1
Don Mills Flyers
GTHL
2
Quinte Red Devils
OMHA
3
Toronto
Marlies
GTHL
4
Toronto
Titans
GTHL
5
Toronto Jr. Canadiens
GTHL
6
Ottawa Jr. 67's
OEMHL
7
Mississauga
Rebels
GTHL
8
London Jr. Knights
ALLIANCE
9
Waterloo
Wolves
ALLIANCE
10
Ottawa Valley Titans
OEMHL
Honourable Mentions
Mississauga
Reps
GTHL
Kitchener
Jr. Rangers
ALLIANCE
Halton Hills Hurricanes
OMHA
Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs
ALLIANCE
Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced the fifteenth edition of the weekly Minor Midget rankings for the 2015 OHL Cup Showcase Tournament 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 17-23, 2015. All games will be played at Buckingham Arena in Toronto until the Championship Final moves to the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Monday March 23.
Four teams from the GTHL became the first to officially qualify for the 2015 OHL Cup by advancing to their league Semi-Finals including the Toronto Titans, Don Mills Flyers, Toronto Jr. Canadiens, and the Toronto Marlies. The Marlies defeated the Titans in a seven game series to advance to the GTHL Championship where they are currently facing the Don Mills Flyers who eliminated the Toronto Jr. Canadiens in seven games.
The Ottawa Jr. 67's and Ottawa Valley Titans both advanced to the OEMHL Finals last week, qualifying them to compete in the 2015 OHL Cup. The Jr. 67's eliminated the Ottawa Jr. Senators in three games while the Titans prevailed over the Eastern Ontario Wild 3-0.
The Waterloo Wolves became the first team from the ALLIANCE to clinch a 2015 OHL Cup berth, defeating the Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs to advance to the ALLIANCE Championship Finals to face the winner of the London Jr. Knights and Kitchener Jr. Rangers.
The 2015 OHL Cup will once again include 20 participating teams from across Ontario and the United States, with 17 of the 20 spots guaranteed through league competition. The 17 guaranteed spots include all four GTHL Semi-Finalists, and the top four teams that place at the OMHA Championship. Three teams from the ALLIANCE will be guaranteed a spot in the tournament including the Champion and Finalist, along with the winner of a best-of-three Semi-Final Wild Card Series to be played between the losers of the two league Semi-Finals. The OEMHL Champion and Finalist will also be guaranteed spots in the tournament, along with two United States entries, one HNO representative, and one NOHA representative.
As introduced last season, the final three Wild Card spots will be determined among six teams that will play a one game 'win and in' scenario. The six competing teams aiming for the final three tournament spots will include the fifth place team at the OMHA Championship, the loser of the ALLIANCE Semi-Final Wild Card Series, and four teams named by the Tournament Selection Committee based on regular season, playoff, and tournament play. All three Wild Card matchups and times of play will be determined by random draw among the six competing teams.
Last season the Toronto Marlboros captured their fourth OHL Cup title in 10 years with a 5-0 win over the Toronto Jr. Canadiens. Marlies forward and OHL Cup MVP Michael McLeod had seven goals and four assists in the tournament and was later selected fifth overall by the Mississauga Steelheads in the 2014 OHL Priority Selection.
McLeod was one of 15 first round draft selections from 2014 OHL Cup teams, including eight of the top ten picks. Those names include Jakob Chychrun (Toronto Jr. Canadiens - 1st overall to the Sarnia Sting), Adam Mascherin (Vaughan Kings - 2nd overall to the Kitchener Rangers), Travis Barron (Toronto Jr. Canadiens - 3rd overall to the Ottawa 67's), Brandon Saigeon (Hamilton Jr. Bulldogs - 4th overall to the Belleville Bulls), William Bitten (Ottawa Jr. 67's - 7th overall to the Plymouth Whalers), Victor Mete (Toronto Jr. Canadiens - 8th overall to the Owen Sound Attack) and Tye Felhaber (Ottawa Valley Titans - 10th overall to the Saginaw Spirit).
Six first round selections in the 2014 NHL Draft are OHL Cup graduates including Sam Bennett (Toronto Marlboros/Calgary Flames), Michael Dal Colle (Vaughan Kings/New York Islanders), Nick Ritchie (Toronto Marlboros/Anaheim Ducks), Robby Fabbri (Mississauga Rebels/St. Louis Blues), Jared McCann (London Jr. Knights/Vancouver Canucks) and Josh Ho-Sang (Toronto Marlboros/New York Islanders).
Notable OHL Cup graduates currently playing in the NHL include Taylor Hall (Greater Kingston Frontenacs/Edmonton Oilers), John Tavares (Toronto Marlboros/New York Islanders), Steven Stamkos (Markham Waxers/Tampa Bay Lightning), Tyler Seguin (Toronto Nationals/Dallas Stars), 2011 NHL Rookie of the Year Jeff Skinner (Toronto Nationals/Carolina Hurricanes) and 2010 OHL Cup MVP Sean Monahan (Mississauga Rebels/Calgary Flames).