The 1997–98 OHL season was the 18th season of the Ontario Hockey League. The Toronto St. Michael's Majors name was reactivated when they are awarded a franchise, to play in the east division. The Detroit Whalers became the Plymouth Whalers. Eighteen teams each played 66 games. The Guelph Storm won the J. Ross Robertson Cup, defeating the Ottawa 67's.
On August 15, 1996, the Ontario Hockey League announced that the Toronto St. Michael's Majors would join the league as an expansion team, beginning in the 1997–98 season. The Majors would play their home games at Maple Leaf Gardens, in which they shared the arena with the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League. The Majors would join the East Division.
Previously, the Toronto St. Michael's Majors were a junior hockey franchise from 1906 to 1962, as they ceased operations at the conclusion of the 1961–62 season. The Majors won the Memorial Cup in 1934, 1945, 1947 and 1961.
The Majors were the first OHL franchise based out of Toronto in eight years, as their previous franchise, the Toronto Marlboros, relocated to Hamilton following the 1988-89 season.
The Detroit Whalers rebranded their team as the Plymouth Whalers during the summer of 1997. The Whalers franchise moved to the Compuware Sports Arena in 1996-97, which is located in Plymouth. The team would retain their current team name and uniforms.
The newest Ontario Hockey League club, the Toronto St. Michael's Majors, joined the East Division. Due to the Majors joining the East, the OHL moved the North Bay Centennials from the East Division to the Central Division, while the Erie Otters moved from the Central Division to the West Division. This created three six-team divisions in the 18 team league.
Note: DIV = Division; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PTS = Points; x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = earned first round bye
| Rank | Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 66 | 40 | 17 | 9 | 89 | 286 | 172 | ||
| 2 | 66 | 41 | 22 | 3 | 85 | 315 | 239 | ||
| 3 | 66 | 35 | 27 | 4 | 74 | 330 | 275 | ||
| 4 | 66 | 26 | 32 | 8 | 60 | 214 | 247 | ||
| 5 | 66 | 20 | 36 | 10 | 50 | 212 | 273 | ||
| 6 | 66 | 15 | 42 | 9 | 39 | 154 | 265 |
| Rank | Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 66 | 42 | 18 | 6 | 90 | 263 | 189 | ||
| 2 | 66 | 38 | 23 | 5 | 81 | 236 | 215 | ||
| 3 | 66 | 27 | 29 | 10 | 64 | 224 | 239 | ||
| 4 | 66 | 27 | 34 | 5 | 59 | 270 | 312 | ||
| 5 | 66 | 25 | 34 | 7 | 57 | 257 | 268 | ||
| 6 | 66 | 15 | 45 | 6 | 36 | 213 | 291 |
| Rank | Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 66 | 40 | 21 | 5 | 85 | 301 | 238 | ||
| 2 | 66 | 37 | 22 | 7 | 81 | 279 | 223 | ||
| 3 | 66 | 32 | 21 | 13 | 77 | 253 | 227 | ||
| 4 | 66 | 33 | 28 | 5 | 71 | 261 | 252 | ||
| 5 | 66 | 20 | 39 | 7 | 47 | 232 | 296 | ||
| 6 | 66 | 19 | 42 | 5 | 43 | 261 | 340 |
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes [1]
| width:30%;" | Player | width:30%;" | Team | width:7.5%;" | GP | width:7.5%;" | G | width:7.5%;" | A | width:7.5%;" | Pts | width:7.5%;" | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Sarno | Windsor Spitfires | 64 | 33 | 88 | 121 | 18 | |||||||
| Jeremy Adduono | Sudbury Wolves | 66 | 37 | 69 | 106 | 40 | |||||||
| David Legwand | Plymouth Whalers | 59 | 54 | 51 | 105 | 56 | |||||||
| Maxim Spiridonov | London Knights | 66 | 54 | 44 | 98 | 52 | |||||||
| Colin Chaulk | Kingston Frontenacs | 60 | 34 | 52 | 96 | 118 | |||||||
| Rob Mailloux | Kingston Frontenacs | 65 | 55 | 40 | 95 | 53 | |||||||
| Jay Legault | London Knights | 61 | 39 | 56 | 95 | 87 | |||||||
| Chris Allen | Kingston Frontenacs | 66 | 38 | 57 | 95 | 91 | |||||||
| Jon Sim | Sarnia Sting | 59 | 44 | 50 | 94 | 95 | |||||||
| Justin Papineau | Belleville Bulls | 66 | 41 | 53 | 94 | 34 |
Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses: OTL = Overtime losses;
SL = Shootout losses; GA = Goals Allowed; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average [2]
| width:25%;" | Player | width:25%;" | Team | width:5%;" | GP | width:5%;" | Mins | width:5%;" | W | width:5%;" | L | width:5%;" | T | width:5%;" | GA | width:5%;" | SO | width:5%;" | Sv% | width:5%;" | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Craig Hillier | Ottawa 67's | 46 | 2587 | 27 | 12 | 4 | 108 | 5 | 0.913 | 2.50 | |||||||||||
| Chris Madden | Guelph Storm | 51 | 2906 | 33 | 11 | 3 | 132 | 4 | 0.917 | 2.73 | |||||||||||
| Robert Esche | Plymouth Whalers | 48 | 2810 | 29 | 13 | 4 | 135 | 3 | 0.906 | 2.88 | |||||||||||
| Mike Gorman | Kitchener Rangers | 42 | 2136 | 15 | 13 | 5 | 104 | 1 | 0.924 | 2.92 | |||||||||||
| Brian Finley | Barrie Colts | 41 | 2154 | 23 | 14 | 1 | 105 | 3 | 0.917 | 2.92 |
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes [3]
| width:30%;" | Player | width:30%;" | Team | width:7.5%;" | GP | width:7.5%;" | G | width:7.5%;" | A | width:7.5%;" | Pts | width:7.5%;" | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Cleary | Belleville Bulls | 10 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 10 | |||||||
| Harold Druken | Plymouth Whalers | 15 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 4 | |||||||
| David Legwand | Plymouth Whalers | 15 | 8 | 12 | 30 | 24 | |||||||
| Mark Cadotte | London Knights | 16 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 15 | |||||||
| Dan Tessier | Ottawa 67's | 14 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 12 | |||||||
| Mike Oliviera | Kingston Frontenacs | 12 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 8 | |||||||
| Jan Bulis | Kingston Frontenacs | 12 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 12 | |||||||
| Matt Zultek | Ottawa 67's | 14 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 20 | |||||||
| Troy Stonier | Ottawa 67's | 14 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 8 | |||||||
| Paul Mara | Plymouth Whalers | 15 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 30 |
Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses: OTL = Overtime losses; SL = Shootout losses; GA = Goals Allowed; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average [4]
| width:25%;" | Player | width:25%;" | Team | width:5%;" | GP | width:5%;" | Mins | width:5%;" | W | width:5%;" | L | width:5%;" | GA | width:5%;" | SO | width:5%;" | Sv% | width:5%;" | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Madden | Guelph Storm | 13 | 749 | 12 | 1 | 23 | 0 | 0.939 | 1.84 | ||||||||||
| Steve Valiquette | Erie Otters | 7 | 468 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 1 | 0.944 | 1.92 | ||||||||||
| Seamus Kotyk | Ottawa 67's | 8 | 392 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 0.925 | 2.29 | ||||||||||
| Craig Hillier | Ottawa 67's | 9 | 448 | 6 | 2 | 20 | 1 | 0.911 | 2.68 | ||||||||||
| Shawn Gallant | Belleville Bulls | 10 | 602 | 6 | 4 | 29 | 2 | 0.911 | 2.89 |
On June 6, 1998, the OHL conducted the 1998 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection at the Barrie Molson Centre in Barrie, Ontario. The Brampton Battalion held the first overall pick in the draft, and selected Jay Harrison from the Oshawa Legionaires. Harrison was awarded the Jack Ferguson Award, awarded to the top pick in the draft.
The 1998 draft was the first draft for the newest OHL expansion teams, the Brampton Battalion and Mississauga IceDogs, who would begin to play during the 1998-99 season.
Below are the players who were selected in the first round of the 1998 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection.[5]
Canada
United States