Memorial Cup is a 9-day celebration of CHL junior hockey
Who will be the top foe of the Knights?
By
Mark Schadenberg
Who
should the London Knights fear the most entering the 2016 Memorial Cup (CHL
Championship tournament) in Red Deer, Alberta?
The
host club -- Red Deer Rebels – who London plays on opening night on May 20?
The
Western Hockey League champs are the Brandon Wheat Kings, which won the league’s
Eastern Conference, downing Red Deer along the way in the conference final.
I
say the team to watch or to be the most weary of is the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
Here are my 10 reasons why.
- In
the playoffs, they were 16-4, allowing just 31 goals.
- Goalie
Chase Marchand had a post-season GAA of just 1.35. The overage goalie is a NHL
free agent. Won the regular season award for best GAA (2.42), winning the
Jacque Plante Trophy
- The
Huskies ended the regular season as the top-ranked CHL team with a 14-game win
streak.
- The
Huskies had the best regular season record in the QMJHL at 54-9-3-2.
Rouyn-Noranda’s
302 goals was the highest in the QMJHL, and in the CHL trailing only London
(319), Brandon (319) and Lethbridge (304)
- They
earned the second best GAA in the QMJHL with only 181 against. The top team was
Gatineau at 173.
- Francis
Perron was second in the league scoring race with 41 goals and 108 points.
Perron would win the playoff scoring title with 12 goals and 33 points. Perron,
who is a late-round pick of the Ottawa Senators in 2014, won the league’s Guy Lafleur
award for playoff MVP, and was also regular season most outstanding player.
- Timo
Meier is the Huskies second best producer with 11 goals and 23 points in the
post-season after 51 points in just 29 games with the Huskies in the regular
season after a trade from Halifax. Meier is a 9th overall pick by
the San Jose Sharks and is from Switzerland.
Martin
Dzierkals is a Maple Leafs 3rd round selection in 2015, and is an
import draftee from Latvia. He had 17 points in the playoffs.
- Defenceman
Philippe Myers is signed by the Philadelphia Flyers, led the QMJHL in +\- in
regular season at +52, and earned 17 goals and 45 points.
- Adding
winger Anthony-John Greer was significant as he had 16 goals and 27 points in
33 games. The 2nd round pick of the Avalanche had been playing with
Boston University when the season started and was a teammate last season with
Jack Eichel.
- Gilles
Bouchard has already been announced as both the QMJHL coach of the year and
general manager of the year.
My interview with Dale Hunter following 2013 OHL Championship win
WHL
Entries
Red
Deer & Brandon
With
the Brandon Wheat Kings winning the WHL crown in fine fashion with a 16-5
record, including ousting Brandon 4-1 in the East conference final, I believe
one can annoint Brandon as the top contender from the west loop.
Brandon’s
leaders are certainly Jayce Hawryluk and Nolan Patrick, but the club had five
of the top six in the final playoff scoring race.
Ivan
Provorov might be the top defenceman in this tourney as he had 21 goals and 52
assists in the regular season, and is a 7th overall pick by the
Philadelphia Flyers.
Goalie
Jordan Papirny played every post-season game for the Wheat Kings and posted a
2.93 GAA.
Brandon
won the East division in the regular season with 48 wins, but the noteworthy number
is the 319 goals for, which is the same number as the London Knights, but the
WHL plays a 72-game schedule.
The
Wheat Kings also won nine of their last 10 games in the regular season, so they’re
26-6 in their last 32.
Red
Deer’s best known player on a talented roster is likely Ivan Nikolishin, who is
the son of former Washington Capitals player Andrei. Nikolishin is a NHL free
agent, but his numbers are impressive with 31 goals and 82 points in regular
season. The question mark with the Russian forward is that he missed quite a
bit of the playoffs with a leg injury. In his absence Adam Helewka and Jake DeBrusk
led the Rebels to its final four appearance in the WHL. As an October birthday,
DeBrusk is eligible for the June NHL draft.
With
head coach Brent Sutter, the Rebels show that all 4 clubs in the Memorial Cup
have exceptional coaching.
LONDON
KNIGHTS
Who
would have guessed that the Knights would sweep Kitchener, Erie and Niagara,
and win their last 13 OHL playoff games to win the J Ross Robertson Cup and
return to the Memorial Cup for the fourth time in five years.
After each London Knights game at the Memorial Cup, watch The Wrap, which will be on location and not broadcasted from the studio. Hosts Pete James and Ryan Robinson will analyze the game, take your phone calls (672-1313) and post the many Twitter comments from @rtvohlwrap.
The Bull & Barrel is at 359 Talbot Street in London.
LINKS:
Realtor first; junior hockey fan too
Mark Schadenberg, Sales Representative
Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES designation)
Royal LePage Triland Realty Brokerage
Independently Owned and Operated, Brokerage
757 Dundas St, Woodstock
(519) 537-1553, cell or text
Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com
Twitter: markroyallepage
Facebook: Mark Schadenberg, Royal LePage Triland
Discussion . . . Direction . . . Determination . . .
Destination
No comments:
Post a Comment