Hey OHL fans, it's time for another heap of news, stats and interesting news from the game we all love.
I'll start with some Sudbury Wolves stuff first.
It was only one game, but I couldn't help but be impressed with
the Wolves newest player, Andrew Self.
Sudbury dished a second-round pick in 2007 (obtained from
Saginaw in the Ryan McDonough deal two years ago) to Belleville
late last week for the six-foot-three, 200-pound forward.
At first I raised my eyebrows at this trade, but any doubts I
had about Self were quickly erased last Friday night when
Ottawa played Sudbury, which was Self's first game. He was
outstanding and made a splendid debut. He picked up a point and
even dropped the gloves and pounded Joe Grimaldi after that
player smoked Jakub Korinek into the boards from behind.
As the stretch drive approaches and battles get more intense,
Self looks like he's going to be a force to contend with and a
great addition to the lineup.
Without getting ahead of myself, when the playoffs roll around,
players like Self are more valuable. His grit and determination
were really evident during one penalty kill when he was causing
all kinds of problems for Ottawa and keeping them hemmed in
their own zone all by himself.
Surprisingly, Sudbury is tied for second place in the Eastern
Conference with 30 points with Belleville. They're only seven
points behind Barrie for first. Oshawa's John Tavares has
opened up his offence, scoring seven goals and 14 points in his
last five games. He has taken over the OHL goal-scoring lead
with 23 goals in 24 games.
A couple of local players are on a tear right now. Sudbury's
Jadran Beljo (Mississauga) is on a four-game point streak with
two goals and seven points. He also is second in the OHL with
four game-winning goals.
Lively's Andrew Desjardins, who had a horrible start with just
five points in his first 18 games, seems to be turning things
around. In his last five games, Desjardins has four goals and
seven points.
