Part two looks at the Western Conference. Just like I mentioned in the East, parity is the name of the game here. Entering the year, the London Knights have to be the favourites, but you have some really good teams in the Conference who could easily push them when all is said and done.
1. London Knights (Midwest Division Champs)
At this point, how could you not go with London? Their defense should be the best in the OHL led by Oliver Bonk, Isaiah George, and top NHL draft prospect Sam Dickinson. The first line of Denver Barkey, Easton Cowan, and Finnish import Kasper Halttunen should be among the best trios in the league. Forward depth isn't as strong as usual, but expect London to address that at some point, especially with an open OA spot on the roster. The real concern is in net. Can Zach Bowen be the guy? He was at times last year, but consistency was a major issue. If he falters, I would imagine that London looks to bring in a netminder earlier, rather than later.
Post Edit: London has acquired Michael Simpson solidifying their hold on preseason prognostications.
2. Saginaw Spirit (West Division Champs)
We already know that the Spirit will be present at the end of the year as Memorial Cup hosts. Obviously, the strength of their roster was one of the reasons for their selection and I would expect them to add to that over the year. Like many teams in the OHL, goaltending is the question mark. Can Andrew Oke step up with Tristan Lennox finally out of the mix, leaving him the keys to the house? Like London, I would expect them to be active on the trade market if he struggles. Otherwise, look for Michael Misa to take a huge step forward as one of the OHL's leading scorers, and if the Matyas Sapovaliv from last years playoffs shows up, look out.
3. Owen Sound Attack
Look out London, this Owen Sound team will be right on you all season long. This is a veteran laden roster that was constructed for a deep run this year. Colby Barlow is the star, but this team is deep at every position, returning nearly every key player from a year ago. I'm very curious to see what they end up deciding at the OA spot, with four really good options and only three spots (Goure, Burroughs, Lawrence, and Sedley). The big thing that I'm looking for is who steps up to replace Nolan Seed, aiding Sam Sedley as a puck mover and minute eater on the back end.
4. Windsor Spitfires
How much will the Spitfires miss Matt Maggio? He was by far the team's best player last year, leading them to a division title. Thankfully, the framework of that same team returns. The roster has a solid mix of veteran talent, and good young players. I have little faith that this team will score goals. Dionicio, DeAngelis, and Cristoforo will anchor the backend. The forward group is deep. Expect Oliver Peer to have a monster OA year. Also expect Ryan Abraham to have a big year if he can stay healthy. I'd also expect Joey Costanzo to be more consistent this year, especially down the stretch.
5. Erie Otters
My surprise team in the Western Conference. I see this team as being super hungry to finally progress after five straight years at the bottom of the division. The Misiak addition should pay major dividends; look for him to be a difference maker. Ditto for rookie Matthew Schaefer. He is electric and gives the Otters two really good puck movers on both top pairings. Look for this team to really push the pace, which might seem weird to say given Stan Butler is their coach. However, because of Stan, they will also be highly detail oriented. I just have a good feeling about Erie this year.
6. Soo Greyhounds
I actually really wanted to put this Soo team higher. Especially after they picked up Jack Beck, a player I expect to be highly motivated to earn a pro deal as an OA. I really like the defensive make-up of this team and it helps to alleviate some concerns over their goaltending. Gibson, Kudryavtsev, Virgillio, and Karki is a heck of a top four. I think Bryce McConnell Barker has a monster season too. I'm just not necessarily convinced that this team has the high end depth at forward to truly compete in the Western Conference. Pace is going to be a bit of an issue too, as this forward group is not the most fleet of foot.
7. Kitchener Rangers
The early results under new coach Jussi Ahokas have been great this preseason. Important to note...it's preseason. Erie was among the best in the Western Conference last year in the preseason and they selected first overall. That said, I have faith that Ahokas can bring a refreshing new outlook to the OHL and bring out the best in this group. They don't have the depth of some other Western Conference squads, but they do have some potential star talent. Carson Rehkopf looks poised for a big year. I'd expect the same from Mitchell Martin as he tries to earn a pro deal as an OA.
8. Guelph Storm
I don't know what to think about the Storm. Part of me believes that they can contend in the Western Conference if all the chips align well. The preseason OHL power rankings poll (which I contributed to) definitely alludes to that with the Storm being quite high. But what if they don't? Matthew Poitras has been turning heads in Boston and they have some openings. Cam Allen will be out until Christmas. Michael Buchinger is a legit contender for the Max Kaminsky, but he can't do it all himself on the backend. In net, the Storm have pushed all their chips in on Import rookie Damian Slavik. It just seems like everything would have to go really well for this team to be a contender.
9. Flint Firebirds
It feels weird to have the Firebirds this low, given that I really like certain players and components of their roster. Again, the parity in the league is real this year. What I'm concerned about is the lack of a primary play driver without Lombardi this year. I really like Hayes and Pitre, but I'm just not crazy about the team's centers this year. Ditto for the defensive depth behind Tristan Bertucci. According to InStat, Flint doesn't have a defender returning outside of Bertucci who played more than 17 minutes per game last year. That's asking a lot of some of these younger guys.
10. Sarnia Sting
I know, I know. They had a tremendous preseason. But, like I said earlier, so did Erie last year before they ended up picking first overall. The Sting are losing their top six scorers from last year, which amounts to almost 200 goals. For those keeping track, that's over 60% of the teams production from last year. That's just never a good sign for success in the cyclical OHL. It's time for a rebuild in Sarnia and they do have some nice trade chips, including Ben Gaudreau if they can get him playing well. The one guy that I'm most curious about is Sandis Vilmanis. He impressed me a lot last year and I think he can do a lot more with significant ice time and responsibility this season.
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