Hello OHL fans! It's time for another round of news, stats and other interesting notes.
The Wolves are finding out home isn't necessarily sweet.
The squad dropped two straight games in the Elgin St. barn this
past weekend, losing 3-1 to Barrie and 5-4 to Oshawa in a shoot
out.
Sudbury has a home record of 1-3-0-1. Their road record, which
has typically been the bane of their existence for the last few
seasons, is 3-3.
This team needs to start winning at home and fast.
One of the big problems confounding the Wolves chances of
success is their lack of firepower.
They sit in last place in the Central Division, and have scored
the least amount of goals of the five teams.
Two key players who must step it up over the next few weeks are
Devin DiDiomete and Matt Dias. As returning players, who
enjoyed considerably success last season (Dias had 18 goals and
34 points, while DiDiomete had 15 goals and 36 points), these
two forwards must put the puck in the net.
Dias and DiDiomete have combined for a total of two goals in
the first 11 games. It's simply not enough.
They should be clipping away at, at least, a 25-goal pace. Both
are determined young players, and should start bulging the
twine on a more consistent basis soon.
Despite not scoring, DiDiomete has been using his hands for
other things recently. He still drops the gloves and fights to
try and give his team a lift. This past Sunday, he went
toe-to-toe with Oshawa heavyweight James DeLory.
DiDiomete gave up about four inches in height and about 20 pounds in weight, but still traded punches with DeLory for about a minute.
It's always nice to see a guy do something else for his team
when other things aren't going his way.
Just when people thought the London Knights' reign of terror
was over, they'll have to think again.
The franchise has jumped out to an incredible start to the
2006-07 season. After the third week, London sits firmly atop
the OHL standings with a record of 8-0-0-1.
Two rookies, Sam Gagner and Patrick Kane, are guiding the team.
These two freshmen have been shattering opposing goalies'
confidences, scoring almost at will.
Gagner leads the OHL in scoring with seven goals and 31 points
in nine games. Kane is second, with nine goals and 22 points in
nine games.
Gagner's total are borderline ridiculous. He's scoring 3.4
points-per-game. If he were to keep it up, Gagner would finish
the season with 231 points based on a 68-game schedule.
Last year's top scorer, London's Rob Schremp, who has moved
onto the pros, finished with 145 points in 57 games, which
amounts to 2.54 points-per-game.
In my mind, Gagner has been the story of the year so far in the
OHL.
Of course, many people in the hockey world grimace every time
they hear about Gagner and London's success.
Gagner would have been a top pick in his draft year, but
stated he was going the college route, forcing many teams to
not pick him. London had a deal cooked up and picked Gagner in
the fourth round of the 2005 OHL draft.
A couple of Sudbury boys are having fine starts to their
2006-07 seasons too.
Brampton's Justin Levac has five goals and nine points in 11
games. His +8 rating is best on the team.
Mississauga's Jadran Beljo is lighting the lamp, with six goals
and 11 points in his first nine games.
Keep an eye on these two locals as they attempt to impress
scouts from the pro ranks this season.
