CHL Coast to Coast: Scoring streaks abound
Wednesday February 18, 2015
By Josh Sweetland/CHL
A total of eight teams across the CHL have now clinched playoff spots as the road to the 2015 MasterCard Memorial Cup continues with just five weeks of regular season action remaining.
Two of the latest teams to secure post-season action include QMJHL division leaders the Rimouski Oceanic and Moncton Wildcats who join the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada with a punched ticket for a chance at capturing the President Cup this spring.
The Oceanic are one of the QMJHL’s hottest teams with wins in 12 of their last 14 games. Led by overage captain Alexis Loiseau, scoring winger Anthony DeLuca, two-way forward Frederik Gauthier and Dallas Stars goaltending prospect Philippe Desrosiers, the Oceanic boast an impressive 22-4-0-1 record on home ice this season.
The Wildcats have won eight of their past 10 games and lead the QMJHL with a league-high 231 goals benefitting from the offensive contributions of CHL scoring leader Conor Garland and St. Louis Blues prospect Ivan Barbashev. Garland has elevated his game of late, surging into the CHL scoring lead by becoming the first player to reach 100 points. The three-time CHL Player of the Week remained hot on Tuesday with two goals and an assist in a 3-2 overtime win over the Halifax Mooseheads, and has points in 11 straight games. The Scituate, MA, native has recorded four straight three-point games and has multi-point totals in nine of his last ten contests. Currently undrafted and set to turn 19 on March 11, Garland is eligible for the 2015 NHL Draft and is turning heads throughout the hockey world with his recent offensive pace.
While the Mooseheads may be the latest victim of Garland and the Wildcats’ offensive prowess, Halifax fans continue to be delighted by dynamic Danish forward Nikolaj Ehlers who is having a season to remember. The Winnipeg Jets’ first round draft pick has points in 30 straight games dating back to October 29. Ehlers, who turned 19 over the weekend, has recorded 24 goals, 44 assists and 68 points during his 30-game run and currently leads the Mooseheads in scoring with 28 goals, 48 assists and 76 points this season. Swiss teammate Timo Meier, who is eligible for the 2015 NHL Draft, has been on a memorable run as well, recording points in each of his last 24 games. Though Ehlers’ accomplishments are impressive, he still has 31 games to go before he can match the incredible 61-game feat that Mario Lemieux pieced together during the 1983-84 season as a member of the Laval Voisins.
A pair of OHL teams also secured post-season berths this week joining the CHL’s top-ranked Oshawa Generals for a guaranteed shot at a Robertson Cup title including the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Erie Otters.
The Greyhounds clinched a playoff berth last Wednesday with a 5-2 victory over the Sarnia Sting, then clinched the OHL’s West Division crown with a 6-0 shutout win over the Sting on Monday. Monday’s shutout follows a 5-0 win over the Plymouth Whalers on Saturday both backstopped by New York Rangers prospect Brandon Halverson who consequently earned Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week honours. The Greyhounds have also been powered from the blueline as of late by Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Anthony DeAngelo who holds a 14-game point streak that dates back to January 10. The offensive catalyst has five goals and 21 assists on his current trend and has helped the Hounds play to a 15-2-0-0 record since he was acquired from the Sting.
After securing a playoff berth over the weekend, the Otters celebrated Family Day in Ontario with a 4-0 victory over the Mississauga Steelheads highlighted by captain Connor McDavid setting a new franchise record. The 18 year-old centreman extended his current point streak to 19 games to surpass Tim Connolly’s 1997-98 franchise record of 18. The highly touted draft eligible forward has goals in each of his last five contests and is currently sixth in OHL scoring despite missing considerable time with a hand injury. McDavid has compiled 30 goals, 56 assists and 86 points in 34 contests this season.
Ahead of McDavid in the OHL’s scoring race is fellow top prospect Mitchell Marner of the London Knights who followed Garland as the second CHL player to reach the century mark this past week recording a goal and an assist in London’s 4-1 win over Saginaw on Monday. The OHL’s top scorer and two-time 2014-15 CHL Player of the Week has 38 goals, 62 points and 100 points in 50 games this season. The Thornhill, ON, native represented the OHL in the 2014 SUBWAY Super Series and suited up for Team Cherry in the 2015 BMO CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in St. Catharines, ON.
The Kelowna Rockets and Brandon Wheat Kings continue to be the lone WHL teams who have clinched post-season berths.
Rockets forward Leon Draisaitl earned WHL Player of the Week honours collecting nine points (2-7–9) in four games last week. After spending the first half of the season with the Edmonton Oilers, Draisaitl has returned to the WHL and recorded 9 goals, 18 assists and 27 points in 17 games with the league leading Rockets. A native of Cologne, Germany, Draisaitl was Edmonton’s first round, third overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft.
Leading the Wheat Kings charge of late is 19 year-old forward Tim McGauley who brings a 14-game point streak into this weekend’s action. The 6’0″, 185Ib centreman from Wilcox, SK, is just one piece of the offensive puzzle in Brandon on a Wheat Kings offence that currently leads the WHL with 267 goals. McGauley is third overall in league scoring and leads his club in scoring with 80 points (34-46–80) in 58 games and boasts a team-leading plus-33 plus-minus rating. McGauley’s current streak dates back to January 16, a span where he has collected nine goals and 21 assists for 30 points. McGauley and the Wheat Kings have won 14 of their last 16 games.
Several WHL teams are on the verge of joining the Rockets and Wheat Kings in their quest for the Ed Chynoweth Cup. In the Eastern Conference, the Medicine Hat Tigers and Calgary Hitmen are the leading candidates to see an asterisk beside them in the standings in the coming weeks, while the Western Conference’s Everett Silvertips and Portland Winterhawks are also quickly racing towards the post-season.
The Tigers boast the league’s top-two scorers in Trevor Cox and Cole Sanford with 94 and 86 points respectively, while Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Oliver Bjorkstrand of the Portland Winterhawks sits fourth in league scoring with 78 points. The 19-year-old native of Herning, Denmark, has stayed hot of late, scoring goals in each of his last seven contests.
The WHL will be the focus of Sportsnet’s CHL coverage this weekend beginning with a Friday Night Hockey battle between the Rockets and the host Victoria Royals at 10:30 pm eastern on Sportsnet East, Ontario, and Pacific. Then on Sunday afternoon the Tigers visit the Edmonton Oil Kings at 3:00 pm eastern on Sportsnet East, Ontario, West, and Pacific.