The 2019–20 OHL season was the 40th season of the Ontario Hockey League, in which twenty teams were scheduled to playing 68 games each according to the regular season schedule, from September 19, 2019 to March 22, 2020.[1] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North America, the regular season was suspended on March 12, 2020, and cancelled six days later.
The post-season was to commence following the regular season, in which sixteen teams would compete for the J. Ross Robertson Cup and be crowned champions of the OHL. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North America, the playoffs were cancelled.
Postponed games
On December 12, 2019, Niagara IceDogs goaltender Tucker Tynan suffered a severe injury after being cut by a skate blade in his right thigh as he was involved in a collision with an opposing player during the first minute of play in the second period. The IceDogs game against the London Knights was postponed following the incident. The league then postponed the IceDogs next two games, against the Peterborough Petes on December 15 and the Ottawa 67's on December 16 to allow IceDogs players time to cope and access resources for support.[2] The IceDogs home game against the London Knights was rescheduled and played on February 4, 2020. The IceDogs rescheduled game in Peterborough against the Peterborough Petes was rescheduled on played on January 19, 2020; and their road game in Ottawa against the Ottawa 67's was rescheduled and played on March 10, 2020.
Suspension and cancellation of regular season
On March 12, 2020, the Ontario Hockey League announced that the season would be paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North America.[3] Six days later, on March 18, the league announced that the remainder of the regular season was cancelled. The final OHL standings are based on each OHL team having played an equal number of 61 regular season games.[4]
Final standings[7] 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
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[9]
On April 4, 2020, the OHL conducted the 2020 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection. The North Bay Battalion held the first overall pick in the draft, and selected Ty Nelson from the Toronto Jr. Canadiens of the GTHL. Nelson 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 2020 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection.[12]
On June 30, 2020, the Canadian Hockey League conducted the 2020 CHL Import Draft, in which teams in all three CHL leagues participate in. The North Bay Battalion held the first pick in the draft by a team in the OHL, and selected Matvei Petrov from Russia with their selection.
Below are the players who were selected in the first round by Ontario Hockey League teams in the 2020 CHL Import Draft.[13]
Canada sent three teams to the tournament: Canada Black, Canada Red, and Canada White. Other countries participating in the tournament were Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Sweden, and the United States. Only the three clubs representing Canada had players from the OHL on their teams.[15]
Shane Wright was named captain of the team. He tied for the team lead in points with seven, as he scored four goals and three assists in five games. Goaltender Benjamin Gaudreau earned a 1–1 record with a 5.95 GAA and a .787 save percentage in four games.
The 2019 CIBC Canada/Russia Series began on November 4, as Russia defeated the QMJHL 5–4 at TD Station in Saint John, New Brunswick.[19] The following evening, the QMJHL defeated Russia 4–3 in overtime at the Avenir Centre in Moncton, New Brunswick.[20] Russia held a four-point to two lead over the CHL after two games.
The OHL got off to a solid start, as Ty Dellandrea of the Flint Firebirds scored the opening goal of the game 5:12 into the first period on the power play, giving the OHL a 1–0 lead. Just over three minutes later, Cole Perfetti of the Saginaw Spirit scored for the OHL, as they took a 2–0 lead after the first period. Nico Daws of the Guelph Storm was strong in goal, stopping all nine shots he faced.
The OHL extended their lead to 3–0 on a goal by Connor McMichael of the London Knights at the 6:40 mark of the second period. Midway through the period, the OHL made a goaltender change, as Nico Daws left the game stopping all 13 shots he faced. He was replaced by Cedrick Andree of the Ottawa 67's. Andree played solid for the remainder of the period, stopping the four shots that were fired at him, as the OHL took a 3–0 lead into the second intermission.
In the third period, the OHL's Akil Thomas of the Niagara IceDogs extended the lead to 4-0 after an unassisted goal with just over three minutes remaining in the period. With only 42 seconds remaining, Russia's Vladislav Mikhailov spoiled the shutout bid, as he beat Andree with his shot. The final score of the game was 4-1 for the OHL, as the CHL took a lead of five points to four after this game in the series.
Quinton Byfield of the Sudbury Wolves was named the OHL Player of the Game, as he recorded two assists. Vasily Podkolzin was named the Player of the Game for Russia. Attendance for the game was 7,436.[21]
The two clubs skated to a score less second period, as Jones stopped all 10 shots he faced for the OHL, while Russia's Miftakhov stopped seven. Late in the second period, Serron Noel of the Oshawa Generals took a four minute high-sticking penalty, giving Russia the extended power play.
Russia made Noel pay for his penalty, as early in the third period, Rodion Amirov tied the game with a power play goal at 2:36, making it 1-1. Less than two minutes later, Noel scored an unassisted goal for the OHL, as they regained the lead at 2–1. At 7:52, Russia's Ilya Kruglov took a delay of game penalty, sending the OHL back on the power play. Despite being shorthanded, Russia tied the game as Lev Komissarov beat Jones at 9:31, making the score 2-2. The game would remained tied and head into overtime.
In overtime, neither team scored, as Russia out shot the OHL 4-3 during the five minute extra period, sending the game into a shootout. In the first round of the shootout, McMichael missed on his shot, while Danil Savunov scored for Russia, giving them a 1–0 lead. In the second round, Cole Perfetti of the Saginaw Spirit scored for the OHL, however, Russia held on to the lead as Maxim Sorkin scored, making it 2–1. In the third round, Quinton Byfield of the Sudbury Wolves was stopped by Miftakov, while Ivan Morozov scored for Russia, extending their lead to 3–1. In the fourth round of the shootout, the OHL must score to extend it, however, Akil Thomas failed to score, as Russia took the shootout victory. This victory tied the series at six points each for the CHL and Russia.
Serron Noel of the Oshawa Generals was named the OHL Player of the Game, as he recorded a goal and five shots. Vasily Podkolzin was named the Player of the Game for Russia. Attendance for the game was 7,673.[22]
The 2019 CIBC Canada/Russia Series concluded with two games played against the WHL. The fifth game of the series was played at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on November 13, as the WHL defeated Russia 2–1 in overtime to take an eight-point to seven lead in the series.[23] In the final game of the series, held at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Russia defeated the WHL 4–3 in a shootout, which tied the series at nine points each. This led to a second shootout to determine the winner of the series, as the WHL defeated Russia in the shootout, clinching the series victory for the CHL.[24]
Hayton led the Canadian team in scoring, as he scored six goals and 12 points in seven games. McMichael scored five goals and seven points in seven games, ranking second on the club in goals. Dellandrea earned three goals and five points in seven games, while Foudy also scored three goals, while adding an assist for four points in seven games. Drysdale scored a goal and three points in seven games, ranking third among Canadian defensemen in the tournament in points. Thomas scored a goal and an assist in seven games. His lone goal was the gold medal winning goal for the team. Dudas earned two assists in seven games, while Byfield and Bahl each earned an assist in seven games. In goal, Daws appeared in two games, earning a 1–1 record with a 5.83 GAA and a .840 save percentage.
Canada finished the preliminary round with nine points, finishing in first place in Group B. In the playoff round, Canada defeated Slovakia 6–1 in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals, the Canadians shutout Finland 5–0, earning a berth into the gold medal game. In the final game, Canada overcame a 3–1 deficit to defeat Russia 4–3, winning the gold medal for the eighteenth time in tournament history.
Jenik suffered a season ending knee injury during the tournament. Prior to his injury, Jenik scored two goals, which ranked him second on the team, as well as earning an assist for three points in three games. Cajka scored a goal in five games for the team, while both Pytlik and Pekar each earned an assist in five games.
The Czech Republic finished the preliminary round with four points, finishing in fourth place in Group B. The Czech Republic finished the tournament in seventh place as they lost to Sweden by a score of 5–0 in the quarter-finals.
Piiroinen appeared in one game for Finland, earning a 1–0 record with a 1.00 GAA and a .955 save percentage.
Finland finished the preliminary round in third place in Group A, earning seven points. In the playoff round, Finland opened the quarter-finals with a 1–0 win over the United States. In the semi-finals, Finland lost to Canada 5–0, which sent the team to the bronze medal game. Finland finished the tournament in fourth place, as they lost the bronze medal game by a score of 3–2 against Sweden
Gross scored a goal in three games for the team, while Sopa and Patry each earned an assist in five games.
Switzerland finished the preliminary round with nine points, finishing second in Group A standings. Switzerland finished the tournament in fifth place as they lost to Russia by a score of 3–1 in the quarter-finals.
Kaliyev tied for the team lead in goals, as he scored four goals in five games. Kaliyev also added two assists, earning six points, ranking him third in team scoring. Robertson scored two goals and three assists for five points in five games, as his point total ranked fourth on the team.
The USA finished the preliminary round with eight points, finishing in second place in Group B. In the quarter-finals, the USA lost to Finland 1–0, eliminating the team from the tournament. The USA finished in sixth place.
David Maier of the Peterborough Petes was the only member of the OHL on the Austrian roster. Maier scored one goal and three assists for four points in five games, ranking him tied for fourth in team scoring.
Austria finished the tournament in first place with 12 points in five games. The team was promoted to the top division, and will compete at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Among OHL players, Evgeniy Oksentyk was the scoring leader, as he scored a goal and six assists for seven points in five games. Oksentyk finished second on the team scoring list. Vitali Pinchuk scored two goals, which ranked him tied for the second highest on the club.
During the tournament, Belarus finished in third place, as they recorded 11 points in five games.
Quinn was named the Team Red Player of the Game, as he recorded a first period goal for the team. Both Evangelista and Stranges earned assists for the team as Team Red lost the game 5–3.
During the game, Foerster scored two goals for Team White, leading the club to a 5–3 victory. Foerster was named the Team White Player of the Game. Perfetti scored a goal and added an assist for two points in the game. Other OHL players who recorded a point were Coe and O'Rourke, who each earned an assist in the victory.
In the second period, Team White's Tyson Foerster of the Barrie Colts scored 2:03 into the period, tying the game 2-2, as Connor Zary of the Kamloops Blazers and Ryan O'Rourke earned assists. Just under eight minutes later, Foerster scored his second goal of the game, as Zary and Ridly Greig of the Brandon Wheat Kings earned assists, giving Team White their first lead of the game at 3–2. Fifteen seconds later, at 10:17 of the period, Team White made a goaltending change, as Hlavaj was relieved in favour of Dylan Garand of the Kamloops Blazers. Hlavaj made 11 saves on 13 shots. At 13:12 of the second period, Braden Schneider of the Brandon Wheat Kings scored for Team White, extending their lead to 4–2, as Foerster and Zary each earned assists on the goal. Team White took the 4–2 lead into the intermission. Team White also had a 26–17 lead on the shot clock after two periods.
Early in the third period, Team Red's Donovan Sebrango of the Kitchener Rangers and Team White's Will Cuylle of the Windsor Spitfires got into a fight, with each player receiving a five-minute major penalty. The score remained 4-2 late in the period, as Team Red pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker. That led to an unassisted empty net goal by Team White's Cole Perfetti, making the score 5–2. With one second left in the game, Team Red scored, as Dawson Mercer of the Chicoutimi Sagueneens scored, as Poirier and Justin Sourdif of the Vancouver Giants earned assists. The final score of the game was 5–3. Garand made 10 saves on 11 shots in relief for Team White, while Gould played the entire game for Team Red, making 27 saves on 31 shots.
Foerster was named the Team White Player of the Game, as he scored two goals and added an assist in the victory. Quinn was named the Team Red Player of the Game, as he scored a first period goal which temporarily gave Team Red a lead. Attendance for the game at FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton, Ontario was 6,436.
