Stefan Blaho returns to Wolves, Bobby Ryan scoring at will

BY SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW

Hello OHL fans, it's Go Time!

Let's start with some Sudbury Wolves stuff first.

The Wolves, desperate for help up front have signed forward Stefan Blaho, who will eat up both a European spot and an overage spot on the team. Blaho, 20, played two seasons with the Wolves from 2003-04 to 2004-05. The Slovakian winger has recorded 15 goals and 38 points in 115 games with the Wolves. The two-way forward is not expected to be in the Wolves line up until Sunday's road game against Brampton. The Wolves three overage players are Blaho, forward Alex Eaton and defenceman Ryan Hastings.

Fans in Owen Sound are jumping for joy since the return of power forward Bobby Ryan from the Anaheim Mighty Ducks camp. In his first five games, Ryan tallied five goals, 12 assists for a whopping 17 points. Ryan has helped Owen Sound to a 4-1 record since his return and the power forward was named the OHL Player of the Week for his efforts. Now that's an impact player!

Rookie phenom John Tavares has enjoyed a successful debut so far. In his first seven games, Tavares showed he was the real deal by scoring nine goals and 10 points. Tavares is only 15. Now that's insane!

Any team thinking that the London Knights would be push overs this season after emptying their tank to win the 2005 Memorial Cup are wrong. The Knights still have plenty of firepower left over from their historic and record-breaking run. The Knights also set a CHL record with a 31-game undefeated streak.

Gone are 2004-05 OHL leading scorer Corey Perry, power forward Brandon Prust, all-star defenceman Danny Syvret and goalie Gerald Coleman.

Returning to defend the title are an awesome group of skilled forwards which includes 40-goal man Rob Schremp, 100-point man Dylan Hunter, all-purpose scorer Dave Bolland and all-star goalie Adam Dennis.

Bolland has benefited from the departure of Perry, and leads the Knights in scoring. In his first nine games, Bolland recorded 13 goals and 26 points. Schremp isn't doing too bad either, scoring five goals and 14 points in his first four games back from the Edmonton Oilers camp.

The Knights also added a prolific European, Sergi Kostitsyn, who has taken the lead in the OHL rookie scoring race early on. Kostitsyn has ripped four goals and 16 points in his first eight games in the OHL. Now that's a rookie rampage!

Here's a look at recent transactions from around the OHL.

Mississauga defenceman David Pszenyczny has been hit with a six-game suspension for slew-footing. The incident occurred in a game against Toronto back on Oct. 7. Pszenyczny is able to return on Oct. 21. Mississauga also lost another defenceman, Craig Cescon to suspension. The rugged blueliner has been banished for two games for instigating a fight late in the third period of a game against Owen Sound on Oct. 10. He will return Oct. 16.

Brampton unloaded goalie Kevin Couture to Oshawa for a fifth round draft choice in the 2006 draft.

According to unnamed sources, the Windsor situation is about to completely implode. Moe Mantha, who was hired in the summer as head coach and GM could be on the chopping block after the Steve Downie/Akim Aliu incident which saw Downie attack Aliu during practice. Downie, a first round draft pick of Philadelphia, severely chipped some of Aliu's teeth and cut up his face during the assault.

In the aftermath, Downie was suspended by Windsor for five games, while Aliu was suspended for one game. There are reports suggesting that OHL Commissioner Dave Branch is conducting a further investigation into the whole incident, looking for evidence of possible hazings. If Mantha goes, it might mean a huge break for a couple of local hockey fellas, Todd Lalonde and Mark Seidel. Lalonde and Seidel were finalists for the head coach and GM jobs in Windsor before ownership decided on Mantha. Lalonde is currently coaching the Windsor University women's hockey team, while Seidel is the head scout for Owen Sound.