Although the season already started and I am a week overdue, there is no way I can kick off the start of the OHL season without my standing predictions. Last year I was pretty inaccurate, so I hope I’ve learned from my mistakes. But you never know who will unexpectedly make that leap to professional hockey, or untimely injuries, or if I’ve become more aware of my own biases and finally accept that Matthew Poitras is an NHL player now. Okay, I accepted that last point back in January but Luchanko better be back for one more year! With that here are my predictions for the OHL 2024-2025 season.

East Division

1. Oshawa Generals (East Division Champions)

   Despite my placing them fourth in the division last season, Oshawa found a lot of success from a young core which helped them reach the OHL finals. Assuming this core all returns, Oshawa will have three NHL 1st-round picks in Danford, Sennecke, and Ritche, the 2023 OHL goalie of the year in Oster, and a strong cast of 2006-born players. To top it off, their talented forward group is expected to get better with the all-but-confirmed acquisition of Colby Barlow pending that Winnepeg returns him to the OHL this season. Deep playoff experience, high offense, reliable defense, and a confident Oster in the net make the Generals the team to beat in the East.

2. Brantford Bulldogs

   This Bulldogs team is poised to produce. With a deep forward group to start the season and the likes of Nick Lardis, Marek Vanacker, and Jake O’Brien in his sophomore year, this team is loaded up front. That said, they lost some veteran presence on the blueline and will be an area of focus as they are set to make a big run this year in a very tough conference. Brantford has already shown their commitment to this season by brining in Leenders to backstop this squad.

3. Kingston Frontenacs

   In my opinion, Kingston made the wrong decision last year by spending picks to add veteran support as this is a squad that’s defined by its excellent 2005-born defense core. this very core is what has them set up for success this season. Unfortunately, they lost some big names up front who graduated instead of trying to move them to position themselves to content in a tough conference this season. That said, Chromiak, Burns, and the addition of Pieniniemi on the blueline with Uronen, Soto, and Battaglia up front this team has a lot of offensive potential. Kingston will have to rely on players like McNamara and Miedema to take a big step this season to compete against the likes of Oshawa and Brantford.

4. Ottawa 67’s

   Ottawa lost a lot of firepower from last season but still has a lot of talent on the roster with Pinelli, Foster, Marelli, and Mews. Along with the additions of Amidovski and Eshkawkogan, they have a very talented 2008-born duo giving them a bright future in the coming years. Ultimately, Ottawa will be competing against a lot of teams looking for a deep playoff run while also taking a step back this year, but I expect them to secure a playoff spot.

5. Peterborough Petes

   Last season Michael Oke made a lot of big moves, especially around the trade deadline which saw him bring in three 2023 1st-round picks Nico Addy, Caden Taylor, and Aiden Young to join the Petes own 1st-round pick, Carson Cameron. I expect all four of these players to take a big step forward as they enter their second year in the OHL as they now also add Peterborough native Colin Fitzgerald who was selected third overall this draft. It’ll still be some time before they grow into the league as they are still a very young core so I expect the Petes to finish last in their division and potentially even miss the playoffs.

Central Division

1. Brampton Steelheads (Central Division Champions)

   This is a big year for the Steelheads as they move to Brampton and are poised for a big run. On the backs of Martone, Misa, MacDonell, and Fibigr, they have already brought in Sova on the blue line and the offensive powerhouse of Rehkopf. In net, they committed to Ivankovic who had a strong showing as a rookie netminder last season. They still have eight 2nd-round draft picks to use to add more firepower and depth which makes them a frontrunner for buying come the trade deadline which they will need to do if they want to make a run to the Memorial Cup.

2. Barrie Colts

   Their starting roster contains six NHL-drafted players including two who were drafted in the 1st-round of the 2024 NHL draft in Cole Beaudoin and Finnish-born Emil Hemming. Barrie also has a strong overage trio of Zach Wigle, Beau Jelsma, and Tai York to lead the forward group, while on the backend Bertucci has been brought in to add a very reliable two-way defender to support Beau Akey and goalie Sam Hillebrandt who had an impressive .938 save percentage in five playoff games early this year. Barrie will be fighting for a top-four position in the Eastern Conference.

3. Sudbury Wolves

   Last season seemed to be the year the Wolves would have a long run, however, they fell short despite going all in at the trade deadline. The unfortunate consequence of that is that they have had a large turnover of players. With that in mind, Sudbury has a retuning Musty, Delic, Villeneuve, DeAngelis, and McCoy, so I expect them to hold their own against most teams during the first half of the season.

4. Niagara IceDogs

   Niagara is still in the process of rebuilding and has a lot of young talent from the 2023 and 2024 OHL draft. With the likes of Roobroeck, Czata, Galiyanov, and Wassilyn led by a captain Bryant and Loshko who recently was picked up off waivers from out east, I think Niagara has an opportunity to battle their way into a playoff spot by the end of the season depending on the moves management decides to make this year. All in all, things are looking brighter in Niagara but they still have a way to go before they are a contending franchise again.

5. North Bay Battalion

   After three seasons of conference finalists, North Bay is now going into rebuild mode. Most of their top players have graduated but still, the Battalion should be able to secure some wins in the first few months of the season with veterans Dalyn Wakely, the LeBlance twins, Anthony Romani, and Bronson Ride returning. I expect some of these players to be traded to other teams come the trade deadline but North Bay does have some firepower, meaning they won’t just be an easy win for contenders, especially early on. They also have a talented prospect in NHL 3rd-round pick Ethan Procyszyn who will have a chance to take a big step on a rebuilding team.

Midwest Division

1. London Knights (Midwest Division Champions)

   The Knights have a really good opportunity to become back-to-back OHL Champions this year with an elite group returning. Upfront they have the likes of Denver Barkey, Easton Cowan, import Jesse Nurmi, and Sam O’Reilly who will put up a lot of offense. On the back end, while they are not as deep as last season in my opinion,they have a top group of Oliver Bonk and Sam Dickinson with a group of 2006 defencemen who I think have a lot of potential. London is still missing pieces, with questions about goaltending and depth, particularly with a young defense group, I expect them to allow their young talent to prove themselves but will likely have to make some moves if they want to make a return to the memorial Cup.

2. Erie Otters

   The Otters have a good opportunity to contend in the West this season with overagers Same Alfano, Pano Fimis, and Martin Misiak returning Captained Carey Terrance to lead their forward group. While the return of Misiak did force the Otters to trade Sova leaving a big role on the blueline, Erie has Alexis Daviault and Matthew Schaefer, in his draft year, to step up. Add in Malcolm Spence and the Otters might potentially have two players that will be selected in the 1st-round of the 2025 NHL draft with Swedish netminder Noah Erliden and Soo native Charlie Burns to back them up.

3. Guelph Storm

   After a season of injuries, unexpected graduations, and just bad luck at times for the Storm, they have an exciting season ahead. While not contenders this team will likely be over a .500 in the wins column with a healthy Cam Allen set to have a breakout year with coverage Thomas Budnick adding physicality on the blueline to support Quinn Beauchesne, who is in his draft year, and Rylan Singh. With a returning Vilmar Alriksson and, hopefully, Jett Luchanko, to help lead the veteran group with Jake Karabela, Guelph has a lot of offensive potential. In net they have rookie Colin Ellsworth and a returning Brayden Gillespie who proved in the first half of last season that he can help secure important wins for his team. I still expect Guelph to sell at the deadline but with a weaker Western division, a strong first half of the season might encourage George Burnett to think twice.

4. Kitchener Rangers

   After contending for the past two seasons, Kitchener has already shown their intention to rebuild this season by trading Carson Rehkopf. They still have Trent Swick, Adrian Misaljevic, and Matthew Andonovski to lead the offense while giving a lot more opportunity to their young talent in Cameron Reid, Luca Romano, and Tanner Lam. This trio had an impressive rookie season last year so I see a bright future for Kitchener. Keep an eye on these three this year.

5. Owen Sound Attack

   The Attack are looking to a long season with a lot of talent having graduated and star forward Colby Barlow having requested to be traded to begin his final OHL season. While not at all unexpected, it does mean the Attack are looking at a season focused on developing. That said, they do still have talent in their veteran group in Bruce McDonald, Declan Waddick, Sam McCue, James Petrovski. and Carter George. While they may not finish the season with all these players it will allow them to carry a younger roster until the rookies get settled in the OHL. Speaking of the rookies, I think Owen Sound has a very talented pair in Pierce Mbuyi, who has an impressive shot, and Ethan Kindree who I think was an undervalued prospect last year.

West Division

1. Saginaw Spirit (West Division Champions)

   While Saginaw has elite players in Zayne Parekh, Russian Igor Chernyshov, and Michael Misa, and a cast of players returning from the Memorial Cup Championship team last season, this a team that I think is more about forward depth than being a powerhouse like they were last season. This team will score a lot of goals, but I have less confidence in the defense group so a lot of their ability to keep the puck out of the net might fall on Andrew Oke, especially when considering that the Spirit don’t have as many assets to use in acquiring players this season. Still, I expect to see a rematch of the Western Conference Finals come April.

2. Flint Firebirds

   Flint has made some interesting moves in the off season, moving Tristan Bertucci to Barrie but adding Matthew Mania, Urban Podrekar, and Christopher Thibodeau, making them the team I am least confident with in these predictions. While the Firebirds are most certainly a better team I am unsure how much secondary scoring they will see from this group. That said, this will be a tough team to play against with a solid defense core and Nathan Day in the crease.

3. Windsor Spitfires

   The Spitfires are going to be a very exciting team this year. With a very talented cast of 2006-born players, I still think Windsor is a year out from being considered a contender, Captain Liam Greentree leads a group containing the likes of Owen Outwater, Cold Davis, AJ Spellacy, Jack Nesbitt, and Anthony Cristoforo. Windsor will also have who I believe will be the OHL Rookie of the Year in 1st-overall pick Ethan Belchetz whose mix of size and skill will allow him to dominate immediately. they are big, they can score, and they will steal games, expect Windsor to be this season’s darkhorse.

4. Soo

   the Soo has had a terrible off-season due to issues surrounding drafted players from the most recent OHL draft committing elsewhere, which is rather unfortunate when you consider the lost potential by being unable to build around Brady Martin. But, not all hope is lost thanks to players like Marco Mignosa, Justin Cloutier, and Andrew Gibson. There is also a lot of potential in Christopher Brown, Tate Vader, and the aforementioned Brady Martin who can take massive steps forward with more ice time. I think the Soo will be fighting for a playoff spot but it depends on who is traded and who steps up.

5. Sarnia

   Sarnia is still in the midst of their rebuild so I have them missing the playoffs this season, though I think it will be a close race. Captain Zach Filak and Tyson Doucette are set to lead this young group of Carter Kostuch, Russian Ruslan Karimov, Ryan Brown, rookie Alessandro Di Iorio, and Lukas Fisher. There is a lot of talent in this young group, much like that of the Petes, which also means there is a lot of potential for this team depending on how quickly certain players develop as the season goes on. They will be in a tight race in the standing with the Soo and as much as I expect Filak to put up a lot of points I think their defense group is still too inexperienced compared to the Greyhounds