2008–09 OHL season explained

2008–09 OHL season
Color:	007AC2
Color Text:	FFFFFF
League:	Ontario Hockey League
Sport:	Hockey
Duration:	Preseason Aug. 29, 2008 – Sept. 14, 2008 Regular season Sept. 17, 2008 – Mar. 15, 2009 Playoffs Mar. 18, 2009 – May 8, 2009
Playoffs:	Playoffs
Playoffs Mvp Link:	Wayne Gretzky 99 Award
Playoffs Mvp:	Taylor Hall (Spitfires)
Finals Champ:	Windsor Spitfires (2)
Finals Runner-Up:	Brampton Battalion
No Of Teams:	20
Season:	Regular season
Season Champ Name:	Hamilton Spectator Trophy
Season Champs:	Windsor Spitfires (1)
Mvp Link:	Red Tilson Trophy
Mvp:	Cody Hodgson (Brampton Battalion)
Top Scorer Link:	Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy
Top Scorer:	John Tavares (London Knights)
Tv:	Rogers TV, TVCogeco
Seasonslistnames:	OHL
Prevseason Year:	2007–08
Nextseason Year:	2009–10

2008–09 CHL season
Color:	4B489D
Color Text:	FFFFFF
League:	Canadian Hockey League
Sport:	Hockey
Duration:	OHL Sept. 17, 2008 – Mar. 15, 2009 QMJHL Sept. 11, 2008 – Mar. 15, 2009 WHL Sept. 18, 2008 – Mar. 15, 2009
No Of Teams:	60
Tv:	RDS Rogers Sportsnet Rogers TV Shaw TV
Playoffs:	Memorial Cup
Finals Champ:	Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
Num Championships:	1
Finals Runner-Up:	Kelowna Rockets (WHL)

The 2008–09 OHL season was the 29th season of the Ontario Hockey League. Twenty teams played 68 games each during the regular season schedule, which started on September 17, 2008 and concluded on March 15, 2009. The OHL inaugurated the Mickey Renaud Captain's Trophy following his death in the previous season. The Windsor Spitfires played their last game at Windsor Arena on December 4, defeating the Guelph Storm, 2–1. The Spitfires played their first game at the WFCU Centre on December 11 against the Belleville Bulls, losing the game 4–0. The playoffs began on March 18, 2009, and ended on May 8, 2009 with the Windsor Spitfires winning the J. Ross Robertson Cup, and a berth in the 2009 Memorial Cup which was held in Rimouski, Quebec. Windsor went on to win the Memorial Cup.

Regular season

Final standings

Note: DIV = Division; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; SL = Shootout losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PTS = Points; x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = clinched conference title

Eastern conference

	Rank	Team		DIV	GP	W	L		OTL		SL		PTS	GF	GA
1		East	68	47	17	2	2	98	258	176
2		Central	68	47	19	1	1	96	264	184
3		East	68	40	21	5	2	87	272	231
4		Central	68	39	26	1	2	81	229	208
5		Central	68	30	33	3	2	65	214	207
6		Central	68	26	32	4	6	62	213	264
7		East	68	28	37	1	2	59	210	266
8		Central	68	26	35	3	4	59	227	282
9		East	68	25	35	2	6	58	213	283
10		East	68	18	40	6	4	46	200	278

Western conference

	Rank	Team		DIV	GP	W	L		OTL		SL		PTS	GF	GA
1		West	68	57	10	0	1	115	311	171
2		Midwest	68	49	16	1	2	101	287	194
3		West	68	36	24	4	4	80	235	219
4		West	68	37	26	5	0	79	253	244
5		West	68	35	26	4	3	77	216	210
6		Midwest	68	35	26	4	3	77	226	209
7		Midwest	68	34	29	3	2	73	233	239
8		Midwest	68	26	27	7	8	67	226	258
9		Midwest	68	26	37	3	2	57	208	254
10		West	68	19	45	2	2	42	172	290

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
John Tavares		56	58	46	104	54
		53	39	55	94	75
Justin DiBenedetto		62	45	48	93	85
Cody Hodgson		53	43	49	92	33
Matt Caria		67	34	58	92	91
		63	38	52	90	60
		57	22	67	89	57
		55	38	50	88	61
Logan Couture		62	39	48	87	46
		67	26	59	85	56

Leading goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses: OTL = Overtime losses; SL = Shootout losses; GA = Goals allowed; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Player	Team	GP	Mins	W	L	OTL	SL	GA	SO	SV%	GAA
		54	3169	40	9	2	2	110	5	0.941	2.08
		54	3192	34	16	2	2	112	7	0.927	2.11
		54	3086	46	4	0	1	121	5	0.914	2.35
		52	3027	35	15	0	1	132	6	0.919	2.62
		54	3151	29	19	4	2	146	2	0.914	2.78

Playoffs

Conference quarterfinals

(2) London Knights vs. (7) Erie Otters

(4) Plymouth Whalers vs. (5) Sarina Sting

Conference semifinals

Western conference

(2) London Knights vs. (3) Saginaw Spirit

Eastern Conference

Western conference

(1) Windsor Spitfires vs. (2) London Knights

J. Ross Robertson Cup

(W1) Windsor Spitfires vs. (E2) Brampton Battalion

Playoff scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Taylor Hall		20	16	20	36	12
		20	11	22	33	2
		21	11	20	31	18
		20	8	23	31	20
Dale Mitchell		20	14	15	29	24
Matt Duchene		21	14	12	26	21
		19	11	14	25	4
John Carlson		14	7	15	22	16
		14	10	11	21	8
Eric Wellwood		20	10	11	21	12

Playoff leading goaltenders

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

Player	Team	GP	Mins	W	L	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA
		11	697	6	5	29	0	0.928	2.50
		17	1007	10	7	43	0	0.916	2.56
		6	360	2	4	16	0	0.929	2.67
		13	805	9	4	38	0	0.912	2.83
		20	1112	14	3	53	0	0.908	2.86

All-Star teams

First team

• Cody Hodgson, Centre, Brampton Battalion
• Taylor Hall, Left Wing, Windsor Spitfires
• Bryan Cameron, Right Wing, Belleville Bulls
• Ryan Ellis, Defence, Windsor Spitfires
• P. K. Subban, Defence, Belleville Bulls
• Mike Murphy, Goaltender, Belleville Bulls
• Bob Boughner, Coach, Windsor Spitfires

Second team

• John Tavares, Centre, London Knights
• Justin DiBenedetto, Left Wing, Sarnia Sting
• Greg Nemisz, Right Wing, Windsor Spitfires
• Cameron Gaunce, Defence, Belleville Bulls
• John Carlson, Defence, London Knights
• Thomas McCollum, Goaltender, Brampton Battalion
• George Burnett, Coach, Belleville Bulls

Third team

• Chris Terry, Centre, Plymouth Whalers
• Evgeny Grachev, Left Wing, Brampton Battalion
• Matt Kennedy, Right Wing, Guelph Storm
• Alex Pietrangelo, Defence, Niagara IceDogs
• Michael Del Zotto, Defence, London Knights
• Edward Pasquale, Goaltender, Saginaw Spirit
• Mike Vellucci, Coach, Plymouth Whalers

All-Star Classic

The 2009 Subway OHL All-Star Classic^[2] was played February 4, 2009 at the WFCU Centre in Windsor, won 11–6 by the Eastern Conference. Cody Hodgson of the Brampton Battalion won the player of the game award, as he scored three goals and added two assists. The skills competition was held the previous night on February 3, with the Western Conference winning. Honorary captains for the event were former Peterborough Petes player Steve Yzerman for the Eastern Conference, while former Windsor Spitfires player Adam Graves represented the Western Conference.

Awards

J. Ross Robertson Cup	Windsor Spitfires
Hamilton Spectator Trophy	Windsor Spitfires
Bobby Orr Trophy	Brampton Battalion
Wayne Gretzky Trophy	Windsor Spitfires
Emms Trophy	Brampton Battalion
Leyden Trophy	Belleville Bulls
Holody Trophy	London Knights
Bumbacco Trophy	Windsor Spitfires
Red Tilson Trophy	Cody Hodgson, Brampton Battalion
Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy	John Tavares, London Knights
Matt Leyden Trophy	Bob Boughner, Windsor Spitfires
Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy	Justin DiBenedetto, Sarnia Sting
Max Kaminsky Trophy	Ryan Ellis, Windsor Spitfires
OHL Goaltender of the Year	Mike Murphy, Belleville Bulls
Jack Ferguson Award	Daniel Catenacci, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
Dave Pinkney Trophy	Mike Murphy, Belleville Bulls
OHL Executive of the Year	Warren Rychel, Windsor Spitfires
Emms Family Award	Evgeny Grachev, Brampton Battalion
F. W. "Dinty" Moore Trophy	J. P. Anderson, Mississauga St. Michael's Majors
Dan Snyder Memorial Trophy	Chris Terry, Plymouth Whalers
William Hanley Trophy	Cody Hodgson, Brampton Battalion
Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy	Justin DiBenedetto, Sarnia Sting
Bobby Smith Trophy	Matt Duchene, Brampton Battalion
Roger Neilson Memorial Award	Tim Priamo, Guelph Storm
Ivan Tennant Memorial Award	Freddie Hamilton, Niagara IceDogs
Mickey Renaud Captain's Trophy	Chris Terry, Plymouth Whalers
Tim Adams Memorial Trophy	Lucas Lessio, Toronto Marlboros
Bill Long Award	Bert O'Brien, Ottawa 67's & Sam Sisco, Ontario Hockey League
Wayne Gretzky 99 Award	Taylor Hall, Windsor Spitfires

2009 OHL Priority Selection

On May 2, 2009, the OHL conducted the 2009 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection. The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds held the first overall pick in the draft, and selected Daniel Catenacci from the York-Simcoe Express. Catenacci was awarded the Jack Ferguson Award, awarded to the top pick in the draft.

Below are the players who were selected in the first round of the 2009 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection.^[3]

	Player	Nationality	OHL team	Hometown	Minor team
1	Daniel Catenacci (LW)	Canada	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds	Newmarket, Ontario	York-Simcoe Express
2	Alan Quine (C)	Canada	Kingston Frontenacs	Orleans, Ontario	Toronto Jr. Canadiens
3	Ryan Murphy (D)	Canada	Kitchener Rangers	Aurora, Ontario	York-Simcoe Express
4	Boone Jenner (LW)	Canada	Oshawa Generals	Dorchester, Ontario	Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs
5	Justin Sefton (D)	Canada	Sudbury Wolves	Thunder Bay, Ontario	Notre Dame Hounds
6	Matt Puempel (LW)	Canada	Peterborough Petes	Essex, Ontario	Sun County Panthers
7	Lucas Lessio (LW)	Canada	Niagara IceDogs	Maple, Ontario	Toronto Marlboros
8	Ryan Strome (C)	Canada	Barrie Colts	Mississauga, Ontario	Toronto Marlboros
9	Curtis Crombeen (D)	Canada	Owen Sound Attack	Sarnia, Ontario	Lambton Jr. Sting
10	David Broll (LW)	Canada	Erie Otters	Mississauga, Ontario	Toronto Nationals
11	Carter Sandlak (LW)	Canada	Guelph Storm	London, Ontario	London Jr. Knights
12	Brett Ritchie (RW)	Canada	Sarnia Sting	Orangeville, Ontario	Toronto Marlboros
13	Garrett Meurs (C)	Canada	Plymouth Whalers	Ripley, Ontario	Huron Perth Lakers
14	Anthony Camara (LW)	Canada	Saginaw Spirit	Toronto, Ontario	Mississauga Senators
15	Stuart Percy (D)	Canada	Mississauga St. Michael's Majors	Oakville, Ontario	Toronto Marlboros
16	Cody Ceci (D)	Canada	Ottawa 67's	Orleans, Ontario	Peterborough Jr. Petes
17	Barclay Goodrow (RW)	Canada	Brampton Battalion	Aurora, Ontario	York-Simcoe Express
18	Tyson Teichmann (G)	Canada	Belleville Bulls	Belleville, Ontario	Quinte Red Devils
19	Scott Harrington (D)	Canada	London Knights	Kingston, Ontario	Kingston Jr. Frontenacs
20	Austen Brassard (RW)	Canada	Windsor Spitfires	Windsor, Ontario	Windsor AAA Zone

2009 CHL Import Draft

On June 30, 2009, the Canadian Hockey League conducted the 2009 CHL Import Draft, in which teams in all three CHL leagues participate in. The Plymouth Whalers held the first pick in the draft by a team in the OHL, and selected Gabriel Landeskog from Sweden with their selection.

Below are the players who were selected in the first round by Ontario Hockey League teams in the 2009 CHL Import Draft.^[4]

	Player	Nationality	OHL team	Hometown	Minor team
3	Gabriel Landeskog (RW)	Sweden	Plymouth Whalers	Stockholm, Sweden	Djurgården IF Jr.
6	Tomas Tatar (LW)	Slovakia	Kitchener Rangers	Trenčín, Slovakia	Zvolen HKM
9	Robin Lehner (G)	Sweden	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds	Gothenburg, Sweden	Västra Frölunda HC Jr.
12	Alexander Burmistrov (C)	Russia	Barrie Colts	Kazan, Russia	Kazan AK Bars-2
15	Roman Berdnikov (RW)	Russia	Owen Sound Attack	Omsk, Russia	Omsk Avangard-VDV
18	Jiri Sekac (LW)	Czech Republic	Peterborough Petes	Kladno, Czech Republic	Kladno Jr. B
21	Petteri Simila (G)	Finland	Niagara IceDogs	Oulu, Finland	Karpat Oulu Jr.
24	Tom Kuhnhackl (LW)	Germany	Windsor Spitfires	Landshut, Germany	Landshut EV Jr.
27	Alain Berger (RW)	Switzerland	Oshawa Generals	Burgsdorf, Switzerland	Bern SCB Eishockey AG
30	Petr Mrazek (G)	Czech Republic	Ottawa 67's	Vitkovice, Czech Republic	Vitkovice Ostrave Jr. B
33	Tadeas Galansky (G)	Czech Republic	Saginaw Spirit	Brno, Czech Republic	Havirov Jr. B
36	Ramis Sadikov (G)	Russia	Erie Otters	Moscow, Russia	Russia
39	Stefan Stepanov (D)	Russia	Sudbury Wolves	Moscow, Russia	Moscow Krylia Sovetov
42	Ivan Telegin (C/LW)	Russia	Saginaw Spirit	Novokuznetsk, Russia	Novokuznetsk Metallurg-2
45	Patrik Andersson (D)	Sweden	Kitchener Rangers	Norrtälje, Sweden	Brynäs IF Jr.
48	Matias Sointu (RW)	Finland	Ottawa 67's	Tampere, Finland	Ilves Tampere Jr.
51	Valery Knyazev (LW)	Czech Republic	Brampton Battalion	Prague, Czech Republic	Sparta Praha Jr. B
54	Eddy Rinke-Leitans (RW)	Latvia	Sudbury Wolves	Riga, Latvia	Iserlohn EC Jr.
56	No selection made		Sudbury Wolves
58	Anton Klementyev (D)	Russia	London Knights	Togliatti, Russia	Yaroslavl Lokomotiv-2

2009 NHL Entry Draft

On June 26–27, 2009, the National Hockey League conducted the 2009 NHL Entry Draft held at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. In total, 45 players from the Ontario Hockey League were selected in the draft. John Tavares of the London Knights was the first player from the OHL to be selected, as he was taken with the first overall pick by the New York Islanders.

Below are the players selected from OHL teams at the NHL Entry Draft.^[5]

Round		Player	Nationality	NHL team	Hometown	OHL team
1	1	John Tavares (C)	Canada	New York Islanders	Oakville, Ontario	London Knights
1	3	Matt Duchene (C)	Canada	Colorado Avalanche	Haliburton, Ontario	Brampton Battalion
1	7	Nazem Kadri (C)	Canada	Toronto Maple Leafs	London, Ontario	London Knights
1	11	Ryan Ellis (D)	Canada	Nashville Predators	Freelton, Ontario	Windsor Spitfires
1	12	Calvin de Haan (D)	Canada	New York Islanders	Carp, Ontario	Oshawa Generals
1	13	Zack Kassian (RW)	Canada	Buffalo Sabres	LaSalle, Ontario	Peterborough Petes
1	15	Peter Holland (C)	Canada	Anaheim Ducks	Caledon, Ontario	Guelph Storm
2	33	Ryan O'Reilly (C)	Canada	Colorado Avalanche	Varna, Ontario	Erie Otters
2	35	Kyle Clifford (LW)	Canada	Los Angeles Kings	Ayr, Ontario	Barrie Colts
2	37	Mat Clark (D)	Canada	Anaheim Ducks	Campbellville, Ontario	Brampton Battalion
2	47	Ethan Werek (C)	Canada	New York Rangers	Goodwood, Ontario	Kingston Frontenacs
2	57	Taylor Doherty (D)	Canada	San Jose Sharks	Cambridge, Ontario	Kingston Frontenacs
2	58	Jesse Blacker (D)	Canada	Toronto Maple Leafs	Toronto, Ontario	Windsor Spitfires
3	68	Jamie Devane (LW)	Canada	Toronto Maple Leafs	Toronto, Ontario	Plymouth Whalers
3	70	Taylor Beck (RW)	Canada	Nashville Predators	Niagara Falls, Ontario	Guelph Storm
3	72	Michael Latta (C)	Canada	Nashville Predators	St. Clements, Ontario	Guelph Storm
3	77	Matt Hackett (G)	Canada	Minnesota Wild	London, Ontario	Plymouth Whalers
4	92	Casey Cizikas (C)	Canada	New York Islanders	Mississauga, Ontario	Mississauga St. Michael's Majors
4	93	Alex Hutchings (C)	Canada	Tampa Bay Lightning	Burlington, Ontario	Barrie Colts
4	97	Jordan Szwarz (RW)	Canada	Phoenix Coyotes	Burlington, Ontario	Saginaw Spirit
4	104	Marcus Foligno (LW)	Canada	Buffalo Sabres	Sudbury, Ontario	Sudbury Wolves
4	107	Garrett Wilson (LW)	Canada	Florida Panthers	Elmvale, Ontario	Owen Sound Attack
4	112	Lane MacDermid (LW)	Canada	Boston Bruins	Sauble Beach, Ontario	Windsor Spitfires
4	117	Edward Pasquale (G)	Canada	Atlanta Thrashers	Toronto, Ontario	Saginaw Spirit
4	120	Ben Chiarot (D)	Canada	Atlanta Thrashers	Hamilton, Ontario	Guelph Storm
5	125	Cody Sol (D)	Canada	Atlanta Thrashers	Woodstock, Ontario	Saginaw Spirit
5	126	David Kolomatis (D)	United States	Los Angeles Kings	Basking Ridge, New Jersey	Owen Sound Attack
5	131	Matt Kennedy (RW)	Canada	Carolina Hurricanes	Shanty Bay, Ontario	Guelph Storm
5	140	Scott Stajcer (G)	Canada	New York Rangers	Cambridge, Ontario	Owen Sound Attack
5	145	Brett Flemming (D)	Canada	Washington Capitals	Burlington, Ontario	Mississauga St. Michael's Majors
5	147	Phil Varone (C)	Canada	San Jose Sharks	Vaughan, Ontario	London Knights
5	148	Michael Zador (G)	Canada	Tampa Bay Lightning	Toronto, Ontario	Oshawa Generals
5	151	Andy Bathgate (C)	Canada	Pittsburgh Penguins	Brampton, Ontario	Belleville Bulls
6	156	Michael Pelech (C)	Canada	Los Angeles Kings	Toronto, Ontario	Mississauga St. Michael's Majors
6	160	Corey Cowick (LW)	Canada	Ottawa Senators	Gloucester, Ontario	Ottawa 67's
6	162	Jaroslav Janus (G)	Slovakia	Tampa Bay Lightning	Prešov, Slovakia	Erie Otters
6	165	Scott Timmins (C)	Canada	Florida Panthers	Hamilton, Ontario	Windsor Spitfires
6	168	David Shields (D)	United States	St. Louis Blues	Rochester, New York	Erie Otters
6	170	Daniel Maggio (D)	Canada	New York Rangers	LaSalle, Ontario	Sudbury Wolves
6	172	Eric Wellwood (LW)	Canada	Philadelphia Flyers	Oldcastle, Ontario	Windsor Spitfires
6	176	Tyler Randell (RW)	Canada	Boston Bruins	Brampton, Ontario	Kitchener Rangers
7	186	Jordan Nolan (LW)	Canada	Los Angeles Kings	Garden River, Ontario	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
7	188	Barron Smith (D)	United States	Toronto Maple Leafs	Hinsdale, Illinois	Peterborough Petes
7	197	Kyle Neuber (RW)	Canada	Columbus Blue Jackets	Sarnia, Ontario	Mississauga St. Michael's Majors

See also

• 2009 Memorial Cup
• List of OHL seasons
• 2008–09 QMJHL season
• 2008–09 WHL season
• 2008 NHL Entry Draft
• List of OHA Junior A standings
• 2008 in ice hockey
• 2009 in ice hockey

External links

• Official website of the Ontario Hockey League
• Official website of the Canadian Hockey League
• Official website of the MasterCard Memorial Cup
• Official website of the Home Hardware Top Prospects Game
• Official website of the ADT Canada Russia Challenge
• Official website of the OHL All-Star Classic

Notes and References

1. Web site: Ontario Hockey League – Official Site of the Ontario Hockey League.
2. http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3767704 OHL All Star Team Pegs Chappell and Pasquale - OurSports Central - Independent and Minor League Sports News
3. Web site: Ontario Hockey League – Official Site of the Ontario Hockey League.
4. Web site: CHL.
5. Web site: 45 OHL Players Selected at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft – Ontario Hockey League.