2023–24 OHL season | |
---|---|
League | Ontario Hockey League |
Sport | Hockey |
Duration | Preseason August 2023 - September 2023 Regular season September 2023 – March 2024 Playoffs March 2024 – May 2024 |
Number of teams | 20 |
TV partner(s) | Rogers TV YourTV TSN CBC |
Finals champions | TBD |
2023–24 CHL season | |
---|---|
League | Canadian Hockey League |
Sport | Hockey |
Duration | OHL September 2023 – May 2024 QMJHL September 2023 – May 2024 WHL September 2023 – May 2024 |
Number of teams | 60 |
TV partner(s) | RDS TSN CBC Rogers TV |
The 2023–24 OHL season is the 44th season of operation (43rd season of play) of the Ontario Hockey League. The league will play a 68-game regular season which began in September 2023 and conclude in March 2024. The post-season will begin in March 2024 and conclude in May 2024.
The Saginaw Spirit will host the 2024 Memorial Cup, which will be held at the Dow Event Center in Saginaw, Michigan. The team who wins the J. Ross Robertson Cup will represent the Ontario Hockey League at the Memorial Cup. Should the Spirit win the OHL championship, then the runner-up will represent the league at the tournament.
Off-season
Relocation
On February 7, 2023, the Hamilton Bulldogs announced that the club would be moving to Brantford, Ontario, for three seasons due to renovations and the long-term closure of First Ontario Centre beginning this season. The team also announced that the team would be known as the Brantford Bulldogs and play at the Brantford Civic Centre.[1]
Pre-season
On July 7, 2023, the OHL announced the preseason schedule for the 2023–24 season. In total, there were 48 preseason games which began on September 1 and concluded on September 23.
Neutral site games will be played in Ayr, Beamsville, Cornwall, Hanover, Millbrook, Norwood, Ohsweken, Port Hope and St. Thomas.
OHL training camps began in late August in preparation of the 2023-24 season, which began on September 28, 2023.[2]
Regular season
Standings
Note: DIV = Division; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; SL = Shootout losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against;
PTS = Points; x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = clinched conference title
Standings as of January 14, 2024[3]
Eastern conference
Rank | Team | DIV | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | ROW | GF | GA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sudbury Wolves | Central | 39 | 21 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 47 | 21 | 182 | 149 |
2 | Brantford Bulldogs | East | 39 | 19 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 46 | 19 | 147 | 153 |
3 | North Bay Battalion | Central | 40 | 20 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 46 | 20 | 159 | 154 |
4 | Mississauga Steelheads | Central | 39 | 21 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 44 | 20 | 136 | 123 |
5 | Oshawa Generals | East | 39 | 20 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 44 | 20 | 148 | 121 |
6 | Ottawa 67's | East | 39 | 20 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 43 | 19 | 131 | 135 |
7 | Kingston Frontenacs | East | 40 | 20 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 19 | 146 | 167 |
8 | Peterborough Petes | East | 39 | 15 | 19 | 4 | 1 | 35 | 15 | 112 | 147 |
9 | Barrie Colts | Central | 37 | 15 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 11 | 119 | 146 |
10 | Niagara IceDogs | Central | 39 | 11 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 28 | 10 | 124 | 164 |
Western conference
Rank | Team | DIV | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | ROW | GF | GA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kitchener Rangers | Midwest | 42 | 29 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 60 | 29 | 196 | 131 |
2 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | West | 41 | 26 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 55 | 24 | 169 | 134 |
3 | London Knights | Midwest | 41 | 29 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 59 | 29 | 194 | 123 |
4 | Saginaw Spirit | West | 39 | 26 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 53 | 26 | 163 | 128 |
5 | Guelph Storm | Midwest | 41 | 23 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 49 | 21 | 128 | 121 |
6 | Erie Otters | Midwest | 38 | 18 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 40 | 16 | 135 | 154 |
7 | Owen Sound Attack | Midwest | 40 | 18 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 39 | 18 | 146 | 154 |
8 | Flint Firebirds | West | 41 | 17 | 21 | 2 | 1 | 37 | 17 | 144 | 175 |
9 | Sarnia Sting | West | 41 | 16 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 34 | 14 | 124 | 164 |
10 | Windsor Spitfires | West | 39 | 13 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 30 | 12 | 145 | 203 |
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes[4]
Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Anthony Romani | North Bay Battalion | 40 | 35 | 32 | 67 | 12 |
Hunter Brzustewicz | Kitchener Rangers | 42 | 8 | 59 | 67 | 16 |
Denver Barkey | London Knights | 39 | 24 | 40 | 64 | 16 |
Carson Rehkopf | Kitchener Rangers | 34 | 37 | 26 | 63 | 28 |
Matthew Sop | Kitchener Rangers | 42 | 26 | 35 | 61 | 37 |
David Goyette | Sudbury Wolves | 39 | 24 | 36 | 60 | 16 |
Zayne Parekh | Saginaw Spirit | 39 | 20 | 39 | 59 | 34 |
Liam Greentree | Windsor Spitfires | 36 | 23 | 32 | 55 | 16 |
Deni Goure | Owen Sound Attack | 40 | 22 | 33 | 55 | 18 |
Luke Misa | Mississauga Steelheads | 40 | 17 | 38 | 55 | 4 |
Leading goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses: OTL = Overtime losses;
SL = Shootout losses; GA = Goals Allowed; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average[5]
Player | Team | GP | MINS | W | L | OTL | SOL | GA | SO | Sv% | GAA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Michael Simpson | London Knights | 31 | 1789 | 22 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 77 | 2 | 0.908 | 2.58 |
Brayden Gillespie | Guelph Storm | 33 | 1913 | 18 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 90 | 1 | 0.906 | 2.82 |
Jacob Oster | Oshawa Generals | 34 | 2004 | 17 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 98 | 1 | 0.906 | 2.93 |
Jackson Parsons | Kitchener Rangers | 29 | 1628 | 17 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 80 | 4 | 0.900 | 2.95 |
Ryerson Leenders | Mississauga Steelheads | 30 | 1759 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 91 | 3 | 0.914 | 3.10 |
Awards
Playoffs trophies | ||
---|---|---|
Trophy name | Recognition | Recipient |
J. Ross Robertson Cup | OHL Finals champion | – |
Bobby Orr Trophy | Eastern Conference playoff champion | – |
Wayne Gretzky Trophy | Western Conference playoff champion | – |
Wayne Gretzky 99 Award | Playoffs MVP | – |
Regular season — Team trophies | ||
Trophy name | Recognition | Recipient |
Hamilton Spectator Trophy | Team with best record | – |
Leyden Trophy | East division champion | – |
Emms Trophy | Central division champion | – |
Bumbacco Trophy | West division champion | – |
Holody Trophy | Midwest division champion | – |
Regular season — Executive awards | ||
Trophy name | Recognition | Recipient |
Matt Leyden Trophy | Coach of the year | – |
Jim Gregory Award | General manager of the year | – |
OHL Executive of the Year | Executive of the Year | – |
Regular season — Player awards | ||
Trophy name | Recognition | Recipient |
Red Tilson Trophy | Most outstanding player | – |
Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy | Top scorer | – |
Dave Pinkney Trophy | Lowest team goals against | – |
Max Kaminsky Trophy | Most outstanding defenceman | – |
Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy | Top scoring right winger | – |
Emms Family Award | Rookie of the year | – |
William Hanley Trophy | Most sportsmanlike player | – |
F. W. "Dinty" Moore Trophy | Best rookie GAA | – |
Bobby Smith Trophy | Scholastic player of the year | – |
Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy | Overage player of the year | – |
Jim Rutherford Trophy | Goaltender of the year | – |
Dan Snyder Memorial Trophy | Humanitarian of the year | – |
Roger Neilson Memorial Award | Top academic college/university player | – |
Ivan Tennant Memorial Award | Top academic high school player | – |
Mickey Renaud Captain's Trophy | Team captain that best exemplifies character and commitment | – |
Prospect player awards | ||
Trophy name | Recognition | Recipient |
Jack Ferguson Award | First overall pick in priority selection | – |
Tim Adams Memorial Trophy | OHL Cup MVP | – |
2024 IIHF World Junior Championship
The 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship was held at Scandinavium and Frölundaborg in Gothenburg, Sweden. The tournament ran from December 26, 2023 and ended on January 5, 2024.
Twenty-seven current and former OHL players were on seven rosters in this tournament, including eight on Canada; six on Czechia; five on Slovakia; three on Finland and on the United States; and one on Latvia and Switzerland.[6]
Canada
The Canadian team had eight current and former OHL players on their roster. The players on the Canadian team who currently played in the OHL are: Oliver Bonk, London Knights; Jorian Donovan, Brantford Bulldogs; Ty Nelson, North Bay Battalion; Owen Allard, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds; Owen Beck, Peterborough Petes; Easton Cowan, London Knights and Carson Rehkopf, Kitchener Rangers. Former Guelph Storm player Matthew Poitras of the Boston Bruins was also named to the team. Beck and Poitras were named alternate captains on the team. Sarnia Sting head coach Alan Letang was named the head coach of the Canadian team.
Both Poitras and Rehkopf finished tied for third in team scoring, scoring two goals and adding two assists for four points. Allard scored two goals and added an assist for three points. Both Nelson and Bonk earned three assists, while Cowan scored a goal and earned an assist for two points. Beck scored a goal, while Donovan was held pointless.
Canada finished second in Group A during the preliminary round with a record of 3-0-0-1, earning nine points. In the quarter-finals, Canada was defeated by Czechia 3-2, finishing the tournament in fifth place.
Czechia
Team Czechia had six OHL players on their roster. The players named to the team were: Tomáš Hamara, Brantford Bulldogs; Jakub Vondras, Sudbury Wolves; Eduard Šalé, Barrie Colts; Matyas Sapovaliv, Saginaw Spirit and Adam Zidlicky, Mississauga Steelheads. Simon Slavicek of the Flint Firebirds was named to the extended roster as an injury replacement. Hamara and Sapovaliv were named alternate captains of the team.
Šalé scored three goals and four assists for seven points, finishing fourth in team scoring. Hamara scored two goals and added five assists for seven points, leading the Czechia defense in scoring. Sapovaliv scored three goals and earned an assist for four points and Zidlicky had no points in the tournament. Vondras appeared in one game, as he had a record of 1-0-0 with a 3.51 GAA and a 0.850 save percentage. Slavicek did not appear in any games.
Czechia finished in third place in Group B during the preliminary round with a record of 2-0-1-1, earning seven points. In the quarter-finals, Czechia defeated Canada 3-2 to advance to the semi-finals. In their semi-final game, Czechia lost 5-2 to Sweden, sending them to the Bronze Medal game. In their final game of the tournament, Czechia defeated Finland 8-5 to finish the tournament in third place and win the Bronze Medal.
Finland
Team Finland had three OHL players on their roster. Arttu Kärki, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds; Kasper Halttunen, London Knights; and Rasmus Kumpulainen, Oshawa Generals were named to the team.
Halttunen scored three goals and three assists for six points to finish third in team scoring. Kärki had three assists and Kumpulainen scored twice during the tournament.
Finland finished in third place in Group A during the preliminary round with a 1-1-0-2 record, earning five points. In the quarter-finals, Finland defeated Slovkia 4-3 in overtime to advance to the next round. In the semi-finals, Finland lost to the United States 3-2, putting them into the Bronze Medal game. Finland ended the tournament in fourth place, as they lost to Czechia 8-5 in their final game.
Latvia
Latvia had one OHL player on their roster. Sandis Vilmanis of the Sarnia Sting was named to the team and was named an alternate captain for the team.
Vilmanis scored two goals and two assists for four points, finishing second in team scoring.
Latvia finished the preliminary round of the tournament in fourth place in Group A with a record of 1-0-0-3, earning three points. Latvia lost to the United States 7-2 in the quarter-finals, as they finished the tournament in eighth place.
Slovakia
Team Slovakia had five OHL players on their roster. Dalibor Dvorský, Sudbury Wolves; Filip Mešár, Kitchener Rangers; Martin Misiak, Erie Otters; and Servac Petrovsky of the Owen Sound Attack were named to the team. Roman Kukumberg of the Sarnia Sting was named to the extended roster as an injury replacement player. Mešár was named as an alternate captain.
Petrovsky scored five goals and four assists for nine points, while Mešár had two goals and seven assists, earning nine points, tying them for the team lead in points. Dvorský scored three goals and three assists for six points, while Misiak earned three assists. Kukumberg appeared in three games, however, he did not earn a point.
Slovakia finished the preliminary round of the tournament with a 3-0-0-1 record, finishing in second place in Group B with nine points. In the quarter-finals, Slovakia lost to Finland 4-3 in overtime. Slovakia finished the tournament in sixth place.
Switzerland
Team Switzerland named one OHL player to their team, which Rodwin Dionicio of the Saginaw Spirit.
Dionicio scored two goals and added two assists for four points, leading the defense in scoring and finishing third overall in team scoring.
Switzerland had a record of 1-0-0-3 in four games during the preliminary round, earning three points and fourth place in Group B. In the quarter-finals, Switzerland lost to Sweden 3-2 in overtime. Switzerland finished the tournament in seventh place.
United States
The United States had three players from the OHL on their roster. Sam Hillebrandt, Barrie Colts and Gavin Hayes, Flint Firebirds were named to the team. Carey Terrance, Erie Otters was named to the extended roster as an injury replacement player.
Hayes earned two assists in the tournament. Hillebrandt and Terrance did not appear in any games.
The United States finished in first place in Group B with a 3-1-0-0 record, earning eleven points, during the preliminary round. In the quarter-finals, the United States defeated Latvia 7-2 to advance to the semi-finals. In the semi-final game, the United States defeated Finland 3-2 to advance to the Gold Medal game. The United States captured the Gold Medal with a 6-2 victory over Sweden.
References
- ↑ "CHL OHL's Hamilton Bulldogs temporarily moving to Brantford". tsn.ca. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
- ↑ "OHL Announces 2023 Preseason Schedule". Canadian Hockey League. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ↑ "OHL Standings". Canadian Hockey League. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
- ↑ "Canadian Hockey League – Official Site of the Canadian Hockey League".
- ↑ "Canadian Hockey League – Official Site of the Canadian Hockey League".
- ↑ Sweetland, Josh. "24 OHL players named to rosters for 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship". CHL.ca. Retrieved 6 January 2024.