Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Minor Midget Top-10 Rankings for Annual OHL Showcase Tournament

Press Release

Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced the sixth edition of the weekly minor midget rankings for the 2013 OHL Cup Showcase Tournament presented by Visit Orlando and hosted by the Greater Toronto Hockey League.

The weekly rankings are determined by a panel of OHL Central Scouting Staff and represent the top teams that are competing to play in the annual year-end championship tournament which takes place March 12-17, 2013, at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, ON, and Herb Carnegie Arena in Toronto.

Minor Midget Rankings for the 2013 OHL Cup Showcase Tournament – Week 6
RANK
TEAM
LEAGUE
LAST WEEK RANK
WEEKS IN RANKINGS
1
Detroit Compuware
USA
1
6
2
Oakville Rangers
OMHA
2
6
3
Toronto Marlboros
GTHL
3
4
4
Elgin Middlesex Chiefs
ALLIANCE
4
6
5
Mississauga Rebels
GTHL
5
6
6
Barrie Jr. Colts
OMHA
6
6
7
London Jr. Knights Gold
ALLIANCE
8
5
8
York Simcoe Express
OMHA
7
6
9
Southern Tier Admirals
OMHA
9
6
10
Ottawa Senators
ODMHA
10
6
         
  Honourable Mention
     
  Whitby Wildcats
OMHA
-
0
  Kingston Jr. Frontenacs
OMHA
-
0
  Upper Canada Cyclones
ODMHA
-
0

The tournament includes 20 participating teams from across Ontario and the United States.  The champions and finalists from minor hockey associations in Ontario, including the GTHL, OMHA, ODMHA, ALLIANCE, and an NOHA representative will participate in the tournament with additional teams identified by the Tournament Selection Committee.

Last season the Mississauga Rebels captured their second OHL Cup title in three years following a dramatic 2-1 overtime win against the Toronto Marlies.  The Championship Final featured nine players selected in the first round of the 2012 OHL Priority Selection including Players of the Game goaltender Liam Herbst of the Rebels and Roland McKeown of the Marlies.  First overall pick Connor McDavid was named Tournament MVP scoring an incredible 19 points in seven tournament games.

A total of 154 players that competed in the 2012 OHL Cup Showcase Tournament were selected in the OHL Priority Selection including 17 first round picks and nine of the top-10 players selected including McDavid (1st overall to Erie Otters), McKeown (2nd overall to Kingston Frontenacs), Jared McCann (London Jr. Knights Gold, 4th overall to Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds), Josh Ho-Sang (Toronto Marlies, 5th overall to Windsor Spitfires), Robby Fabbri (Mississauga Rebels, 6th overall to Guelph Storm), Michael Dal Colle (Vaughan Kings, 7th overall to Oshawa Generals), Jacob Middleton (Huron Perth Lakers, 8th overall to Owen Sound Attack), Sam Bennett (Toronto Marlies, 9th overall to Kingston Frontenacs), and Niki Petti (Southern Tier Admirals, 10th overall to Belleville Bulls).

Three of the last five players selected first overall in the NHL Entry Draft are OHL and OHL Cup graduates including Taylor Hall of the Edmonton Oilers, John Tavares of the New York Islanders, and Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning.  2011 NHL Rookie of the Year Jeff Skinner of the Carolina Hurricanes also competed in this event, as did 2012 NHL Entry Draft first round picks and current OHL stars Thomas Wilson, Scott Laughton, Malcolm Subban, and Brendan Gaunce.



 (Nathan can be reached at nathanfournier@mainehockeyjournal.com)

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