2021-22 OHL season

This is the 2021-22 Ontario Hockey League season. This is the league's 52nd season dating back to its' founding as the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League.
There are currently 20 teams in the OHL; 17 are based in the Canadian province of Ontario, 2 teams in the American state of Michigan and 1 team in the American state of Pennsylvania. Out of the 17 teams based in Ontario, 14 teams are in Southern Ontario, and 3 teams are in Northern Ontario.
The 20 OHL clubs play a 68 game unbalanced schedule, which usually starts in the third full week of September, running until the third week of March. Ninety per cent (90%) of OHL games are scheduled between Thursday and Sunday to minimize the number of school days missed for its players. Ninety-five per cent (95%) of the players in the league are attending high school or college.
==2021-22 Season outline==
*OHL Priority Selection held June 4-5, 2021
*680 (68 games per team) regular season schedule
*Training camps open September 4th
*Regular season begins October 7th
*Regular season ends April 3rd
*Playoffs begin April 7th and end by May 30th
*2022 Memorial Cup will be held June 2-12 hosted by a QMJHL team to be determined later pushed to June 20-27 in Saint John, New Brunswick
*All 20 teams are expected to return to play
==COVID-19 related team shutdowns==
On December 26th the Ontario Hockey League announce the next three regular season games for the Sarnia Sting would be postponed.https://ontariohockeyleague.com/article/ohl-announces-postponed-games-involving-sarnia-sting-122621 On December 23rd the league would also cancel a December 28th game with the Oshawa Generals visiting the Ottawa 67's due to COVID-19 protocols involving the 67'shttps://ontariohockeyleague.com/article/ohl-announces-postponed-game-between-oshawa-and-ottawa-122321 The Niagara IceDogshttps://ontariohockeyleague.com/article/ohl-announces-postponed-games-involving-niagara-icedogs, Flint Firebirdshttps://ontariohockeyleague.com/article/ohl-announces-suspension-of-team-activities-for-flint-firebirds, Owen Sound Attackhttps://ontariohockeyleague.com/article/ohl-announces-postponed-games-involving-owen-sound-attack, Kingston Frontenacshttps://ontariohockeyleague.com/article/ohl-announces-postponed-games-involving-kingston-frontenacs, and Erie Ottershttps://ontariohockeyleague.com/article/ohl-announces-suspension-of-team-activities-for-erie-otters all were shutdown by the league earlier in the month of December. The Sudbury Wolves were shutdown on November 30th.https://ontariohockeyleague.com/article/ohl-announces-rescheduled-games-120821 These cancellations would cause more than 20 games to have to be rescheduled from December 1st to January 2nd. On December 28th the league postponed the games of the Barrie Colts and Peterborough Petes.https://ontariohockeyleague.com/article/ohl-announces-postponed-games-due-to-covid19-protocols-122821 The Oshawa Generals would have 2 games cancelled by the league on December 29th.https://ontariohockeyleague.com/article/ohl-announces-postponed-games-involving-oshawa-generals-122921 The Windsor Spitfires would have games cancelled December 30 & 31.https://ontariohockeyleague.com/article/ohl-announces-postponed-games-involving-windsor-spitfires-123021In short order the Kitchener Rangershttps://ontariohockeyleague.com/article/ohl-announces-postponed-games-involving-kitchener-and-owen-sound, Guelph Stormhttps://ontariohockeyleague.com/article/ohl-announces-postponed-game-between-guelph-and-erie-123021Niagara IceDogshttps://ontariohockeyleague.com/article/ohl-announces-postponed-game-between-niagara-and-hamilton-123121, and London Knightshttps://ontariohockeyleague.com/article/ohl-announces-postponed-game-between-london-and-erie-123121 would all be added to cancellations upon return from the Christmas break.
==Franchise changes==
none
==Current member teams==
Ontario Hockey League	Ontario Hockey League 	Ontario Hockey League 	Ontario Hockey League 	Ontario Hockey League
Eastern Conference 	Eastern Conference 	Eastern Conference 	Eastern Conference 	Eastern Conference
Division 	Team 	City 	Arena 	Capacity
East 	Hamilton Bulldogs 	Hamilton, Ontario, Canada 	FirstOntario Centre 	17,383
East 	Kingston Frontenacs 	Kingston, Ontario, Canada 	Leon's Centre 	5,614
East 	Oshawa Generals 	Oshawa, Ontario, Canada 	Tribute Communities Centre 	6,125
East 	Ottawa 67's 	Ottawa, Ontario, Canada 	TD Place Arena 	9,862
East 	Peterborough Petes 	Peterborough, Ontario, Canada 	Peterborough Memorial Centre 	4,329
Central 	Barrie Colts 	Barrie, Ontario, Canada 	Sadlon Arena 	4,195
Central 	Mississauga Steelheads 	Mississauga, Ontario, Canada 	Paramount Fine Foods Centre 	5,612
Central 	Niagara IceDogs 	St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada 	Meridian Centre 	5,300
Central 	North Bay Battalion 	North Bay, Ontario, Canada 	North Bay Memorial Gardens 	4,246
Central 	Sudbury Wolves 	Sudbury, Ontario, Canada 	Sudbury Community Arena 	4,640
Western Conference 	Western Conference 	Western Conference 	Western Conference 	Western Conference
Division 	Team 	City 	Arena 	Capacity
Midwest 	Erie Otters 	Erie, Pennsylvania, USA 	Erie Insurance Arena 	6,833
Midwest 	Guelph Storm 	Guelph, Ontario, Canada 	Sleeman Centre 	4,715
Midwest 	Kitchener Rangers 	Kitchener, Ontario, Canada 	Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex 	7,777
Midwest 	London Knights 	London, Ontario, Canada 	Budweiser Gardens 	9,046
Midwest 	Owen Sound Attack 	Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada 	Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre	3,500
West 	Flint Firebirds 	Flint, Michigan, USA 	Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center	4,021
West 	Saginaw Spirit 	Saginaw, Michigan, USA 	Dow Event Center 	5,527
West 	Sarnia Sting 	Sarnia, Ontario, Canada 	Progressive Auto Sales Arena 	5,500
West 	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds	Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada	Essar Centre 	4,928
West 	Windsor Spitfires 	Windsor, Ontario, Canada 	WFCU Centre 	6,450
==Standings==
===Eastern Conference===
====Eastern Division====
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OL	SL	GF 	GA 	Pts
Hamilton Bulldogs 	68	51	12	3 	2 	300	176	107
Kingston Frontenacs	68	41	22	4 	1 	285	242	87
Oshawa Generals 	68	30	31	2 	5 	215	240	67
Ottawa 67's 	68	28	31	2 	7 	199	250	65
Peterborough Petes 	68	29	33	5 	1 	240	281	64
====Central Division====
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OL	SL	GF 	GA 	Pts
North Bay Battalion 	68	43	18	3 	4 	267	198	93
Mississauga Steelheads	68	37	23	2 	6 	229	189	82
Barrie Colts 	68	34	27	6 	1 	245	236	75
Sudbury Wolves 	68	23	38	3 	4 	223	297	53
Niagara IceDogs 	68	22	42	3 	1 	218	316	48
===Western Conference===
====Midwest Division====
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OL	SL	GF 	GA 	Pts
London Knights 	68	39	22	5 	2 	264	232	85
Guelph Storm 	68	36	24	5 	3 	251	228	80
Owen Sound Attack	68	34	26	5 	3 	235	245	76
Kitchener Rangers	68	30	31	5 	2 	236	271	67
Erie Otters 	68	27	37	2 	2 	223	267	58
====West Division====
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OL	SL	GF 	GA 	Pts
Windsor Spitfires 	68	44	17	4 	3 	305	248	95
Flint Firebirds 	68	42	21	1 	4 	286	238	89
Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds	68	39	22	6 	1 	295	246	85
Sarnia Sting 	68	27	36	4 	1 	234	279	59
Saginaw Spirit 	68	24	43	1 	0 	234	305	49
==2022 J. Ross Robertson Cup Playoffs==
The J. Ross Robertson Cup playoffs consist of 16 teams, the top 8 from each conference. The teams play a best-of-seven game series, and the winner of each series advances to the next round. The Eastern Conference champion is awarded the Bobby Orr Trophy and the Western Conference champion is awarded the Wayne Gretzky Trophy. The two conference champions compete for the J. Ross Robertson Cup and a berth in the 2022 Memorial Cup. 
===Bracket===
===East Quarterfinals===
*Hamilton Bulldogs defeated Peterborough Petes 4 games to none
*North Bay Battalion defeated Ottawa 67's 4 games to none
*Kingston Frontenacs defeated Oshawa Generals 4 games to 2
*Mississauga Steelheads defeated Barrie Colts 4 games to 2
===West Quarterfinals=== 
*Windsor Spitfires defeated Sarnia Sting 4 games to 2
*Kitchener Rangers defeated London Knights 4 games to 3
*Flint Firebirds defeated Owen Sound Attack 4 games to 3
*Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds defeated Guelph Storm 4 games to 1
===East Semifinals===
*Hamilton Bulldogs defeated Mississauga Steelheads 4 games to none 
*North Bay Battalion defeated Kingston Frontenacs 4 games to 1
===West Semifinals===
*Windsor Spitfires defeated Kitchener Rangers 4 games to 1
*Flint Firebirds defeated Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 4 games to 1
===East Final===
*Hamilton Bulldogs defeated North Bay Battalion 4 games to none
===West Final===
*Windsor Spitfires defeated Flint Firebirds 4 games to 3
===J. Ross Robertson Cup Final===
*Hamilton Bulldogs defeated Windsor Spitfires 4 games to 3
The Hamilton Bulldogs advance to the 2022 Memorial Cup.
==References==
Category:2022 in ice hockey
Category:Ontario Hockey League seasons