Ontario Hockey League Playoff Predictions: Round 1

Junior hockey is beginning to wrap-up around North America. The Canadian Hockey League is set to start its playoffs shortly, while the NCAA bracket was recently determined – which will lead to the Frozen Four in Tampa Bay, Florida in April.

Winners from each CHL league (OHL, QMJHL, WHL) will compete in the Memorial Cup with host Red Deer Rebels (WHL) on May 19th to 29th.

In a four-part series dedicated to Junior Hockey’s postseason, we begin with Ontario Hockey League playoff predictions.

*Notable players from each team (plus goaltenders) are included with their season point total and NHL status is brackets – NHL team or year of eligibility.

Ontario Hockey League Playoff Predictions: Round 1

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1 Kingston Frontenacs
8 Oshawa Generals

Notable Players:

Spencer Watson, Kingston – 89pts (LA)
Michael Dal Colle, Kingston – 80pts (NYI)
Lawson Crouse, Kingston – 62pts (FLA)
Anthony Cirelli, Oshawa – 59pts (TB)
Juho Lammikko, Kingston – 55pts (FLA)
Stephen Desrocher (D), Kingston – 46pts (TOR)
Roland McKeown (D), Kingston – 42pts (CAR)
Mitchell Vande Sompel (D), Oshawa – 38pts (NYI)
Riley Stillman (D), Oshawa – 21pts (2016 Draft)

Goalies:

Lucas Peressini, Kingston 27-14-4 2.85GAA .906 sv pct
Jeremy Helvig, Kingston 19-3-1 2.13GAA .929 sv pct

Jeremy Brodeur, Oshawa 24-22-5 2.90GAA .905 sv pct
Justin Nichols, Oshawa 5-20-3 3.77GAA .892 sv pct

Result Prediction:

Kingston wins series 4-1

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2 Barrie Colts
7 Mississauga Steelheads

Notable Players:

Kevin Labanc, Barrie – 127pts (SJ)
Andrew Mangiapane, Barrie – 106pts (CGY)
Alex Nylander, Mississauga – 75pts (2016 Draft)
Julius Nattinen, Barrie – 71pts (ANA)
Dylan Sadowy, Barrie – 70pts (SJ)
Michael McLeod, Mississauga – 61pts (2016 Draft)
Rasmus Andersson (D), Barrie – 60pts (CGY)
Nathan Bastian, Mississauga – 59pts (2016 Draft)
Sean Day (D), Mississauga – 22pts (2016 Draft)

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Goalies:

Mackenzie Blackwood, Barrie – 28-13-0 2.72GAA .921 sv pct (NJ)
David Ovsjannikov, Barrie – 14-9-3 3.32GAA .904 sv pct

Jack Flinn, Mississauga – 32-27-3 3.07GAA .905 sv pct
Joseph Murdaca, Mississauga – 1-2-1 3.86GAA .867 sv pct

Result Prediction:

Barrie wins series 4-1

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3 North Bay Battalion
6 Peterborough Petes

Notable Players:

Mike Amadio, North Bay – 98pts (LA)
Eric Cornel, Peterborough – 83pts (BUF)
Cam Dineen (D), North Bay – 59pts (2016 Draft)
Steven Lorentz, Peterborough – 48pts (CAR)
Dominik Masin (D), Peterborough – 40pts (TB)
Kyle Wood (D), North Bay – 39pts (COL)
Kyle Jenkins (D), Peterborough – 36pts (CAR)

Goalies:

Jake Smith, North Bay – 30-15-7 2.87GAA .901 sv pct
Jake Kment, North Bay – 5-8-3 3.79GAA .875 sv pct

Matthew Mancina, Peterborough – 24-14-4 2.97GAA .910 sv pct
Dylan Wells, Peterborough – 9-13-3 4.59GAA .871 sv pct

Result Prediction:

North Bay wins series 4-3

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4 Niagara IceDogs
5 Ottawa 67’s

Notable Players:

Dante Salituro, Ottawa – 83pts (undrafted in 2015)
Josh Ho-Sang, Niagara – 82pts (NYI)
Jordan Maletta, Niagara – 59pts (CLB)
Jeremiah Addison, Ottawa – 56pts (MTL)
Brendan Perlini, Niagara – 45pts (ARZ)
Vince Dunn (D), Niagara – 43pts (STL)
Graham Knott, Niagara – 42pts (CHI)
Blake Siebenaler (D), Niagara – 29pts (CLB)
Ryan Mantha (D), Niagara – 25pts (NYR)
Josh Wesley (D), Niagara – 18pts (CAR)
Aaron Haydon (D), Niagara – 17pts (DAL)

More puck prose: NHL Mock Draft 3.0: Rounds 1-7

Goalies:

Alex Nedeljkovic, Niagara – 24-20-4 2.91GAA .907 sv pct (CAR)
Stephen Dhillon, Niagara – 11-6-4 2.69GAA .908 sv pct (2016 Draft)

Leo Lazarev, Ottawa – 26-16-1 2.80GAA .901 sv pct
Liam Herbst, Ottawa – 10-13-2 3.42GAA .881 sv pct

Result Prediction:

Niagara wins series 4-2

OHL WESTERN CONFERENCE

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1 Erie Otters
8 Saginaw Spirit

Notable Players:

Dylan Strome, Erie – 111pts (ARZ)
Alex DeBrincat, Erie – 101pts (2016 Draft)
Taylor Raddysh, Erie – 73pts (2016 Draft)
Artem Artemov, Saginaw – 55pts (2016 Draft)
Jake Marchment, Erie – 45pts (LA)
Trevor Dermott (D), Erie – 43pts (TOR)
Mitchell Stephens, Saginaw – 38pts (TB)
Markus Niemelainen (D), Saginaw – 27pts (2016 Draft)
Erik Cernak (D), Erie – 15pts (LA)

Goalies:

Devin Williams, Erie – 41-10-1 2.36GAA .915 sv pct
Jake Lawr, Erie – 11-5-0 3.31GAA .865 sv pct

Evan Cormier, Saginaw – 21-27-7 3.72GAA .890 sv pct
Cameron Zanussi, Saginaw – 1-4-2 4.65GAA .857 sv pct

Result Prediction:

Erie wins series 4-0

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2 Sarnia Sting
7 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds

Notable Players:

Travis Konecny, Sarnia – 101pts (PHI)
Blake Speers, Sault Ste. Marie – 74pts (NJ)
Zachary Senyshyn, Sault Ste. Marie – 65pts (BOS)
Pavel Zacha, Sarnia – 64pts (NJ)
Matt Mistele, Sarnia – 58pts (LA)
Boris Katchouk, Sault Ste. Marie – 51pts (2016 Draft)
Jordan Kyrou, Sarnia – 51pts (2016 Draft)
Jakob Chychrun (D), Sarnia – 49pts (2016 Draft)
Jack Kopacka, Sault Ste. Marie – 43pts (2016 Draft)
Nikita Korostelev, Sarnia – 42 pts (TOR)
Tim Gettinger, Sault Ste. Marie – 39pts (2016 Draft)
Hayden Verbeek, Sault Ste. Marie – 34pts (2016 Draft)

More puck prose: Late AHL Callups

Goalies:

Justin Fazio, Sarnia – 24-13-4 2.68GAA .902 sv pct
Charlie Graham, Sarnia – 24-18-4 2.93GAA .903 sv pct

Brandon Halverson, Sault Ste. Marie 20-17-4 3.00GAA .907 sv pct (NYR)
Joseph Raaymakers, Sault Ste. Marie 13-10-4 3.61GAA .891 sv pct

Result Prediction:

Sarnia wins series 4-3

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3 London Knights
6 Owen Sound Attack

Notable Players:

Christian Dvorak, London – 121pts (ARZ)
Mitch Marner, London – 116pts (TOR)
Matthew Tkachuk, London – 107pts (2016 Draft)
J.J. Piccinich, London – 66pts (TOR)
Max Jones, London – 52pts (2016 Draft)
Olli Juolevi (D), London – 42pts (2016 Draft)
Victor Mete (D), London – 38pts (2016 Draft)
Cliff Pu, London – 31pts (2016 Draft)
Thomas Schemitsch (D), Owen Sound – 31pts (FLA)
Jaden Lindo, Owen Sound – 30pts (PIT)

Goalies:

Tyler Parsons, London – 37-9-3 2.33GAA .921 sv pct (2016 Draft)
Brendan Burke, London – 10-4-0 2.95GAA .896 sv pct (ARZ)

Michael McNiven, Owen Sound – 21-18-10 2.94GAA .902 sv pct
Daniel Dekoning, Owen Sound – 11-7-1 3.61GAA .880 sv pct

Result Prediction:

London wins series 4-0

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4 Kitchener Rangers
5 Windsor Spitfires

Notable Players:

Christian Fischer, Windsor – 90pts (ARZ)
Ryan MacInnis, Kitchener – 81pts (ARZ)
Adam Mascherin, Kitchener – 81pts (2016 Draft)
Logan Brown, Windsor – 74pts (2016 Draft)
Jeremy Bracco, Kitchener – 64pts (TOR)
Brendan Lemieux, Windsor – 62pts (WPG)
Mikhail Sergachev (D), Windsor – 57pts (2016 Draft)
Cristiano DiGiacinto, Windsor – 42pts (TB)
Connor Chatham, Windsor – 41pts (NJ)
Connor Bunnaman, Kitchener – 38pts (2016 Draft)
Nick Magyar, Kitchener – 20pts (COL)
Logan Stanley (D), Windsor – 17pts (2016 Draft)
Dmitrii Sergeev (D), Kitchener – 16pts (STL)
Patrick Sanvido (D), Windsor – 10pts (DAL)

Next: Top 10 NHL Prospects On The Planet

Goalies:

Luke Opilka, Kitchener – 27-11-5 2.70GAA .906 sv pct
Dawson Carty, Kitchener – 15-2-1 2.36GAA .916 sv pct

Michael DiPietro, Windsor – 16-8-2 2.45GAA .912 sv pct (2017 draft)
Mario Culina, Windsor – 12-6-1 2.64GAA .902 sv pct

Result Prediction:

Windsor wins series 4-3

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