The Carolina Hurricanes are Stanley Cup Champions for the second time in franchise history, defeating the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 in Game 6 on Sunday night to claim hockey’s ultimate prize in six games.<\/p>\n
Four former Ontario Hockey League players are part of the Stanley Cup-winning roster, while several more members of the Hurricanes’ coaching and hockey operations staff have strong ties to the league.<\/p>\n
Carolina entered the Stanley Cup Final seeking its first championship since 2006 and completed the task behind key contributions from OHL graduates Jordan Staal (Peterborough Petes), Taylor Hall (Windsor Spitfires), Andrei Svechnikov (Barrie Colts), and Jalen Chatfield (Windsor Spitfires).<\/p>\n
Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal (Peterborough Petes) earned the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, becoming the oldest player in NHL history to receive the honour. The 37-year-old led Carolina to its first Stanley Cup championship since 2006 and the second Stanley Cup of his NHL career, while also etching his name into the record book. Staal scored in each of the first five games of the Stanley Cup Final, becoming the first player since 1973 and just the fifth in NHL history to accomplish the feat. He also established a new NHL record for faceoff winning percentage in a Stanley Cup Final, serving as a dominant force down the middle throughout Carolina’s six-game championship victory.<\/p>\n
Hall opened the scoring in Game 6, continuing a strong postseason that saw the former OHL and NHL first overall pick play a leading role in Carolina’s championship run. The Windsor graduate previously won back-to-back Memorial Cup titles and OHL championships with the Spitfires in 2009 and 2010, and now adds a Stanley Cup championship to his decorated resume.<\/p>\n
Chatfield’s championship run adds another chapter to one of hockey’s great development stories. Undrafted to both the OHL and NHL, the former Windsor Spitfire Memorial Cup champion established himself as an important piece of Carolina’s blue line, logging significant minutes throughout the postseason.<\/p>\n
Svechnikov, who spent part of the 2017-18 season with the Barrie Colts before becoming the second overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, earned his first Stanley Cup championship as part of Carolina’s championship roster.<\/p>\n
Despite the loss, former London Knights star Mitch Marner led all skaters in Stanley Cup Playoff scoring, recording 29 points (10-19-29) in 22 games for Vegas. Acquired by the Golden Knights prior to the season, Marner helped guide Vegas to its second Stanley Cup Final appearance in four years.<\/p>\n
The Hurricanes’ championship team was guided by several staff members with OHL roots. Assistant coach Jeff Daniels played four seasons with the Oshawa Generals from 1984-88, while assistant coach Tim Gleason starred with the Windsor Spitfires from 1999-2003.<\/p>\n
Goaltending coach Paul Schonfelder has longstanding OHL ties, having served as goaltending coach of the Ottawa 67’s from 2014-17 after playing for the club during the 1999-2000 season.<\/p>\n
Carolina’s hockey operations department also features numerous OHL connections, including amateur scout Don Elland, who served with the Plymouth Whalers from 2010-15, amateur scout Ian Meagher, whose OHL experience includes roles with the Barrie Colts, Saginaw Spirit, and Hamilton Bulldogs, and director of professional scouting Mark Craig, a former head coach of the Windsor Spitfires and general manager of the Plymouth Whalers.<\/p>\n
The Hurricanes finished the regular season among the NHL’s top contenders before advancing through four playoff rounds to claim the Stanley Cup.<\/p>\n
OHL Alumni crowned 2026 Stanley Cup Champions with the Carolina Hurricanes:<\/p>\n
Forwards:<\/p>\n
Jordan Staal<\/a><\/strong> (Peterborough Petes, 2003-06)<\/p>\n Taylor Hall<\/strong><\/a> (Windsor Spitfires, 2007-10)<\/p>\n Andrei Svechnikov<\/strong><\/a> (Barrie Colts, 2017-18)<\/p>\n Defencemen:<\/p>\n Jalen Chatfield<\/strong><\/a> (Windsor Spitfires, 2014-18)<\/p>\n Hockey Ops.\/Front Office:<\/p>\n Assistant Coach \u2013 Jeff Daniels (Oshawa Generals, 1984-88)<\/p>\n Assistant Coach \u2013 Tim Gleason (Windsor Spitfires, 1999-2003)<\/p>\n Goaltending Coach \u2013 Paul Schonfelder (Ottawa 67’s, 1999-2000; Goaltending Coach, 2014-17)<\/p>\n Amateur Scout \u2013 Don Elland (Plymouth Whalers, 2010-15)<\/p>\n Amateur Scout \u2013 Ian Meagher (Barrie Colts, Saginaw Spirit, Hamilton Bulldogs, 2011-22)<\/p>\n Director of Professional Scouting \u2013 Mark Craig (Windsor Spitfires, Plymouth Whalers)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Four OHL graduates are Stanley Cup champions as members of the Carolina Hurricanes, helping the franchise capture its second title.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":298593,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[186],"tags":[{"term_id":3603,"name":"OHL Alumni","slug":"ohl-alumni","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3603,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":11,"filter":"raw","term_order":"189"},{"term_id":250,"name":"alumni","slug":"alumni","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":253,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1009,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1055"},{"term_id":2673,"name":"OHL News","slug":"ohl-news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2689,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3802,"filter":"raw","term_order":"2977"}],"class_list":["post-298592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-ohl-alumni","tag-alumni","tag-ohl-news","category-186","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/06\/14224311\/CanesChampsWeb.jpg",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=298592"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298592\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/298593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=298592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=298592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=298592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":298589,"date":"2026-06-13T17:27:50","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T21:27:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/?p=298589"},"modified":"2026-06-13T18:09:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T22:09:41","slug":"ohl-completes-2026-priority-selection-presented-by-real-canadian-superstore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/article\/ohl-completes-2026-priority-selection-presented-by-real-canadian-superstore","title":{"rendered":"OHL Completes 2026 Priority Selection Presented by Real Canadian Superstore"},"content":{"rendered":" KINGSTON – <\/strong>The Ontario Hockey League (OHL) today concluded the 2026 OHL Priority Selection presented by Real Canadian Superstore\u00a0for North American players born predominantly in 2010.<\/p>\n The annual Priority Selection returned to an in-person format for the first time since the year 2000, with Slush Puppie Place in Kingston providing the backdrop for one of the biggest days on the OHL calendar. The Priority Selection was held over two days, with Round 1 on Friday night before Rounds 2-15 were carried-out on Saturday. The event was produced and broadcast by YourTV, airing on networks across Ontario as well as online on FloHockey and the OHL’s social media channels.<\/p>\n A total of 301 players were selected in the 15-round process from 88 different programs. The selected players included 171 forwards, 95 defencemen, and 35 goaltenders. A total of 289 of the players chosen were 2010-born athletes, while eight were born in 2009 and four were born in 2008.<\/p>\n The Oshawa Generals made the first overall pick<\/a> after winning the 2026 OHL Priority Selection Draft Lottery, selecting 2010-born forward Kane Cloutier of the Vaughan Kings to open the proceedings.<\/p>\n “Congratulations to the 301 players selected in the 2026 OHL Priority Selection,” said OHL Commissioner Bryan Crawford. “I want to thank the City of Kingston, Tourism Kingston, and the Kingston Frontenacs for being such tremendous hosts. Kingston welcomed our clubs, staff, scouts, fans, partners and our prospects with first-class hospitality and a genuine passion for the game, and that spirit was felt throughout the event. Bringing the entire OHL community together to celebrate the next generation of talented young players is one of the most rewarding days on our calendar, and the people of Kingston helped make it a memorable one. We are grateful for their partnership and making this return to an in-person format so tremendously successful.”<\/p>\n The Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL) led the way with 84 selections. The Vaughan Kings and Toronto Marlboros topped the event list with 12 players each, followed by the Toronto Jr. Canadiens and Don Mills Flyers with 10 apiece, while the Mississauga Senators and Markham Majors each had eight. The Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) followed with 57 selections, led by the Quinte Red Devils with seven, with the Credit River Capitals, Niagara North Stars, and York-Simcoe Express each adding six. The Minor Hockey Alliance of Ontario (ALLIANCE) had 32 players selected, led by the London Jr. Knights with 10, followed by the Huron-Perth Lakers with eight and the Brantford 99ers with six. Hockey Eastern Ontario (HEO) saw 19 players chosen, led by the Eastern Ontario Wild with six and the Ottawa Valley Titans with five. The Northern Ontario Hockey Association (NOHA) had four players selected, led by the Sudbury Wolves with three.<\/p>\n An additional 21 players were selected from Canadian prep and academy programs, led by Upper Canada College with nine and Hill Academy with eight, while two prospects were chosen from Ontario-based junior teams. One player spent last season with a Canadian out-of-province AAA program.<\/p>\n A total of 81 players were chosen from American-based teams, equalling last year’s event record. Detroit Little Caesars led the way with 11 selections. Detroit HoneyBaked followed with seven, while Shattuck-St. Mary’s Prep had seven and the Woodbridge Wolfpack had six.<\/p>\n Special thanks goes out to Rinknet for their continued technical support in facilitating the OHL Priority Selection through their software, in addition to Powerplay Event Production Professionals for their expertise in making this year’s return to an in-venue production such a big success.<\/p>\n A total of 301 players from 88 different programs were selected in the 2026 OHL Priority Selection presented by Real Canadian Superstore.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":298590,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[186],"tags":[{"term_id":3527,"name":"2026 OHL Priority Selection","slug":"2026-ohl-priority-selection","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3527,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":23,"filter":"raw","term_order":"258"},{"term_id":2673,"name":"OHL News","slug":"ohl-news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2689,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3802,"filter":"raw","term_order":"2977"},{"term_id":2459,"name":"Releases","slug":"releases","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2475,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":242,"filter":"raw","term_order":"3154"}],"class_list":["post-298589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-2026-ohl-priority-selection","tag-ohl-news","tag-releases","category-186","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/06\/13172511\/Jun13DraftRecapWeb.jpg",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=298589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298589\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/298590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=298589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=298589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=298589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":298580,"date":"2026-06-13T07:22:58","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T11:22:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/?p=298580"},"modified":"2026-06-13T07:28:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T11:28:10","slug":"oshawa-generals-select-kane-cloutier-with-first-overall-pick-of-ohl-priority-selection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl\/article\/oshawa-generals-select-kane-cloutier-with-first-overall-pick-of-ohl-priority-selection","title":{"rendered":"Oshawa Generals Select Kane Cloutier with First Overall Pick of OHL Priority Selection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n