Strong drafting at the core of Knights’ championship success

The London Knights have come a long way to become 2024 OHL Champions, but they started where everybody else did coming out of the pandemic, hitting a home run at the 2021 OHL Priority Selection.

London’s management team, led by GM Mark Hunter and Associate GM Rob Simpson, nabbed Denver Barkey (16th overall), Easton Cowan (25th overall) and Oliver Bonk (26th overall) with their first three selections in 2021, a draft process frequently interrupted due to Covid-19 related stoppages, leading to limited viewing opportunities for all 20 OHL clubs.

Fast forward three years, and Simpson credits the 2021 trio for a lot of the club’s success this past season.

“There’s something to be said for homegrown players that you’ve drafted and as a team you’ve helped develop,” Simpson told Brandon Caputo of the Armchair GM’s Sports Network following last week’s championship win. “When you get into these big moments, they know what it means to wear the London Knights crest. In these moments they just want to battle that much more when they’ve come up through our system from 16 through to 19 years-old.

Easton Cowan joins other prominent names after receiving dual #OHL MVP honours in 2023-24 🏆#OHLStats | #OHLChampionship | #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/imOIcd3oDc

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) May 18, 2024

“We’ve drafted a lot of players with character, they’ve trusted the process and worked with us and now you see everything coming to fruition at the end, which is nice.”

Last week’s J. Ross Robertson Cup title was, to this point, the crowning achievement of another tremendous season in the Forest City. The Knights claimed the Hamilton Spectator Trophy as regular season champions with a league-best 50-14-1-3 record.

Determined to redeem themselves after falling short against the Peterborough Petes in last year’s Finals, the Knights swept the Oshawa Generals in four straight games.

“It really sucked to come up short last year, but I think a lot of the guys who returned this year, we learned a lot from that experience. When we got back to the Final this year, we didn’t want to let it slip through our hands again,” said Barkey.

The first of the 2021-selected trio, Barkey spoke to the pleasure of getting to grow and develop alongside a pair of other top-flite talents. Barkey joined Bonk as a selection of the Philadelphia Flyers in last summer’s NHL Draft while Cowan was a first round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“We were all drafted here when we were 16, to get to know them really well, we’ve become so close. To watch them both succeed has been so great to watch, they’re both so hard-working, they deserve this.”

Bonk & the mullet are OHL champions pic.twitter.com/ma9sUNhzJh

— London Knights (@LondonKnights) May 16, 2024

A staple on the Knights top-ranked powerplay this past season, Bonk continued his stellar play into the postseason, recording 16 points (7-9–16) over 18 games.

“We’ve really grown up together here in London,” said Bonk of his friendship with Barkey and Cowan. “After last year’s loss, making it back here and battling together is really special.”

Cowan, for his past, has etched his name in the Knights history books. The 2021 draft-class member won the Red Tilson Trophy as the regular season MVP and the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as the Playoff MVP. He spent his first season in Jr. B with the GOJHL’s Komoka Kings before delivering a stellar rookie campaign with the Knights last year. He capped off the 2024 Playoffs with 34 points (10-24-34) in 18 games and set a franchise record with a 36-game point streak, tallying 96 points (34-62-96) in 54 regular-season contests.

“It’s a great feeling, but I couldn’t have done it without any of these guys. My family, my friends, they’re all here right now along with these boys that battle for me each and every night”, said Cowan.

Crowned champions for the first time since 2016, the London Knights will return to the Memorial Cup in Saginaw next week as they look to capture their third CHL title.

"You get rewarded when you play at both ends, and this is what it takes to win at this level."@TSNHockey's @MarcMethot3 and @Victor_Findlay took some time to recognize the excellent two-way play of #LetsGoFlyers prospect Denver Barkey with the @LondonKnights on Saturday 🎥 pic.twitter.com/DqyvBZcZIX

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) May 12, 2024