Road to the 2014 OHL Cup

By Paul Krotz/OHL

The pinnacle of the 2013-14 Minor Midget season is less than one week away when the puck drops at the 2014 OHL Cup Showcase Tournament, hosted by the Greater Toronto Hockey League, March 11-16 at Buckingham Arena.

The year-end championship tournament will feature 20 participating teams from across Ontario and the United States and annually features many of the OHL’s future stars and serves as a preview for the OHL Priority Selection which takes place on Saturday April 5.

Before the thrill of OHL Cup competition begins, five teams in the OMHA have some unfinished business this weekend to determine the league’s champion.  The OMHA Championship takes place March 7-9 in Thorold featuring the host Southern Tier Admirals, the Whitby Wildcats, Peterborough Petes, Guelph Gryphons, and Hamilton Jr. Bulldogs.

The Wildcats and Petes represent the OMHA’s ETA region where the Wildcats defeated the York Simcoe Express and the Petes swept the South Central Coyotes in playoff matchups to earn their place in Championship weekend.  The Jr. Bulldogs are at the front of the pack following the SCTA Playdown Tournament last weekend, while the Gryphons beat the Brampton 45’s in a SCTA Tiebreaker game earlier this week to round out the field of five.

The Jr. Bulldogs opened the season as the top team in the OHL Cup weekly rankings before falling completely off the list in February.  The team finished the season strong last weekend in the SCTA Playdowns and are playing some of their best hockey at the right time. 

One of the top OHL prospects leading the way for the Jr. Bulldogs is captain Brandon Saigeon.  The big body centre led the league in scoring and has all the tools to be a very dominant player at the next level.

OHL Central Scouting describes him as a powerful skater that uses his size and strength to protect the puck in all three zones.  He has very good offensive instincts, an excellent shot which he releases very quickly, and is always a threat whenever he has the puck on his stick. 

When the OMHA Champion is crowned on Sunday the final OHL Cup tournament rankings will take shape.  The top four OMHA teams will automatically qualify for the OHL Cup with the fifth place team to compete in one of three Wild Card ‘Play In’ Games on Tuesday. 

Here’s a breakdown of all remaining playoff matchups and key performers:

OMHA Tournament of Champions:

1. Hamilton Bulldogs (10th in latest OHL Cup Rankings)
2. Whitby Wildcats (7th in latest OHL Cup Rankings)
3. Peterborough Petes
4. Southern Tier Admirals (9th in latest OHL Cup Rankings)
5. Guelph Gryphons

Players to watch:
F. Brandon Saigeon – 40 – 28 – 29 – 57 points
F. Matthew Hotchkiss – 35 – 27 – 26 – 53 points
F. James Allen – 36 – 17 – 25 – 42 points
F. Nicholas Prestia – 36 – 21 – 20 – 41 points
F. Giordano Finoro – 40 – 19 – 18 – 37 points

GTHL Finals – First to 8 points

1. Toronto Jr. Canadiens (1st in latest OHL Cup Rankings) vs. 2. Toronto Marlies (2nd in latest OHL Cup Rankings)

Series Tied 7-7

Standout Playoff Performers:
D. Jakob Chychrun – 14 – 5 – 8 – 13 points
F. Jake Harris – 16 – 10 – 10 – 20 points

OEMHL

Ottawa Valley Titans (8th in latest OHL Cup Rankings) defeated Ottawa Jr. 67’s in Championship Final

Standout Playoff Performers:
F. Alex Way – 11 – 6 – 11 – 17 points 
F. Tye Felhaber – 9 – 8 – 4 – 12 points

ALLIANCE
               
Waterloo Wolves (5th in latest OHL Cup Rankings) defeated Kitchener Jr. Rangers in Championship Final

Standout Playoff Performers:
F. Chase Campbell – 9 – 6 – 4 – 10 points
F. Jason Willms (UA) – 17 – 16 – 6 – 22 points

All league Champions and Finalists above have automatically qualified for the OHL Cup along with GTHL Semi-Finalists the Mississauga Senators (4th in latest OHL Cup Rankings) and the Vaughan Kings (6th in latest OHL Cup Rankings).  Additional entries include Team Northern Ontario Hockey Association (NOHA), the Thunder Bay Kings who will represent Hockey Northwestern Ontario (HNO), and USA invites Elite Hockey Group and TPH Thunder.  The final automatic entry will be awarded to the winner of the ALLIANCE Semi-Final series between the Chatham Cyclones and the Brantford 99’ers. 

The Tournament Selection Committee also announced their four Wild Card ‘Play In’ Game invites that include the GTHL’s Don Mills Flyers and North York Rangers, and the OMHA’s Halton Hurricanes and South Central Coyotes.  Those four teams, along with the fifth place OMHA team, and the loser of the ALLIANCE Semi-Final series will play a single game ‘win and in’ contest on Tuesday to determine the three Wild Card entries for the OHL Cup.

The OHL in association with Rogers TV is also pleased to announce coverage of the OHL Cup on Rogers TV Cable 10/63 in Toronto/Scarborough.  Broadcast coverage will include nightly games from the round-robin along with both Semi-Final matchups and the Championship Final.  Schedule details are available at www.RogersTV.com/ohlcup.  Additional airtimes will also be available on Rogers TV Sports+ for Rogers digital customers across Ontario on channels 368 (SD) and 369 (HD).  Visit www.rogerstv.com/sports for complete broadcast schedule.

A total of 13 players that competed in the 2013 OHL Cup were selected in the first round of the OHL Priority Selection including nine of the top 10 players led by Travis Konecny of the Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs chosen first overall by the Ottawa 67’s.

Three of the last six players selected first overall in the NHL Draft are OHL and OHL Cup graduates including Taylor Hall of the Edmonton Oilers, John Tavares of the New York Islanders, and Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning. 

For more information please visit www.ohlcup.ca.