OHL FRESH FACES GALORE AS SEASON ABOUT TO START

The Ontario Hockey League is back. And so is the OHL 21, a column started eons ago by yours truly that looks at the goings on around the league, in a fun way.

Games start Thursday. Crazy, I know. It feels like the Hamilton Bulldogs just raised the J. Ross as league champs yesterday. But here we are, readying for another campaign.

A lot has been going on this summer. The world junior hockey championships were played in August. The Toronto Blue Jays are staring down the post-season. And Bennifer 2.0 lives after Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez tied the knot for the second time.

So, I understand if you tuned out the OHL for a few months.

Need to get up to speed? No problem, I got ya.

1. OHL teams will play a full 68game schedule. As mentioned, the action starts Thursday and runs until March 26, which is two weeks shorter than last season.

2. The league is also returning to a more balanced schedule and has reintroduced interconference play after taking a year off. So, OHL teams will face every club at least twice — once at home and once on the road.

3. The Niagara IceDogs, were sold this past July to majority owner — and current general manager — Darren DeDobbelaer for an undisclosed sum. Double D is a Brantford guy, but has assured puppy patrons the team is staying put.

4. Of note, there is a great minority stakeholder in that ownership group. That’d be numero 99 Wayne Gretzky, whose winery and distillery is in nearby Niagara-on-the-Lake.

5. The league that seemingly never changes skippers has become a coaching carousel in recent years. New faces behind the bench include Chris Dennis (Kitchener), Daniel Fitzgerald (Niagara), Scott Walker (Guelph) and Derek Laxdal (Oshawa).

6. Let’s also give some love to new assistant coaches: Brandon Shaw (Niagara), Andrew Fritsch (Niagara), Damon Racicot (Niagara), Gary Ricciardi (Sudbury), Rick Dorval (Sudbury), Brendan Taylor (Soo), former Peterborough Petes player Brent Hughes (Soo), Dennis Martindale (Barrie), Phillip Barski (Barrie), Dylan Smoskowitz (Barrie), Justin Pereira (Saginaw), Matt Chiarantano (Mississauga), Saverio Posa (Flint), Wes Wolfe (Erie) and Steve O’Rourke (Oshawa).

7. A special bow-wow to the Hamilton Bulldogs, who hired Laura Fortino, who becomes the first female OHL assistant coach in league history. The former national team star is also the team’s director of player development.

8. But wait, the steps to equality don’t end there. Lacey Senuk became the first woman to referee an OHL game when she co-called a pre-season tilt. Hillary Brennan also refereed an exhibition match with linesperson Marlowe Schott, making it the first time two women worked a league match.

9. Hamilton is the defending champ and while there are still some tasty leftovers in Steeltown, I’d expect them to be big sellers as they dive into a rebuild. Remember, the team parted with 11 draft picks to get former Peterborough Pete Mason McTavish and Arber Xhekaj for their run to the title.

10. Speaking of Xhekaj, he’s back. Well, sort of. Arber’s younger brother, Florian, inked a free agent deal with the ’Dogs. Game ops folks, let’s get it right this time by playing DMX’s “X Gon’ Give It to Ya” when he scores a goal. I mean, there is the X in the title and the song does start with a bark. It’s a no-brainer.

11. At 18 years old, Shane Wright has two options — the NHL or OHL. The fourth-overall pick from this year’s NHL draft will get a shot with the Seattle Kraken, but if — and I know it’s a big if — he is sent back to Kingston, Shane-O-Mac will be the hottest player on the trade market.

12. What would it take to land Wright? The McTavish trade is a good starting point. Hamilton gave up two seconds, three thirds, a conditional fourth and two of its top prospects to land McTavish, the top prize at last year’s trade deadline.

13. But Hamilton only got half a season (24 games), playoffs and its Memorial Cup run out of McTavish. It’d cost way more to get Wright if he’s back in the OHL early.

14. The London Knights … as sellers? What kind of bizarro world are we in? Yes, the perennially nasty Knights don’t seem so scary this season. Now, Hunter Inc. always seems to pull a gem out of nowhere, but failing that, the Green Machine might just be sellers. And reigning OHL goalie of the year Brett Brochu is one heckuva an asset to dangle.

15. The IceDogs selected defenceman Sam Dickinson fourth overall in this year’s draft, but he refused to report. Of course, months later, he landed in London via trade. At this point, even the shrug emoji is sending out shrug emojis.

16. Other trade targets, should they all return to the OHL: F Wyatt Johnston (Windsor), F Brett Harrison (Oshawa), F Ryan Winterton (Hamilton, currently injured), D Jacob Holmes (Sudbury), D Christian Kyrou (Erie) and F Francesco Arcuri (Kingston).

17. Take the pre-season for what it is. Last year, Hamilton and Windsor were two of the worst teams in exhibition play, but met in the OHL final. Moreover, the top five preseason teams were Guelph, Kingston, Sudbury, London and Oshawa. Only the Fronts made it to the second round of the playoffs.

18. So … glances at top-five teams in this year’s pre-season standings … don’t be overconfident, Barrie, Owen Sound, Oshawa, Windsor and Erie.

19. Just who will be good this year? Lots more to come on that this week in my — insert shameless plug — eastern and western conference previews. But there is a formula for OHL champs. They are almost always older, deep, boast good goaltending and have elite players.

20. One thing is clear — there will be lots of contenders. The league is still in the midst of a COVID-19 hangover. That means most teams are flush with prospects, late breakouts and overagers. Competition for roster spots and ice time has never been higher.

21. Attendance was down across the league last year as the effects of the pandemic linger. But there may be a sign of hope. The Kitchener Rangers have seen their season ticket holders almost double to about 5,000, which is great news as the season kicks off.

The league is still in the midst of a COVID-19 hangover. That means most teams are flush with prospects, late breakouts and overagers