Another off-ice story forces the guys to address the culture of the game and even brings out an appearance from Podcast Dad (aka Farwell). Then, it's on to a statement week by Oshawa, the race to the top of the East, the race to the bottom of the West, the race to 50 wins, 50-and-30-goal milestones, and a celebration of a couple of memorable championship teams. It's the content you can't get anywhere else, and it also includes our Prospects of the Week.
Mar 05, 2024•53 min•Ep. 305
Memorial Cup champion with the Niagara Falls Flyers. Captain of the Ottawa 67's. Drafted by the New York Rangers. Played pro in three leagues but you only need two words to describe Doug Keeler. Old. School. From bounties to goalie fights, and the time Don Cherry wanted to make sure "Digger" didn't get a hat trick when he played against him, take a trip down memory lane with Keeler. He's sure to mention a name or two that you've heard before!
Mar 01, 2024•58 min•Ep. 304
The Sudbury Wolves are being investigated for what could be the Ontario Hockey League's own bounty scandal, while a former Greyhound is suing the staff in the Soo. Meantime, Dan and Mike are also talking about the league's own rulings as a rash of suspensions has fans wondering what's right, what's wrong, and if the OHL front office can be influenced. All of that, plus the most colourful coach's comments in years, a hard look at a team with its eyes on the Eastern prize, and our Prospects of the...
Feb 27, 2024•54 min•Ep. 303
Sudbury makes a statement while the Storm struggle through the second half. Plus, Sawyer Boulton is in hot water with the league and that's got Farwell a little hot under the collar. While Boulton awaits his ruling, Connor Lockhart returns, the guys explore whether exceptions need to be made to the number of player cards available in an emergency, the new Commissioner might be newer than you think, and Prospects of the Week.
Feb 20, 2024•48 min•Ep. 302
The Knights appear unstoppable, off-ice trouble in Oshawa casts another shadow over the game, the penalty thresholds we did not know existed, and the impact of a possible NCAA decision to accept players who have also played in the CHL. All of that, plus straight-to-the-point emails from the guys' Inbox, a tale of two goaltenders, the Petes paying a steep price, those funny Flint Firebirds, your Definitive Media Room Rankings, and Prospects of the Week. Dan and Mike leave no stone unturned in get...
Feb 13, 2024•56 min•Ep. 301
A banner is removed, another player leaves the ice for the classroom, and a closer look at the Flint Firebirds. Dan and Mike unintentionally run through the entire West Division before getting into why they love the East, how hard it is (or isn't) to score 50 goals, and whether or not there's a future for 3-in-3s in the OHL.
Feb 06, 2024•54 min•Ep. 300
Are star players still getting preferential treatment? A recent suspension ruling in the OHL suggests the answer to that question is yes. Plus, a scary incident in Sudbury injures a star player and has many questioning the role of the referee when two players clearly want to fight. There are also a couple of Eastern Conference teams catching our eye, streaks stopping and streaks starting, and our Prospects of the Week.
Jan 30, 2024•49 min•Ep. 299
A first-place showdown that should have been a showcase for the Ontario Hockey League instead turns into a gong show in London. Plus, the Bulldogs have bite and the East remains anyone's conference. We've also got an unintentional series of bold predictions, hands being tentatively backed away from panic buttons, responses to your emails, and our Prospects of the Week.
Jan 23, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 298
As the dust settles on the trade deadline, there's added drama as a traded player decides to go to school and now the team that acquired him wants the league to investigate. Dan and Mike do some investigation of their own before also diving into the white hot Green Machine in London, pump some tires in Oshawa while worrying a little bit about Owen Sound, and chuckle over some misadventures while busing. Plus, is another OHL team playing its final season in its current market? All of that, plus o...
Jan 16, 2024•49 min•Ep. 297
More than 50 players and 100 draft picks were traded from the end of the Christmas break to the trade deadline on January 10th. The Saginaw Spirit did what they promised and found just about every available player, adding a whopping 10 new pieces in total. But it was the Owen Sound Attack who surprised some by being the first team to jump into the trade pool after Christmas and, by the time all was said and done, every single OHL team made at least one move. We dive into the results this week by...
Jan 11, 2024•54 min•Ep. 296
We're still here! And we wanted to check in during this half-holiday kind of week. The kids may not be back in school from Christmas break (at least in Ontario) but the Ontario Hockey League is back in our favourite arenas and is it ever bringing drama! We've got a 7th place team making trades to add assets, the London-Sarnia rivalry delivering some suspensions, an utterly bananas Eastern Conference, some lessons the OHL could take from the PWHL, and a little tweak to the OHL rules that might ju...
Jan 05, 2024•38 min•Ep. 295
Either one of us is soft or the other is an a$$hole. Or, maybe, two people can just disagree on a point of view and still be friends after. That might be the case following our discussion about the suspension of coach Greg Walters. There's also another suspension to Sawyer Boulton to talk about, some small(ish) trades, milestones to mark, and mid-season awards to hand out! All of that in this episode, plus your Prospects of the Week. Happy holidays! The OHL Podcast is presented by Matt Smith Goa...
Dec 19, 2023•56 min•Ep. 294
It would seem to be a full-circle story, but I don't think this story is finished yet. Rob Wilson played on a Peterborough Petes championship team and then, more than 30 years later, he coached the Petes to another OHL championship. But there's also all the stuff in between, including when he'd almost given up on hockey but was coaxed back into the game, only to win a Colonial Cup. From Ontario to England and back again, Wilson's got a wealth of experience from which to draw for his stories. Com...
Dec 15, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 293
The Wolves make their move in the East (and we don't think it will be their last) and, as we head into the Christmas break, there are at least a dozen teams who have to think they're in the mix. So, what does that mean for this year's trade deadline and where will we see the most activity? The guys give it their best guess, plus look at the season-to-season progress of the Kitchener Rangers, wonder where the goals are in Guelph, give a nod to the Greys in Owen Sound, and hand out Prospect of the...
Dec 12, 2023•44 min•Ep. 292
He held Kingston's franchise record for goals as a rookie for 40 years (until some kid named Shane Wright came along). He still holds the record for most goals and points in a single season. He's also one of only a handful of NHL players to score 70 goals in a season and one of only a slightly larger number to score 150 points in a single NHL season. And all along the way, Bernie Nicholls did it his way. Now that his #16 has been retired in Kingston, Nicholls shares some stories with The OHL Pod...
Dec 08, 2023•53 min•Ep. 291
The guys didn't plan it this way but there's a lot of love for the East this week, while a little concern has been noted in the West. OK, there's a little concern in the East too, but such is life in the OHL as the calendar flips and we wait for a team to take the reins and start running away with the league. Dan and Mike discuss some of their favourite storylines right now, have a little fun with Sarnia's "Teddy Bear Oops," and update the search for the league's new Commissioner, along with an ...
Dec 05, 2023•48 min•Ep. 290
He was a rookie with the Oshawa Generals Memorial Cup team in 1990 so he didn't see any ice during the playoffs but Mark Deazeley would go on later to score one of the biggest goals in Toledo hockey history and not only win his championship, but earn a spot in the city's Sports Hall of Fame. Everything in between is a blur of pro stops, substance abuse, and a revealing book about pent up trauma and its impact on performance. Deazeley's story is an inspirational one of survival and, one day, mayb...
Dec 01, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 289
The league loves it. Governors love it. Almost all fans love it. But is the parity we're seeing in the OHL this season something to celebrate? Dan and Mike debate what may be an unprecedented level of parity in the league. Plus, some chalk talk about coaching, a discussion about the best player in the league today, a message to national hockey organizations about the World Junior Championship, recognizing the guys who grind it out, and our Prospects of the Week. The OHL Podcast is presented by M...
Nov 28, 2023•44 min•Ep. 288
The knock was always that he was too small. But from junior to the pros, Don Edwards didn't listen. He just stopped pucks. From the Kitchener Rangers in the OHL to a Vezina Trophy with the NHL's Buffalo Sabres, Edwards would go on to play for two more teams, including his childhood favourite Toronto Maple Leafs. He was also a member of Team Canada at the 1981 Canada Cup and his story about getting into prime physical condition is not one you'll soon forget. Off the ice, Edwards's life was marked...
Nov 24, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 287
Just your average week in junior hockey as the Memorial Cup hosts begin to assert themselves (and make some slick additions to boot), the defending OHL champs are turning heads almost one-third of the way into the season, and the Barrie Colts suffer a big blow. Plus, a Sudbury slide, woes in Windsor, how the league can bring us closer to the game, and our Prospects of the Week. The OHL Podcast is presented by Matt Smith Goaltending .
Nov 21, 2023•57 min•Ep. 286
When you think of the Peterborough Petes, you might think of those 10 OHL titles and that single, lonely Memorial Cup. But you also have to think of the rich history of the team as the oldest, continuously operating team in the Ontario Hockey League. There's something about Thursday nights at The PMC and, for Nick Caravaggio, those bonds were formed by attending games with his father. Nick became a fan as a child and now, as an adult, he's written what might be described as the ultimate Peterbor...
Nov 17, 2023•50 min•Ep. 285
Oh, those Niagara Ice Dogs. From trades that raise eyebrows to a fourth coach in little more than a year under new ownership. But wait. Maybe there's a less nefarious reason behind the trades. Mike and Dan work from a few facts and try to connect the dots that keep Niagara and London as trading partners. They have less to go on when it comes to firing coaches, though. Some things just defy logic. Speaking of which, the OHL has a fancy new official fan sponsor. But why? Plus, Hamara finds a new h...
Nov 14, 2023•55 min•Ep. 284
Steve Nimigon never expected to play for the Erie Otters. An NHL draft pick of the Hartford Whalers, Nimigon thought he'd have turned pro the year the Niagara Falls Thunder left town to become the Erie Otters. But Nimigon not only played for the Otters, who wore the 'C' for the team, he got involved in every aspect of establishing an OHL franchise in a new market, and the Otters Humanitarian Award is named after him today. Nimigon is also credited with being among a core of players that helped p...
Nov 10, 2023•49 min•Ep. 283
Is there a dog in the OHL this season? The guys ponder that question as they loop around the league with the quarter-pole approaching. Also, some curious suspensions bring the fighting conversation back to the forefront. We've also got injuries from skates, trades between arch-rivals, a jersey retirement in the Soo, a milestone in the Limestone City, and the Prospects of the Week. The OHL Podcast is presented by Matt Smith Goaltending ....
Nov 07, 2023•58 min•Ep. 282
Imagine a Toronto-area kid being drafted to the Soo and then being traded to, of all places, a brand new expansion franchise in Belleville. Ken Porteous took it all in stride, though, including the fact he played behind future NHL'ers at both OHL stops. From Terry Crisp in the Soo to Larry Mavety in Belleville, Porteous also got his share of instruction from some of the best coaches our league has ever known. The OHL Podcast is presented by Matt Smith Goaltending ....
Nov 03, 2023•38 min•Ep. 281
The Saginaw Spirit add depth to their roster while fans try to look away from the panic button. Dale Hunter takes another step up the OHL coaching ladder and what comes next is inevitable. Plus, new Europeans fit in seamlessly with their OHL teams, Troy Mann establishes the "Gordie Howe Hat Trick" of coaching, Hunter Brzustewicz plays a 67-game season, the OHL and gambling, and remembering Adam Johnson. All of that, plus our Prospects of the Week. The OHL Podcast is a presentation of Matt Smith ...
Oct 31, 2023•46 min•Ep. 280
The NHL's reversal of an ill-conceived ban on Pride Tape has shown that hockey's 2SLGBTQ+ community -- and its allies -- is more prominent than the league realized. If this is the way we have to drag hockey into the present and, ultimately, the future, we seem ready to do it. Even before the ban was reversed, important conversations were happening and it's notable that two former OHL'ers were leading the way when it came to either outright ignoring the ban, or saying they would. We sit down toda...
Oct 27, 2023•36 min•Ep. 279
It's finally going to be Sudbury's year! I mean, it has to be, doesn't it? Plus, the most surprising team so far this season (it's probably the team you think it is), why a team's schedule is under-appreciated, the rule the NHL needs to change, a tale of two fanbases -- and a pretty serious rant about one -- and our Prospects of the Week. Don't forget to send your feedback to ohlpodcast(at)rogers(dot)com. The OHL Podcast is presented by Matt Smith Goaltending ....
Oct 24, 2023•45 min•Ep. 278
Every hockey player will tell you that the NHL is the ultimate goal. But not every player gets to compete in that league. After OHL stops in Belleville and Brampton, Kyle Sonnenburg carved out a nice career in Germany, winning a championship and playing professional hockey for more than 10 years before returning home to start a coaching career. Sonnenburg's story might just be one that every young player needs to hear so that they understand that even if you don't make it to the NHL, there are p...
Oct 20, 2023•44 min•Ep. 277
Coaches are hired to be fired but early in this OHL season we've already seen two changes, the latest in Owen Sound. We'll dive into that, plus talk about the Sarnia-Erie-Saginaw three-way trade, the state of goaltending in the league this season, eye gouges, some early season surprises, and when it's okay to use your top power play unit. The OHL Podcast is presented by Matt Smith Goaltending .
Oct 17, 2023•46 min•Ep. 276
