CHL: Who's Next...

Running backs come from the Big Ten, point guards come from the ACC, and left fielders come from The University of Miami. But as to where the NHL's superstars come from little is known except for "Canada." Well that's right. A lot of the best NHL talent comes directly from three Major Junior Leagues in Canada that are collectively referred to as the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). They are the Western Hockey League (WHL), the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). As a matter of fact, 16 of the 20 guys on the Flyers roster today came from the CHL. Each of the next three mornings during Rookie Week I'm going to shine some light on one of these leagues in a Flyer fan friendly manner. Letting you know why you should care about these leagues as a Flyers fans and hopefully getting some of you off along the way. Bare minimum, you'll be able to make someone who does not know anything about the Flyers but proceeds to tell you he does as he sits there in his orange Roenick jersey look like an assdick by letting him know that even though Ole-Kristian Tollefsen is Norwegian he actually played his junior hockey in the WHL for the Brandon Wheat Kings. Today, we’re taking a look at the OHL.

The first thing you need to know about the OHL is this:



Yes, that is Rob Lowe of the fictitious Hamilton Bulldogs scoring a game winning goal against the also fictitious Thunder Bay Bombers that sends his teammates, who include Patrick Swayze, Peter Zezel, Steve Thomas, and Keanu Reeves, into a frenzy.

Now that we’re all operating on the same level….here’s the OHL. On a map!

I’ve always considered the OHL to be the real-deal Junior league, and I think getting an impartial opinion from a Canadian would be just about impossible so that’s what I’m going to continue to think. The OHL has without a doubt produced most of the top North American players to be drafted over the past 15 years. Of last season’s 50 leading scorers 12 were from the OHL while the WHL and QMJHL had 8 a piece. When you look at leading scorers among defenseman, however, you’ll find only 3 compared to the WHL’s 7 and the QMJHL’s zero. This actually may not be that surprising as when I think of The O I picture defensemen like Luke Richardson and Ryan Parent. Not necessarily guys who put up a ton of points but definitely play solid defense and smash the occasional unsuspecting forward.

Since the Memorial Cup Tournament went to the three league format in 1972 an OHL team has won only 13 times in those 37 years, but the league currently has possession of the cup after Eric Wellwood and the Windsor Spitfires ran the gamut this past Spring. All three leagues post their fare share of talent in the NHL, but just know this season that when you’re watching Joe Thornton, the Staal boys, Marc Savard, Patrick Kane, and Rick Nash that they’re all exports of Ontario.

As far as the Flyers go, this league is arguably the source of the team’s core and most talented players. Like the WHL, there are six Flyboys on today’s roster who spent their formative years in the OHL:

Daniel Carcillo – Sarnia Sting
Mike Richards – Kitchener Rangers
Jeff Carter – Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds
Ray Emery – Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds
Chris Pronger – Peterborough Petes
Ryan Parent – Guelph Storm

Factoring out Kimmo as a football (soccer) loving Euro, Richards, Carter, and Pronger are going to be the nucleus of the Flyers for at least the next two years.

Over the past 20 season the Flyers have taken 20 kids from the OHL, which is far below the WHL (33) and the QMJHL (28). Interestingly enough however the trend is reversed for the 1st round, which we all know is the only round that isn’t a complete crap shoot. Whereas the organization has gone to The Q three times during the 1st round over the past 20 years and The W four times, they’ve hit up The O five times with mixed results. Carter and Richards seem to be panning out in ways that Justin Williams, Mike Ricci, and Steve Downie just didn’t.

We currently only have a few guys we drafted in the system who are OHL affiliated. Josh Beaulieu who is looking more and more like an AHL lifer, Patrick Maroon who the Flyers shipped off to London for a year to give him that smoky Canadian flavor , and Zac Rinaldo who I’d wager to guess will be returning to The O after training camp. We’ve also acquired some former OHL talent in Danny Syvret, Jeff Szwez, Jason Ward and few other floaters.

Now if you’re still having any doubts that the OHL is the real deal then listen up good – Chris “Fucking” Therien played in the OHL. So there’s that. Up tomorrow, the lady of the CHL, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.