With the World Juniors set to begin in just over ten days, players from across Canada's junior hockey leagues will be heading to their respective training camps and preparing for another edition of the world's premier junior hockey tournament.
As such, I wanted to take some time to recap the first half of the seasons for each of the three junior hockey leagues in Canada: the OHL (Ontario Hockey League), the QMJHL (Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League), and the WHL (Western Hockey League). Each recap will take a team-by-team approach, highlighting how their season has gone so far, some of their standout performances, as well as the outlook for the remainder of the season.
This first article will focus on the OHL's Eastern Conference. The teams will be presented in order based on conference standings.
Brantford Bulldogs (1st in Eastern Conference)
After thirty-one regular season games, the Brantford Bulldogs find themselves atop the Eastern Conference standings with fifty-one points and a 23-3-4-1 record (wins, losses, overtime losses, shootout losses).
Their most recent result was a 2-0 home win over the London Knights. That game would see goals scored by Cooper Dennis on a first-period penalty kill and then by Philip Govedaris; his goal would also serve as his first of the season.
In terms of player performances, Jake O'Brien currently leads the team in points with 46, however, the gap between him and fourth-place Marek Vanacker is just five points. Vanacker also has an eight-goal advantage for the team lead in the goal department (he also is first in the OHL for goals with a four-goal lead on Flint's Nathan Aspinall), while Jake O'Brien holds the commanding edge in the assist department (he has a seven-assist advantage on Adam Benak in that department).
Both Brantford goalies - Ryerson Leenders and David Egorov - have save percentages above .900; the former holds a .921 save percentage, while the latter holds a .914 save percentage. They both sit in the OHL's top-five for that statistic.
While there are thirty-seven games left in the Bulldogs' season, they do hold a twenty-eight-point edge on Sudbury for a playoff spot. At their current pace, Brantford might be able to start thinking about playoff seeding before the end of February.
Ottawa 67s (2nd in Eastern Conference)
After finishing in the bottom-half of the Eastern Conference in three of the last four seasons, the Ottawa 67s are seemingly playing closer to their 2022-23 selves, which saw them win their division and make it to the conference semifinals in the OHL Playoffs.
Their first thirty-two games have seen Ottawa earn 48 points and a 23-7-1-1 record. As a result, Ottawa finds themselves in second place in the Eastern Conference, just three points behind Brantford for the conference lead and seven ahead of Barrie for second.
Ottawa's goaltending tandem of Ryder Fetterolf and Jaeden Nelson is fixed well within the OHL's top five in the goals against department and it has been a highlight of their start to the season. Ryder Fetterolf is also third in save percentage; he has a save percentage of .924 through his first nineteen starts of the season.
In terms of positioning in the standings, Ottawa is in a very strong position to solidify its standing heading into the second half and then the home stretch of the season. They'll have a chance on Friday to extend their advantage on Peterborough (4th in the Eastern Conference), before a huge home game against Brantford serves as a chance for Ottawa to potentially bring things level with the Bulldogs in the Eastern Conference. They'll have another chance to cut into Brantford's lead on February 7th (should the picture remain as is), before closing out the regular season with six of their final eight games coming against four of the conference's bottom-five teams (Oshawa, Kingston, Niagara, and Brampton).
Barrie Colts (3rd in Eastern Conference)
After finishing second in last year's Eastern Conference standings, the Barrie Colts are right back to their winning ways courtesy of an 18-8-1-4 start to the regular season, good enough for third in the OHL. Despite starting the season 9-7-0-3, the Colts are on a 9-1-1-1 run over the course of their last twelve games.
Statistically, a handful of Colts find themselves atop the OHL's individual leaderboards. Goaltender Ben Hrebik leads the OHL in save percentage, while World Juniors-bound Cole Beaudoin is fourth in the OHL in assists. Barrie's strong power play - fifth in the OHL - is also represented in the statistical leaderboards; Kashawn Aitcheson shares the league lead with Owen Sound's Pierce Mbuyi in terms of power play goals, while Cole Beaudoin is second in the OHL in terms of power play assists.
Despite the slow start, Barrie could find itself in a battle with Ottawa and Brantford for a top-two spot in a few games' time should they maintain their run of form. That said, they do maintain a five-point lead on North Bay in the Central Division, which would give them a top-two spot in the final Eastern Conference standings if things ended as is. That could allow for the team to refocus on the divisional battle if things get a little too dicey with Ottawa and Brantford, who play each other this Saturday.
Peterborough Petes (4th in Eastern Conference)
At this time, the Peterborough Petes are locked into a battle with North Bay for fourth in the Eastern Conference standings. The two teams are currently tied in terms of points with 36, however Peterborough is ahead based on overtime/shootout losses.
I'll touch on North Bay a little later on, however Peterborough has found much of its success this season from its goaltending; goaltender Easton Rye is tied for second in the league in the wins department.
A Friday game against Ottawa will be key if Peterborough wishes to push up the standings heading into the season's second half, while six of their next eight games will come against some of the OHL's bottom-ten teams.
North Bay Battalion (5th in Eastern Conference)
Despite winning just five of their last ten games, North Bay still possesses a comfortable advantage for fifth-place in the Eastern Conference, with a six-point lead on Kingston and a seven-point edge on Niagara. That said, there is room for movement as the Batallion are currently tied with Peterborough for fourth in the Eastern Conference.
While the Battalion currently don't have any players in the top-five of any individual offensive/defensive statistical category, Ethan Procyszyn is fourth in the OHL in penaty minutes.
The Battalion's next game is a road contest against the Niagara Icedogs; considering that Niagara is seven points behind North Bay, the Battalion might want to consider this a must-win. It gets more must-win from there as the team is set for a home-and-home with Sudbury, who are starting to find some form despite their own struggles, as part of their first two games of 2026; a third contest against Sudbury follows this home-and-home on January 15th.
While the Battalion are currently secure in the Eastern Conference's top-eight, they are arguably the first team in any relative danger of a heated race for a postseason berth.
Kingston Frontenacs (6th in Eastern Conference)
Despite winning just three of their last ten games, the Frontenacs three wins have come as part of an ongoing win streak, one that has seen Kingston into sixth-place in the OHL standings. I will actually note that I did watch the Frontenacs' "Friday Night Faceoff" game on FloHockey's Youtube channel and Kingston might just be playing a little better than their record (13-16-2-2) suggests.
How do I know this? For one, the goaltending looks phenomenal; Frontenacs goaltender Matthew Minchak is fourth in the OHL in goals against per game, while also being second in save percentage. The defence also speaks volumes; Kingston has given up the ninth-fewest goals in the league, is fourth in the OHL in penalty killing, while also having the best road penalty kill in the league.
The Frontenacs' defence will once again face a big test when they return to action Friday against the Eastern Conference-leading Brantford Bulldogs. They'll follow that up with a game against Brampton, which will be one of two chances for the team to extend its lead on the Steelheads in the standings over the next month; the two teams will meet again at the Slush Puppie Place on January 16th.
Niagara IceDogs (7th in Eastern Conference)
Despite winning ten of their first fifteen games, the IceDogs have been in a slump ever since, going on a 3-9-2-0 cold streak since that point. They now sit just one point ahead of Brampton for eighth and six ahead of Sudbury, the first team out of the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
Even with the team's poor form in mind, special teams have been a bright spot for the IceDogs. Not only is Ryan Roobroeck in a tie for second in the OHL with regard to power play goals, but Niagara also has the seventh-best penalty kill in the league
After playing Peterborough and Flint, the IceDogs will have the chance to put a point-scoring run together when they play Sarnia, Brampton (twice), and Oshawa to close out the 2025 portion of their schedule. It only gets tougher from there as Niagara takes on Windsor, Barrie, and Brantford to open up OHL play in 2026.
Brampton Steelheads (8th in Eastern Conference)
Currently the final team in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, Brampton has been able to put points together at a steady rate; a 4-4-2-0 run has allowed for the Steelheads to get to a 12-16-3-1 record on the season, good enough for 28 points in the standings.
Despite being middle-of-the-pack in many statistical categories, including goals and penalty kill, the Steelheads do have the fourth-best road power play in the OHL.
The Steelheads will close out the 2025 stretch of their schedule with three of their final four games at CAA Centre. Two of the games will come against Niagara and Kingston, while the third will be against Barrie. Their lone road game of that stretch will come against Niagara.
Sudbury Wolves (9th in Eastern Conference)
Despite being the first team out of the Eastern Conference playoff spots, it isn't exactly doom and gloom yet. Not only are the Wolves just five points back of eighth-place Brampton, but they're also on a run of form that has seen them win seven of their last eleven games.
Statistically, Kieran Waldron finds himself in third in the OHL's point-scoring leaderboard with 43 and in fourth in the goals department with twenty. And while the team statistics aren't great, the Wolves do have the tenth-best penalty kill in the league (sixth-best road penalty kill).
The Wolves' next chance to cut into their opposition's advantage for one of the last two playoff spots will come on January 9th when they welcome the Niagara IceDogs, who are seventh in the Eastern Conference, to the Sudbury Community Arena. Three weeks later, they'll try again when they travel to Kingston for a game against the Frontenacs before hosting Brampton on February 13th. Should things stay as is in the standings, those games will be must-win games if Sudbury is to try and snatch control of a playoff spot.
Oshawa Generals (10th in Eastern Conference)
Safe to say we might need Steve Dangle to make Generals' Fan Reaction videos on top of his Leafs Fan Reaction (LFR) and Steve Dangle Podcast Network commitments.
Can he also play all six positions? That might be a little bit too tall of a task, but whatever will help turn Oshawa's season around.
Simply put, Oshawa is awful. Not only do they sport a 9-22-0-0 record, but they also find themselves in dead last in the entire OHL and a good six points off of the nearest team in the form of the Sarnia Sting, who sit in last in the Western Conference with just 24 points.
Statistically, it isn't great either. The Generals have scored the fewest goals of any OHL team this season and by a wide margin (Oshawa is 12 goals behind Erie for second-last in the scoring department), and they've also given up the sixth-most goals so far this season. Special-teams wise, the Generals have the sixth-worst power-play and the fifth-worst penalty kill.
While Onni Kalto has been among the brighter spots for Oshawa, earning himself a Team Finland call-up for the upcoming World Juniors after netting fourteen points through thirty games, going from a J. Ross Robertson Cup Final appearance to last in the league isn't necessarily the kind of turnaround one would've anticipated for Oshawa coming into this season.
Speaking of the J. Ross Robertson Cup Final, the Generals' next game is a rematch of that postseason final against the London Knights, with a second regular-season encounter set for January 4th in Oshawa. And with two of the four Generals' games sandwiching those rematches involving teams in the bottom-six of the standings, the time is now for Oshawa to try and turn their season around.