2021–22 OHL season
The 2021–22 OHL season is the 42nd season of operation (41st season of play) of the Ontario Hockey League. After the 2020–21 OHL season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league has planned to play a full 68-game regular season having begun on October 7, 2021, and scheduled to conclude on April 17, 2022. The post-season is scheduled to begin on April 21, 2022. The team who wins the J. Ross Robertson Cup will represent the Ontario Hockey League at the 2022 Memorial Cup, which is to be hosted by the Saint John  Sea Dogs of the QMJHL at TD Station in Saint John, New Brunswick. Broadcast rights. On July 21, 2021, the CHL announced a new multi-year broadcast rights partnership with TSN, RDS and the CBC beginning in the 2021-22 season. The new partnership includes approximately 30 regular season games each year delivered by TSN, approximately 20 French-language broadcast games on RDS, early season weekend games broadcast by CBC Sports, as well as digital streaming rights featuring a CHL TV broadcast each week during the regular season on TSN, RDS, and the CBC Gem streaming service. Hamilton Outdoor Showcase . On March 14, 2022, the Hamilton Bulldogs hosted the Hamilton Outdoor Showcase at Tim Hortons Field against the their East Division rivals, the Oshawa Generals. The Bulldogs shutout the Generals 3-0 in front of 12,587 fans. This marked the fourth outdoor game in OHL history and was the first time since 2017 that the league hosted an outdoor game. Regular season. Final Standings. "Note: DIV = Division; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime Losses; SL = Shootout Losses; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against; PTS = Points; x = clinched  playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = clinched conference title" Scoring leaders. "Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty Minutes" Leading goaltenders. "Note: GP = Games Played; Mins = Minutes Played; W = Wins; L = Losses: OTL = Overtime Losses; SL = Shootout Losses; GA = Goals Allowed; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals Against Average" Playoffs. Playoff scoring leaders. "Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty Minutes" Playoff leading goaltenders. "Note: GP = Games Played; Mins  = Minutes Played; W = Wins; L = Losses: OTL = Overtime Losses; SL = Shootout Losses; GA = Goals Allowed; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals Against Average" 2022 OHL Priority Selection. On April 20, 2022, the league announced the results of their first-ever Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection Draft Lottery. The Saginaw Spirit won the lottery and selected Michael Misa from the Mississauga Senators of the GTHL. The entirety of the OHL Priority Selection Draft will take place over two days, as rounds 1-3 take place on April 29, while rounds 4-15 will be on  April 30. These are the results for the first round of the draft: Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game. The Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game is an annual event in which forty of the top NHL Entry Draft eligible prospects in the Canadian Hockey League play against each other in an all-star game format. The 2021-22 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game was held at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium in Kitchener, Ontario. Eighteen players from the OHL participated in the event. Team Red. Team Red was coached by Jamie McLennan, who is a co-host of the  radio show OverDrive and a former NHL goaltender. His assistant coaches were his OverDrive co-host Bryan Hayes, Kitchener Rangers head coach Mike McKenzie and Derek Roy, who was the Rangers captain when they won the 2003 Memorial Cup, before moving on to the NHL. Ten players from the OHL were named to the Team Red roster. The players included were Luca Del Bel Belluz, Mississauga Steelheads; Michael Buchinger, Guelph Storm; Jorian Donovan, Hamilton Bulldogs; Isaiah George, London Knights; David Goyette, Sudbury Wolves; Hunter Haight, Barrie Colts; Ty Nelson, North Bay Battalion; Matthew Poitras, Guelph Storm; Shane Wright, Kingston Frontenacs ; and Danny Zhilkin, Guelph Storm. Wright was named captain of the team. During the game, Wright scored the opening goal of the game 3:43 into the first period, as Zhilkin earned an assist. This would be the only goal of the game for Team Red, as they lost the game 3-1. Wright was named Team Red player of the game. Team White. Team White was coached by former Guelph Storm and NHL player Jeff O'Neill, who is a co-host of the radio show OverDrive. His assistant coaches were Guelph Storm head coach George Burnett, former Ottawa 67's  head coach Brian Kilrea, Leafs Lunch radio show host Michael Distefano, and former Ottawa 67's assistant coach Bert O'Brien. Eight players from the OHL were named to the roster. The players included were Owen Beck, Mississauga Steelheads; Ruslan Gazizov, London Knights; Jake Karabela, Guelph Storm; Paul Ludwinski, Kingston Frontenacs; Bryce McConnell-Barker, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds; Pavel Mintyukov, Saginaw Spirit; Vinzenz Rohrer, Ottawa 67's; and Matyas Sapovaliv, Saginaw Spirit. Karabela scored a goal and earned an assist for the White Team in a 3-1 victory. Game Summary. Shane Wright of the Kingston Frontenacs opened the scoring for  Team Red at 3:43 into the first period, as Danny Zhilkin of the Guelph Storm and Matthew Seminoff of the Kamloops Blazers earned assists for an early 1-0 lead. Team White tied the game midway through the period as Jagger Firkus of the Moose Jaw Warriors scored at 13:44. Jake Karabela of the Guelph Storm earned the lone assist on the goal. Team White outshot Team Red 12-4 in the period. In the second period, Team White took a 2-1 lead, as Jake Karabela of the Guelph Storm scored, as Jagger Firkus of the Moose Jaw Warriors  earned the assist, giving both players two points in the game, 5:20 into the period. Just over three minutes later, at 8:23, Nathan Gaucher of the Quebec Remparts scored to give Team White a 3-1 lead, as Antonin Verreault of the Gatineau Olympiques and Denton Mateychuk of the Moose Jaw Warriors earned assists. Midway through the period, both teams made a goaltender substitution. Ivan Zhigalov of the Sherbrooke Phoenix made 13 saves on 16 shots for Team Red, while Tyler Brennan of the Prince George Cougars faced only four shots, stopping three of them for Team White. Following the  goaltending changes, there were no more goals in the period. Team White continued to dominate, as they outshot Team Red 12-5 in the period and 24-9 overall in the game through two periods. Neither team would score in the third, as Team White held on to a 3-1 victory. In the period, Team White outshot Team Red 15-11, as they finished the game with a 39-20 advantage. Team Red goaltender Reid Dyck of the Swift Current Broncos stopped all 23 shots he faced in the game, while Team White goalie Mason Beaupit of the Spokane  Chiefs stopped all 16 shots he saw after coming into the game. Shane Wright was named Team Red Player of the Game, as he scored the lone goal for the team. Jagger Firkus was named the Team White Player of the Game, as he scored the first goal of the game for his team, while adding an assist on the game winning goal. Attendance for the game at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium was 5,969. 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship. The 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship was held at Peavey Mart Centrium in Red Deer, Alberta and at Rogers Place in  Edmonton, Alberta starting on December 26, 2021. The tournament was scheduled to end on January 5, 2022. On December 29, 2021, the IIHF Council cancelled the remainder of the tournament due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and spread of the Omicron variant. Fifteen current and former OHL players were on seven rosters in this tournament, including seven on Canada, two on Slovakia, two on the United States, one on Austria, one on Czech Republic, one on Finland and one on Sweden. Austria. Team Austria had one player on their roster who plays in the OHL; Vinzenz Rohrer of the Ottawa  67's was selected to the team. Rohrer finished the tournament with one assist in two games. Austria finished with a 0-2-0 record in the tournament, finishing in fifth place in Group A at the time the tournament was cancelled. Canada. The Canadian team had seven current and former OHL players on their roster. The players on the Canadian team who currently play in the OHL were: Brett Brochu, (London Knights); Will Cuylle, (Windsor Spitfires); Mason McTavish, (Peterborough Petes); Ryan O'Rourke, (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds); and Shane Wright, (Kingston Frontenacs). Former OHL players Cole Perfetti, (Saginaw Spirit/Manitoba  Moose) and Donovan Sebrango, (Kitchener Rangers/Grand Rapids Griffins) were also named to the team. Dave Cameron of the Ottawa 67's was the head coach of the Canadian team. Perfetti led the Canadian team in scoring with six points in two games. MacTavish scored three goals and five points in two games to finish tied for second in team scoring. Cuylle had two assists in two games, while Sebrango scored a goal in two games. Wright earned an assist in two games. O'Rourke was held off the scoresheet in one game. In goal, Brochu had a record of 1 -0-0 with a 2.00 GAA and a .909 save percentage in one game. Canada finished with six points in two games at the tournament at the time of the cancellation, placing the team in second place in Group A. Czech Republic. Team Czech Republic had one OHL player on the roster, as Jan Myšák of the Hamilton Bulldogs was selected to the team. Myšák was named captain of the Czech Republic, and in two games, he scored one goal. Czech Republic finished the tournament with one point in three games at the tournament, finishing in fourth place in Group  A, at the time of cancellation. Finland. Team Finland had one OHL player on their team, as Leevi Meriläinen of the Kingston Frontenacs represented his country. Meriläinen earned a record of 1-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA and a 0.958 save percentage in one game at the tournament. Finland finished with nine points at the tournament, finishing in first place in Group A at the time the tournament was cancelled. Slovakia. Team Slovakia had two OHL players on their roster, as Martin Chromiak of the Kingston Frontenacs and Servac Petrovsky of the Owen Sound Attack were named to the  team. Chromiak led the team in scoring, as he scored two goals in two games, while Petrovsky was held off the scoresheet in two games. Slovakia finished the tournament with three points in three games at the time the tournament was cancelled, finishing in last place in Group B. Sweden. Team Sweden had one OHL player on their roster. Oskar Olausson of the Barrie Colts was the lone OHL player named to the team. Olausson scored a goal and two points in two games for the team. Sweden had six points in two games at the time the tournament was  cancelled, finishing in first place in Group B. United States. The United States had two players of the OHL on their roster. The players were Tanner Dickinson of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Sasha Pastujov of the Guelph Storm. Dickinson earned an assist in one game at the tournament, while Pastujov was held off the scoresheet. The United States finished with three points in two games at the time the tournament was cancelled, finishing in second place in Group B. 2022 IIHF U-20 Division 1A Championship. The 2022 IIHF U-20 Division 1A Championship was held in Hørsholm, Denmark from  December 12 until December 18, 2021. Four current and former OHL players were on three teams in this tournament. Belarus. Team Belarus had one current and one former OHL player on their roster. The players were Dmitry Kuzmin of the Flint Firebirds and former Kingston Frontenacs player Vitali Pinchuk, who plays for Dinamo Minsk of the KHL. Pinchuk finished second on team scoring with two goals and nine points in five games, while Kuzmin scored a goal and five points in five games. During the tournament, Belarus finished in first place with a 5-0-0 record, earning 15 points . The team was promoted to the top division, and will compete at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship. Denmark. Team Denmark had one OHL player on their roster as Kasper Larsen of the Mississauga Steelheads was named to the team. Larsen appeared in five games in the tournament, scoring two goals and adding two assists for four points. During the tournament, Denmark finished with a 1-4-0 record, earning three points and finishing in fifth place. Norway. Team Norway had one OHL player on their roster as Ole Bjorgvik-Holm of the Mississauga Steelheads was named to the team . Bjorgvik-Holm was named as the captain of the team. He earned two goals and six points in five games. During the tournament, Norway finished in third place with a 3-2-0 record, earning nine points. 2022 IIHF U-20 Division 1B Championship. The 2022 IIHF U-20 Division 1B Championship was held in Tallinn, Estonia from December 12 until December 18, 2021. One OHL player participated in the tournament. Ukraine. Team Ukraine had one OHL player on their roster, as Artur Cholach of the Barrie Colts was named to the team. In five games, Cholach earned eight assists, finishing fourth  in team scoring. During the tournament, Ukraine finished in fourth place with eight points.