There hasn’t been a back-to-back champion in the OHL since the London Knights accomplished the feat in 2012 and ’13.
This season, the Knights should have a chance to repeat that feat.
Ranked third in the CHL’s pre-season rankings, Mark and Dale Hunter’s perennial powerhouse looks poised to make another run at an OHL title.
Here are some storylines to follow in the OHL this season after of Wednesday’s season opener between the reigning Memorial Cup champion Saginaw Spirit and Windsor Spitfires.
Leafs or Knights?
Easton Cowan would love to play the season with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Knights certainly would be proud of their forward if he reached that goal, but they’re not about to complain if that doesn’t happen, either.
What the Leafs do with the reigning OHL MVP will loom large for the Knights and the balance of power in the league.
The 19-year-old is not eligible to play full-time for the AHL Marlies until next season, so it’s either the NHL or London.
It’s also entirely possible the 28th-overall pick from 2023 starts the season with the Leafs before finding his way back to London along with Team Canada at the world junior championship.
Regardless of what happens with Cowan, the Knights will be dangerous. They have the potential to have 10 NHL draft picks in their lineup and appear to be the clear favourite in the Western Conference.
New man in charge
Former Canadian Open tournament director and Toronto Argonauts running back Bryan Crawford has taken over as commissioner from David Branch, who had run the OHL since 1979.
It will be fascinating to see how the league operates with a new voice.
While Branch was a very significant figure in the development of junior hockey, Crawford surely has different ideas to bring to the table after decades of a familiar look.
Crawford was a guest on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast this week.
GTA shuffle
One thing Branch did not have success with was achieving off-ice success in the Greater Toronto Area, with the exception of the long-standing tradition of Oshawa Generals hockey.
A late-1990s move to put teams in Toronto, Mississauga and Brampton failed to fill rinks.
Just one city remains, and it’s no longer Mississauga. The Steelheads decided to move 6.6 kilometres down the road to Brampton this off-season to return the OHL to the market after the Battalion marched to North Bay in 2013.
It’s doubtful fans will suddenly start packing the CAA Centre after years of staying away from Battalion games, but the Steelheads figure to be able to attract some interest with a strong product.
The team is ranked second in the CHL rankings. Brampton swung a major deal with the Kitchener Rangers for 52-goal man Carson Rehkohf and might have the league’s top 2025 NHL Draft prospect in winger Porter Martone.
Leenders vs. Ivankovic
The Steelheads had the luxury of two top goaltenders last season. This summer, they decided to trade their older goalie, Buffalo Sabres prospect Ryerson Leenders, to the Brantford Bulldogs, pushing sophomore Jack Ivankovic into the No. 1 role.
The Mississauga-born Ivankovic, a first-round OHL pick, was very good as a rookie last year (2.72 GAA, .915 save percentage in 25 games) and should be better with more experience under his belt.
But the Steelheads did take a risk dealing Leenders to a conference rival for eight draft picks.
The Bulldogs are considered one of the contenders for the East title in a stacked conference, along with the Steelheads, Barrie Colts and reigning East champion Generals.
The Generals will have to wait on key forward Beckett Sennecke to get healthy as the third-overall pick in this year’s NHL Draft (Anaheim) recovers from a foot injury. There have been rumours that the Generals are poised to acquire top forward Colby Barlow from the Owen Sound Attack if and when he returns from Winnipeg Jets camp.
Capital gain?
It’s going to be a busy year in Ottawa for Dave Cameron.
The 67’s coach will stay in the city over the holidays to coach Canada’s entry at the world junior championship.
It’s the second crack at the world junior gig for the Prince Edward Island native, who won silver with Canada in 2011 in Buffalo, N.Y.
A former coach of the Ottawa Senators, Cameron is entering his fourth season with the 67’s.
Erie’s dynamic duo
Two of the top-10 2025 NHL Draft prospects on Jason Bukala’s list for Sportsnet will play for veteran coach Stan Butler’s Erie Otters.
Former OHL No. 1 pick Matthew Schaefer, a defenceman is No. 4, while forward Malcolm Spence is No. 9.
Butler, in his first full season as coach of Erie last season, got the Otters back to the playoffs.
The only coach in Brampton Battalion history, Butler did a good job developing players for the next level during his time in that organization and he’ll look for similar success with Schaefer and Spence.
Spirit still strong
After winning the Memorial Cup on home ice last season, Saginaw still figures to ice a strong team this season.
Exceptional player Michael Misa enters his NHL Draft year and is ranked No. 6 by Bukala.
The Spirit also should have reigning CHL defenceman of the year Zayne Parekh (picked ninth overall by the Calgary Flames this year).
Coaching changes
One quarter of the league’s teams have new coaches this season.
Cory Stillman (Guelph Storm), Steve O’Rourke (Oshawa ), Scott Wray (Owen Sound ), Scott Barney (Sudbury Wolves) and Greg Walters (Windsor) are the new bench bosses.
Walters, in particular, is an interesting story to follow. The Spitfires named him coach after he was reinstated by the league this off-season.
Walters, formerly Owen Sound’s head coach, was suspended for the 2023-24 season in December after a verbal altercation he had with another Attack employee. The suspension came after he was fired by Owen Sound.
Stillman, who played 1,025 NHL games, returns as an OHL head coach after guiding the Sudbury Wolves from 2017-20 before heading to Arizona for an assistant’s role with the Coyotes.