Latest news with #OHLChampionships
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Dale Hunter Becomes Winningest Coach In Memorial Cup History
Dale Hunter is one of the most accomplished coaches in the CHL. In terms of former and current CHL coaches, you'd be hard pressed to find a record that can stand toe to toe with Hunter's. He's won five OHL Championships, tying him for the most in OHL history, as well as two Memorial Cups and two gold medals coaching Canada on the international stage. He's also been named the CHL Coach of the Year once and the OHL Coach of the Year on three occasions. Hunter holds the record for fastest coach to win 1,000 games in the OHL. He trails only the great Brian Kilrea when it comes to all-time wins, and seems poised to take that mantle in the coming years. Yesterday, Hunter added another accolade to his distinguished coaching career, becoming the winningest coach at the Memorial Cup. London's 3-1 victory over Rimouski gave Hunter his 15th win at the Memorial Cup, surpassing Don Hay's previous record of 14 wins. "I didn't think about it until two minutes ago," said Hunter after the game. He was quick to turn the attention to his players, commenting that they are the ones blocking shots and doing the work on the ice. He went on to add that he's coached great players over the years. Big Third Period Powers Knights Past Oceanic Yesterday, the London Knights defeated the Rimouski Oceanic 3-1, registering their second win at the Memorial Cup. Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Easton Cowan picked up two points in the third period to give the OHL representatives the win over the host team. Many of today's NHL greats spent time in London under Hunter's watchful eye before making it to the big league. Standout names include Mitch Marner, Matthew Tkachuk, John Tavares, Patrick Kane and Evan Bouchard to name only a few. Before becoming an OHL coach, Hunter had a distinguished NHL career during the 80s and 90s. In 1409 NHL games, he scored 1020 points and is second all-time in terms of penalty minutes with 3565. He's the only player in NHL history to record more than 1000 points and at least 3000 penalty minutes. He started his career playing for the Quebec Nordiques before being traded to the Washington Capitals before the 1987-88 season. He went on to captain the Capitals for five years starting in 1994. He finished his career playing for the Colorado Avalanche during the 1998-99 season. "Dale is constantly evolving, figuring out how to make players and getting teams to win," said London GM Mark Hunter, who is Dale's sibling. CHL Hosts Meet The Coaches Press Conference Ahead of Memorial Cup Earlier today, London Knights Head Coach Dale Hunter took part in a pre-tournament press conference alongside the Head Coaches of the other three participating teams. The panel consisted of Hunter, Willie Desjardins (Medicine Hat), Gardiner MacDougall (Moncton) and Joël Perrault (Rimouski). Becoming the winningest coach at the Memorial Cup mid-tournament will not be enough to satisfy Hunter, who has his eyes set on a third Memorial Cup victory. This is especially true when you take into account London's Memorial Cup Finals defeat at the hands of the Saginaw Spirit just last year. Unfinished business has been a consistent theme for this year's team since the beginning of the season. They've already secured a semi-finals appearance by taking down Rimouski and Moncton to start the tournament. Beating Medicine Hat would secure them another appearance in Memorial Cup Final. Their next game takes place this evening starting a t 7:00 p.m. when they will faceoff against young star Gavin McKenna and the rest of the Medicine Hat Tigers.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
CHL Hosts Meet The Coaches Press Conference Ahead of Memorial Cup
Earlier today, London Knights Head Coach Dale Hunter took part in a pre-tournament press conference alongside the Head Coaches of the other three participating teams. The panel consisted of Hunter, Willie Desjardins (Medicine Hat), Gardiner MacDougall (Moncton) and Joël Perrault (Rimouski). Each of the coaches answered questions fielded by members of the media generally responding in jovial and upbeat fashion. These are four star-studded coaches whose shelves are weighed down by some serious hardware. In 2022, MacDougall won the Memorial Cup in spectacular fashion as the Head Coach of the Saint John's Sea Dogs. He'd only been with the team for a few short weeks prior to the tournament. While Desjardins has not won a Memorial Cup, he has won multiple medals on the international stag,e coaching Team Canada at various levels. Perrault is the least decorated of the quartet, though he is also the youngest of the four coaches. MacDougall was especially complementary of Perrault praising him and Rimouski for battling through injuries in the QMJHL Finals. Hunter is by far the most decorated coach in this group. Not only has he won two Memorial Cups, he's also the winner of five OHL Championships which ties him for the most in OHL history. He and the Knights are the favourite to win the Memorial Cup this year, largely based on the fourteen returning London players who made it to the finals of last year's tournament. Hear from Dale Hunter (@LondonKnights), Willie Desjardins (@tigershockey), Gardiner MacDougall (@monctonwildcats) and Joël Perrault (@oceanicrimouski) at the 2025 #MemorialCup Meet the Coaches press conference! 🎙️ — Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) May 22, 2025 Despite being the favourites, Hunter emphasized how difficult it is to win the Memorial Cup. The Knights cruised through the OHL Playoffs, dropping only one game on their way to their second straight J. Ross Robertson Cup. They were undefeated going into the OHL Finals. Twenty years ago, Hunter won the Memorial Cup in London by defeating the Rimouski Oceanic in the final. That team included veteran Edmonton Oilers forward Corey Perry as well as former Ottawa Senator Marc Methot. The two teams will rematch in London's second game at the tournament. This time the Oceanic will look to take a win on home ice. One question directed towards Desjardins focused on WHL superstar Gavin McKenna making his first appearance at the Memorial Cup. The young star averaged more than two points per game during the WHL playoffs, scoring nine goals and adding 29 assists in 16 games. As the coach of the host team, Perrault fielded quite a few questions. In a heartfelt moment, he told reporters that the bracelet he wears around his wrist is a token given to him by his daughters who made it for him during his first year in Rimouski. The Oceanic will kick off the tournament tomorrow evening against Medicine Hat. The game is set to start at 7:00 p.m. The OHL representatives will start their tournament the following evening with a contest against Moncton. The game is scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
OHL Heavily Represented in Craig Button's Recent Mock Draft
The 2025 NHL Draft is just around the corner, and many pundits are starting to project what the first round will look like. Craig Buttons' recent mock draft projects the OHL to be well represented in the opening round of the 2025 NHL Draft. Historically, the OHL has always featured prominently in the opening round of NHL Drafts. Last season, nine of the players picked in round one played for OHL teams, meaning the league claimed 28 percent of the players picked. That was the highest percentage for any individual league. Based on Buttons' projections, the OHL could receive an even larger share of this year's first-round picks. Picks 1-5 1. New York Islanders - Matthew Schaefer2. San Jose Sharks - Porter Martone 3. Chicago Blackhawks - Michael Misa4. Utah Mammoth - James Hagens 5. Nashville Predators - Jake O'Brien According to this mock draft four of the opening five picks could be OHL players. While Schaefer going first feels like a no brainer based on every projection seen since January, some people are asking whether the Islanders might take James Hagens instead seeing as he is a Long Island native. Porter Martone going second is a bit of a surprise given that he has slipped down prospect lists in the second half of the season. The Steelheads forward fell from fourth to sixth in NHL Central Scouting's latest rankings. Jake O'Brien has risen up draft boards in the second half of the year. He jumped up from eighth to fourth on NHL Central Scouting's rankings. Seeing him go fifth to Nashville would round out a dominant showing for the OHL in the first five picks. The London Knights Hang On To Win OHL Championship For the second time since 2010, the London Knights are the winners of back-to-back OHL Championships. The Knights took game five of the OHL Final to hoist the J. Ross Robertson Cup on home ice. Picks 6-10 6. Philadelphia Flyers - Brady Martin7. Boston Bruins - Caleb Desnoyers8. Seattle Kraken - Anton Frondell9. Buffalo Sabres - Radim Mrtka10. Anaheim Ducks - Lynden Lakovic After dominating the top five picks, Button projects just Brady Martin being taken in this segment of the first round. Martin is a riser when it comes to prospect rankings having moved from 17th to 11th on NHL Central Scouting's rankings. His dominant performance at the U-18 Men's Championship will only have served to boost his stock higher. In seven games at the tournament he scored three goals and added eight assists while looking like a man playing amongst boys. As a side note, when it comes to recent history, the Flyers have tended towards OHL players when they have a first round pick. Since 2020, they've drafted an OHL player three times in the first round. In 2021 they did not have a first-round pick and in 2022 they selected Cutter Gauthier of the USNDTP. 2025 NHL Draft Profile: Jacob Cloutier With the OHL season finished, and the London Knights crowned champions for the second consecutive season, many OHL fans are turning their attention towards the NHL Draft in June. Questions abound about where certain players will be picked and who will rise or fall on draft boards. Picks 11-16 11. Pittsburgh Penguins - Roger McQueen12. New York Rangers - Kashawn Aitcheson 13. Detroit Red Wings - Victor Englund14. Columbus Blue Jackets - Jackson Smith 15. Vancouver Canucks - Cole Reschny16. Montreal Canadiens - Justin CarbonneauAgain, the OHL becomes somewhat sparse in this segment of Buttons' mock draft, with just one pick predicted to come from the league. Kashawn Aitcheson is a hard-nosed defender who is gifted on both sides of the puck. He also rose up NHL Central Scouting's rankings, going from 15th to ninth. It is possible we could see players like Malcolm Spence, Henry Brzustewicz and Jack Nesbitt creep into these picks as well. There is a fair amount of disagreement between pundits on this segment of the draft. Based on Buttons' draft, six OHL players project to be picked in the first half of the draft. If the percentages pan out, that would mean a total of 12 OHL players get picked in the first round, which would be a 33 percent increase from last year. This does seem a bit far-fetched, though. It seems much more likely that by the end of round one, the OHL will have around 10 players taken. What is clear is that the OHL is very well represented at the top of this year's draft class, with pundits predicting a large number of OHL players being taken in the first 10 picks of the 2025 NHL Draft. As always, the draft is unpredictable, and while it is fun to look at mock drafts and projections, we will never know how the chips will fall until teams start making picks. The 2025 NHL Draft will take place on Friday, June 27th at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
