Wild Card matchups, schedule for pool play and what to watch for this week
The 2023 OHL Cup starts on Tuesday, as the 54th annual tournament looks to crown the top team in Ontario youth hockey. Fifteen teams have already secured spots in the round of pool play. Ten more teams look to play their way in via Wild Card matchups. Here’s how the tournament stacks up so far:
OHL CUP AUTOMATIC BIDS
| GTHL #1 Toronto Marlboros #2 Toronto Jr. Canadiens #3 Mississauga Senators #4 Mississauga Rebels | OMHA #1 Peterborough Petes #2 Southern Tier Admirals #3 Halton Hurricanes #4 York-Simcoe Express |
| ALLIANCE #1 London Jr. Knights #2 Huron-Perth Lakers #3 Waterloo Wolves #4 Sun County Panthers | HNO Representative Thunder Bay Kings NOHA Representative Team NOHA U.S. Representative TPH Hockey |
WILD CARD ACTION AT OHL CUP
With 15 of the 20 spots for pool play already awarded to the teams listed above. The final five spots will be determined on Tuesday through Wild Card matchups. The winning team from each of the games below will advance to the next round.
Tuesday March 28, 2023
WC 1, 5:45pm – Ajax-Pickering Raiders vs. Toronto Young Nationals
WC 2, 7:15pm – Barrie Jr. Colts vs. Lambton Jr. Sting
WC 3, 7:30pm – Hamilton Jr. Bulldogs vs. Vaughan Kings
WC 4, 9:00pm – Burlington Eagles vs. Don Mills Flyers
WC 5, 9:15pm – Whitby Wildcats vs. Central Ontario Wolves
SCHEDULE FOR OHL CUP POOL PLAY
Pool play is slated to begin on Wednesday. The 20 remaining teams will be split into four groups of five. They will compete in four round-robin games on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Then, the top two teams from each of the four groups will advance and be seeded for an eight-team, single-elimination playoff. These are the groupings pre-Wild Card games.
| SHANAHAN DIVISION #2 GTHL Toronto Jr. Canadiens #4 OMHA York-Simcoe Express #4 ALLIANCE Sun County Panthers HNO Thunder Bay Kings Wild Card TBD | NASH DIVISION #1 GTHL Toronto Marlboros #2 ALLIANCE Huron-Perth Lakers #3 OMHA Halton Hurricanes US TPH Hockey Wild Card TBD |
| LINDROS DIVISION #1 OMHA Peterborough Petes #3 ALLIANCE Waterloo Wolves #4 GTHL Mississauga Rebels NOHA Team NOHA Wild Card TBD | SUBBAN DIVISION #1 ALLIANCE London Jr. Knights #2 OMHA Southern Tier Admirals #3 GTHL Mississauga Senators Wild Card TBD Wild Card TBD |
Expect all three league champions London Jr. Knights, Toronto Marlboros and Peterborough Petes to advance out of pool play. The Toronto Jr. Canadiens can be seen as an early favorite to come out of the Shanahan Division as well. With only eight teams advancing to the playoffs, a lot is still left to be determined in the next four days at Scotiabank Pond.
OHL CUP ACTION AND THE WORLD RANKINGS
The top nine teams ranked in the Top 10 in Canada will be in Toronto competing for the 2023 OHL Cup. William Moore and the No. 1 Toronto Marlboros are at the forefront, coming in as champions of the GTHL. Highly-touted prospect Ryan Roobroeck brings the No. 4 London Jr. Knights into action as well. Plus, Kaiden Harmon’s triple overtime goal pushed the No. 2 Peterborough Petes into top position of the OMHA as well.
A couple early matchups to pay attention to is when No. 6 Halton Hurricanes take on the top-ranked Marlies on Thursday night. Another Top-10 tilt takes place prior to that, with No. 3 York-Simcoe Express taking on the No. 5 Toronto Jr. Canadiens at 4 p.m. EST. The No. 8 Mississauga Rebels will get a shot at the higher ranked Petes on Friday afternoon.
The Subban Division, despite still having two spots yet to be decided, is the only division with three ranked teams in the grouping. The aforementioned Jr. Knights are joined by the No. 7 Mississauga Senators and No. 9 Southern Tier Admirals. All three will take the ice against each other in Thursday-Friday matchups, that could potentially determine which two will advance out of the group.
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