Filling Out: Knights’ grand plans started small

By Ryan Pyette

Christian Dvorak wasn’t sure. He didn’t know much about the OHL when the London Knights selected him in the eighth round of the 2012 Draft. He weighed only 148 pounds and he was content to stay at home in Frankfort, Ill., about 45 minutes from Chicago and play there another year. But the Hunters usually get their man.

It took another year, but he finally signed with the team. Enter Mitch Marner, who had hot shot scorer written all over him. But he was even smaller than Dvorak, and there were fears among most of the junior clubs he would accept a scholarship to the University of Michigan.

The Knights, well-connected to the kid through then-head scout Lindsay Hofford, took him with the last pick of the first round — 19th overall — in 2013.

Three rounds later, at the No. 64 spot, they grabbed Matthew Tkachuk, knowing full well the son of NHLer Keith was heading to the U. S. national team development program in Ann Arbor, Mich., and possibly Notre Dame after it.

You know what happened next. Dvorak, now 6’1” and 198 pounds, led the OHL with 52 goals this season. The Coyotes’ property could be the best two-way centre in the Canadian Hockey League.

The verdict?

“Best decision I ever made,” he said. Marner, still full of skill and smarts, is having the same kind of lasting impact in London that Corey Perry had before him. A long career playing for his hometown Leafs is on the
near horizon.

And Tkachuk, who finally arrived last fall, could be the best NHL prospect currently skating on North American ice. It took no time at all for Knights coach Dale Hunter to unite them. He created the best line in junior hockey — the engine that has driven the OHL’s highest-scoring team and top power play.

“They’re unselfish,” Hunter said. “They move the puck to each other quickly. They see the [right] play and make it. All three of them want to win.” All three played at the World Junior tournament in Helsinki, Finland.

They still racked up more than 100 regular-season points each and kept the highlight reel humming. Then they scored at an even ridiculously higher rate in the playoffs. It sounds like it all came so easy — but it didn’t.

The Knights had to put together a nine-game win streak in the final month of the schedule just to give themselves a shot at first place in their own monstrous Midwest Division.

They recorded 51 wins and 105 points but lost the season finale in Erie. The Otters claimed first overall with one more victory as the tie-breaker.

London drew Owen Sound in the first round of the post-season and it took six tough games — including three road wins — to finally subdue the Attack.

“They played us really hard and it was kind of a wake-up call,” said Marner, the Knights’ co-captain with
Dvorak. “A lot of the guys in that room thought it was going to be a walk-through. A lot of guys [were] in their first playoff run and I think after that point, they realized how it’s going to get — and it keeps getting — harder and harder.”

They followed up with one of the most glorious months in London’s hockey history.

The Knights buried Kitchener in four games and then swept first-place Erie to book a spot in the OHL final with the Niagara IceDogs. Both the Rangers and Otters spent a majority of the year ranked in the CHL’s top 10.

The indefatigable Big Line led the charge, of course, but Hunter was blessed with enviable depth throughout his roster.

NHL Draft prospects Max Jones and Cliff Pu, both big and fast forwards, teamed up with 45-goal over-ager Aaron Berisha to provide scoring support (impressive rookie Robert Thomas filled in when Jones sat out a 12-game suspension in the playoffs).

A trusted checking line of Owen MacDonald, CJ Yakimowicz and 30-goal man JJ Piccinich held Erie
captain Dylan Strome to just three assists in the Western Conference final. Piccinich, a Leafs pick who left Boston University after a trip to the 2015 NCAA championship game, joined a club whose philosophy is “MasterCard Memorial Cup or bust.” “Every game you play is pretty intense but the OHL is a marathon,” the New Jersey native said. “To have a strong run anywhere, you still have to get hot, and it was good that we got hot at the right time.”

At the back end, the Knights lean on top-flight Finn Olli Juolevi and speedy Victor Mete to hold the fort in front of sophomore goalie Tyler Parsons, the backbone of the league’s
stingiest defence.

All three expect to hear their names called at the NHL Draft in June. Juolevi, an all-star at his home
World Juniors, could be the first D-man selected. “I had my [knee surgery] last year so my season was short,” he said.  “My old team [Jokerit] was done by March. I love it that we’re still playing. I’ve learned a lot my first year here.”

And the best lesson of all? Build the best line there is, and you can do something special.

Ryan Pyette is a sports reporter at the London Free Press

 

MEET THE LONDON KNIGHTS:

Team Statistics
Head Coach: Dale Hunter (16th season, 646-256-76)
Regular season record: 51-14-2-1 – 105 pts.
Regular season standing: 2nd Midwest Division / 2nd OHL
Playoff record: 16-2-0
Playoff finish: OHL Champions
BMO CHL Top 10 final ranking (March 23): 3rd
BMO CHL Top 10 best ranking: 2nd (Week 17)
BMO CHL Top 10 number of weeks ranked (26 weeks): 26
OHL ranking (GF): 1st (319)
OHL ranking (GA): 1st (182)
OHL ranking (powerplay): 1st (29.1%)
OHL ranking (penalty kill): 6th (82.3%)

Individual Highlights
OHL Awards: Mitchell Marner (Most Outstanding Player, Playoff MVP), Tyler Parsons, Brendan Burke (Lowest Team GAA)
OHL First All-Star Team: Christian Dvorak (C), Matthew Tkachuk (LW)
OHL Second All-Star Team: Mitchell Marner (RW)
OHL Third All-Star Team: Olli Juolevi (D)
OHL Second Team All-Rookie: Olli Juolevi, 9-33–42 (57 GP)
Season leader (points): Christian Dvorak, 52-69–121, (59 GP)
Season leader (goals): Christian Dvorak, 52 (59 GP)
Season leader (assists): Mitchell Marner, 77 (57 GP), Matthew Tkachuk, 77 (57 GP)
Season leader (points by defenceman): Olli Juolevi, 9-33–42 (57 GP)
Season leader (points by a rookie): Max Jones, 28-24–52 (63 GP)
Season leader (goalie): Tyler Parsons, 37-9-2-1, 2.33 GAA, .921 SV%, 4 SO (49 GP)

MasterCard Memorial Cup History
Appearances: 5th (2005, ‘12, ‘13, ‘14, ‘16)
Last appearance: 2014
All-time record: 8 wins, 8 losses / 48 GF, 52 GA
Best result: 2005 Champions