Manager. Former Video Coach Brendan Taylor will step into an Assistant Coach position. The Steelheads have also named Rob Toffoli as the club’s new Head Scout. Read more

OHL PRIORITY SELECTION PROSPECTS COMMIT TO OHL:

A number of highly touted players chosen in the OHL Priority Selection have made commitments to the Ontario Hockey League. Robert Calisti (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds), Matt Gordon (Kitchener Rangers), Justin McCombs (Sarnia Sting), Nick Robertson (Peterborough Petes), Anthony Tabak (Sudbury Wolves) committed to their respective clubs this past week.

OHL COACHES CONFERENCE SET FOR JUNE 3RD:

The 2017 OHL Coaches Conference is under a month away, taking place on Saturday June 3rd on the campus of UOIT in Oshawa. Many of the guest speakers for the 4th annual installment of the day-long conference have been confirmed and will provide minor hockey coaches the opportunity to learn from OHL, AHL, and NHL personnel in an interactive professional development day. Programs are open to any coach registered within the OHF, OHA, OWHA, HEO, or HNO, coaching Pee-Wee ‘AAA’, Minor Bantam and Major Bantam ‘AE to AAA’, Minor Midget and Midget ‘AE to AAA’. Read more

OHL ALUMNI GOLF TOURNAMENT FAST APPROACHING:

The 2017 OHL Alumni Association Golf Tournament is fast approaching! The 2nd annual event is set to take place on Monday June 5th at the Devil’s Pulpit, one of Canada’s most acclaimed private golf clubs located in Caledon, Ont. This event is one of several networking events focused on bringing together former players from all generations.  Proceeds from the tournament will be donated to the Gudbranson Stem Cell Research Grant, which helps fund research for Stem Cell Treatments. Space is limited! Be sure to sign up before Friday June 2nd. Read more

CELEBRATE THE 2017 MASTERCARD MEMORIAL CUP WITH OHL SHOP:

Visit OHLSHOP.com and get 25% off your purchase during the 2017 Mastercard Memorial Cup! Use promo code ‘OHLMMC2017’ and take advantage of the savings! Visit OHLSHOP.com.

ALUMNI NOTES:

Cord, Schemitsch, Mahon, Bovair featured in OHL Alumni of the Month spotlight: The May edition of the OHL Alumni of the Month spotlight features Alex Cord, Geoffrey Schemitsch, Craig Mahon, and Terry Bovair who used their time in the OHL as a stepping stone to post-secondary and business success. Read more

14 OHL graduates competing in Stanley Cup Finals: A total of 14 OHL graduates, eight from the Pittsburgh Penguins and six from the Nashville Predators, will battle in the 2017 Stanley Cup Finals of the NHL Playoffs. The Predators advanced to the final round following a series win over the Anaheim Ducks while Pittsburgh got by the Ottawa Senators in seven games to be crowned Eastern Conference champions. OHL grads on Pittsburgh include Tom Kuhnhackl (Niagara IceD0gs), Tom Sestito (Plymouth Whalers), Garrett Wilson (Owen Sound Attack), Frank Corrado (Kitchener Rangers), Trevor Daley (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds), Cameron Gaunce (Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors), Olli Maatta (London Knights) and Matt Murray (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds). OHL grads on Nashville include Mike Fisher (Sudbury Wolves), James Neal (Plymouth Whalers), Austin Watson (London Knights), Ryan Ellis (Windsor Spitfires), P.K. Subban (Belleville Bulls) and Yannick Weber (Kitchener Rangers). 94 OHL grads began the journey to the Stanley Cup Final back in mid-April. Read more

CHL graduates descend on Windsor for alumni game: Prominent Canadian Hockey League graduates, predominantly from the Windsor Spitfires organization are set to compete in a special CHL Alumni Game at the 2017 Mastercard Memorial Cup in Windsor on Saturday at 2:00pm. Current NHL players such as Taylor Hall, Jeff Skinner, Josh Bailey, Matt Martin and Zack Kassian will participate alongside former pro names such as Ed Jovanovski, Steve Staios, Bob Boughner and Todd Warriner. Coaching staff will include NHL head coaches in Peter DeBoer (San Jose Sharks) and Joel Quenneville (Chicago Blackhawks). For full details visit mastercardmemorialcup.ca.

Blues hire Ott as Assistant Coach: One month removed from his final NHL contest, Windsor Spitfires graduate Steve Ott has accepted an assistant coaching position with the St. Louis Blues. An 848-game NHL veteran, Ott played 14 NHL seasons from 2002-17, recording 109 goals, 179 assists and 288 regular season points. He played three OHL seasons with the Windsor Spitfires from 1999-2002, recording 116 goals, 121 assists and 237 points over 174 regular season games. His number 14 is retired by the Spitfires. He was originally Dallas’ first round pick in the 2000 NHL Draft. Ott played parts of three seasons with St. Louis from 2013-16 before playing his final games as a member of the Montreal Canadiens this past season.

MASTERCARD MEMORIAL CUP SCHEDULE:

Wednesday May 24th:
Windsor Spitfires 4 vs. Erie Otters 2 (Game 6) – Highlights

Friday May 26th:
Saint John Sea Dogs vs. Erie Otters (Semi-Final) – 7:00pm (Sportsnet, TVA Sports, NHL Network, CHLLive.com)

Sunday May 28th:
Saint John Sea Dogs/Erie Otters vs. Windsor Spitfires (Championship Final) – 7:00pm (Sportsnet, TVA Sports, NHL Network, CHLLive.com)