The OHL Cup is a season-ending tournament that features some of the top youth hockey teams in Ontario. Established in 1968, the event regularly showcases the best players in the province at the U16 age group. Last season, the OHL decided to expand its impact on the local youth hockey space by expanding the tournament to the U14 age group as well.
Following a similar format to the U16 tournament, twelve 2009-born teams qualified for this year’s U14 OHL Cup. Those teams include members of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA), Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL), ALLIANCE Hockey, Hockey Eastern Ontario (HE) and Northern Ontario Hockey Association (NOHA). Below is the list of 12 teams, plus how they qualified for the tournament:
Halton Hurricanes (OMHA Champion)
Barrie Jr. Colts (OMHA Finalist)
York-Simcoe Express (OMHA 3rd Place)
Don Mills Flyers (GTHL Champion)
Toronto Titans (GTHL Finalist)
Toronto Jr. Canadiens (GTHL 3rd Place)
Sun County Panthers (ALLIANCE Champion)
Huron-Perth Lakers (ALLIANCE Finalist)
Ottawa Myers Automotive (HEO Champion)
Ottawa Valley Titans (HEO Finalist)
Soo Jr. Greyhounds (NOHA Champion)
North Bay Trappers (NOHA Finalist)
Of the 12 participating teams, six are currently ranked in the Top 10 in the country. According to the OHL, the event is meant to provide players and parents with an introduction to the junior league. Additionally, it serves as an exciting experience to end their seasons with a provincial championship.
The field is split up into four divisions of three teams. We examine each of the four divisions to give you one team from each that has a viable chance of winning the entire tournament.
This division could prove to be very close, actually. While Ottawa Myers Automotive is the only ranked one in the bunch, there isn’t a huge drop-off between the Barrie Jr. Colts and Soo Jr. Greyhounds either. As close as all three seem to stack up, I’ll go with Ottawa as the best odds to make a championship run. They may not even come out of pool play as the top seed, but they have shown an ability this season to play with top teams. In five games against Top-10 teams, Ottawa has a 1-2-2 record. It’s not great, but it is better than their counterparts and proves they can compete come playoff time in the tournament.
They’re the No. 1 ranked team in the country, despite finishing third in the GTHL Playoffs. Aside from the Toronto Jr. Canadiens’ impressive 49-14-1 record, they allow just 1.38 goals against per game. Additionally, JRC has already played fellow division member Halton earlier in the season. That game back in November was a 7-0 final in favor of the Jr. Canadiens. I don’t see North Bay providing much more resistance either, so JRC is the obvious favorite here.
Sun County Panthers and Toronto Titans are back-to-back in our Top 10. That’s been the case since Dec. 7th, as the margin between these two is razor thin. In games against shared opponents, the results are almost identical. They did go head-to-head once back in November, and Toronto had the edge 3-0. However, Sun County has been a much different team since then. After all, they did upset the Toronto Jr. Canadiens in the semifinals of the GTHL Playoffs. So I’m going with the Panthers as the best odds to win the championship out of this group.
I’d argue nobody in Ontario is playing better hockey right now than the Don Mills Flyers. They come into the tournament as champions of the GTHL; a huge notch on their belt. Plus, they’ve only lost once in regulation since January 15th. DMF maintains a plus-170 goal differential, and hasn’t allowed more than three goals against in 52 consecutive games. Offense is tough to come by against this squad. In a tournament environment like this, I think low-scoring games bode well for Don Mills.
Showcases like the OHL Cup are always full of surprises. A team that no one expects that goes on an unthinkable run. Look no further than the unranked Vaughan Kings’ run at the U16 tournament where they made a push to the championship game. Here’s one unsuspecting team from each division with a chance to make some noise.
They might actually come out of the division as the top seed come Saturday. I like the Barrie Jr. Colts to make a splash because their offense is so dynamic; 316 goals this season is more than any other team in the tournament. They’ve also already played seven of the 11 other participants this season. Nobody else has played more than five, so Barrie has more familiarity with its opponents than anyone else. A dynamic offense that’s battle tested and plays up to their competition? Scary combination.
They’ve had a tendency to be nuclear at times. They lost to fellow OHL Cup participants Ottawa Myers Automotive 5-0 and Toronto Jr. Canadiens 7-0 this season. When things go bad, there’s potential for it to go awful. However, this is a Halton Hurricanes squad that went unbeaten for 23 games at one point this season. They can be just as white hot as they can be ice cold. It’s possible they could harness that into a playoff run this weekend.
Referring to them as an underdog is a bit of a stretch. After all, the Toronto Titans are the No. 4 ranked team in the country. But I don’t have them winning the division outright, which means they’ll come into the playoffs as a lower seed. That puts Toronto in a position to spoil someone’s weekend. They already have wins over Sun County, Barrie, YSE, DMF and the Jr. Canadiens. It’s just a matter of stringing them all together this week.
They may end up being third out of three teams in their division when pool play is over. However, the Ottawa Valley Titans have wins over four of the 11 teams in the field this season. Plus, they’ve seen both Don Mills and JRC earlier in the year. Those games didn’t go their way, but the Titans have invaluable experience knowing they can skate with the top teams in the tournament. They’re the ultimate wild card in this field of teams, capable of being the No. 1 seed out of the Perfetti Division, but also a sneaky dark horse as a lower seed come playoff time as well.
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Propelled by key victories at 16U USA Hockey Nationals, the Long Island Gulls found a new home in the No. 1 spot among 2006-born clubs. They defeated No. 3 New Jersey Rockets, No. 4 Compuware, No. 6 Little Caesars and No. 9 Mount St. Charles, all Top-10 U.S. teams. The Gulls also managed to pull out a strong victory over previous top spot holder Shattuck-St. Mary’s, who slid down to No. 2.
In Sweden, Täby HC maneuvered its way to the top, thanks to a deep run to the championship game versus Brynäs IF for 2007-born teams. Even more impressive was the final result of the matchup, with Brynäs managing to put up seven goals en route to winning the club’s first-ever Sweden National Championship. A win that helped boost Brynäs, who was previously unranked, into the Top 10.
Sticking with the ‘07s, Tappara went 6-1-0 in the Finnish SM-Series playoffs to secure the top spot from Kiekko-Espoo. TPS and KalPa also experienced jumps to No. 3 and No. 4 in the Top 10, respectively, resulting from key victories during their playoff runs as well. In the ‘08s, Jokerit’s 3-0-0 stretch allowed them to take the No. 1 spot, with second-place Kärpät Musta in the No. 2 spot and third-place Kärpät Valkoinen settling in to No. 3.
Fresh off winning gold at the 2023 U14 Uplandia Trophy with an undefeated run, Brinkens IF is enjoying a new view from the No. 1 spot.
The 2011-born Vaughan Kings put up a stellar showing against the No. 2 Toronto Jr. Canadiens, defeating them 8-1 to leapfrog them to the No. 1 spot. Vaughan also managed to split two games against No. 10 Toronto Nationals. In Russia, the ‘11s saw a new club take the No. 1 spot as well with CSKA Moscow taking over for No. 2 Dynamo St. Petersburg. CSKA put three crucial victories against Top-10 teams under its belt to slip past Dynamo.
No. 5 ‘06 SKA Strelna suited up for two games against No. 6 SKA Silver Lions, resulting in two wins for Strelna to move them up a spot. Traktor Chelyabinsk put together a decent string of wins to slide into the No. 10 spot for the first time this season. 2009-born Dynamo St. Petersburg took two out of three games against No. 9 SKA Strelna to push them out of the No. 8 spot.
There were some big showdowns at the ‘07 USA Hockey Nationals tournament, and the Los Angeles Jr. Kings’ championship run vaulted them from No. 7 to No. 3. It started with wins against teams like No. 4 Mount St. Charles and No. 8 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite. Then, it culminated with a championship win in overtime against No. 5 Shattuck-St. Mary’s. In Canada, the Halton Hurricanes took advantage of two games with No. 5 York Simcoe Express, taking the No. 4 spot among other ‘07 teams with two wins.
Continuing to impress with the 2008-born clubs was No. 2 Linköpings HC, who bested No. 3 Djurgårdens IF twice at the 2023 Swedbank Trophy. Linköpings went on to win the gold medal, which ended a perfect 5-0-0 run.
Be sure to check out the complete world rankings, including Top 10s by country and World Top 25s for each of the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 birth years.
The U15 All Ontario Championship gets underway on Wednesday. The teams competing are the six league champions, plus the host team. Participants will compete in a six-game round robin that runs through Saturday. Then, on Sunday, the top four teams advance to the playoffs.
The tournament — despite only having seven teams — features three of the top four 2008-born teams in Canada. No. 1 Vaughan Kings, No. 3 Elgin-Middlesex Canucks and No. 4 York-Simcoe Express headline this tournament of champions. Plus, the Soo Jr. Greyhounds and Upper Canada Cyclones have made appearances in the Top 10 this season as well.
Take an in-depth look at each of the seven participating teams in our Power Rankings below:
They enter the tournament as an honorary participant. The Soo Jr. Greyhounds were already set to compete as the host team. However, the Jr. Greyhounds doubled down by winning the Northern Ontario Hockey Association (NOHA) championship. Because of that, a seventh team was necessary for competitive balance, so Sudbury Nickel Capitals entered the chat. They come in with a 9-26-2 record on the season and just two victories since Christmas. They average 3.95 goals against this season and could face quite the uphill battle in the All-Ontario Championship this week.
Another team that comes into the All-Ontario Championship with a sub-.500 record. The Thunder Bay Kings have already played Vaughan and Soo earlier this season. However, they’re 0-6-0, having played both opponents three times each. While the team has struggled this season in the win column, it’s come while playing one of the toughest schedules in the province. Only Vaughan and the Toronto Marlboros have played a more difficult slate of games in ‘22-23, according to MyHockeyRankings. Are they battle tested enough to compete in this tournament of champions?
The Upper Canada Cyclones debuted in the Top 10 in September, but dropped out shortly after and never returned. They enter the tournament as a relative unknown to fellow participants. Cyclones have only played three games against All-Ontario Championship teams; splitting wins with Elgin-Middlesex and defeating Sudbury 6-2 in November. Admittedly, they may be a tad low at No. 5 here. That split with EMC is telling, as even in defeat, UCC took the higher-ranked Canucks to overtime. The Cyclones can compete at a high level, but they’ll have to do it against the best of the best this week.
A little home cooking never hurts. Being able to play in their home rink, use their home locker room and sleep in their own beds. It’s certainly a nice perk for the Soo Jr. Greyhounds that the other six teams might not get to enjoy. They tied York-Simcoe 1-1 in January, and were shut out 4-0 by Vaughan. So for the Soo to take the next step and compete with teams ranked ahead of them in the Power Rankings may prove to be a challenge. Nonetheless, the Jr. Greyhounds enter the tournament on a 10-1-1 run in their last 12 games.
Elgin-Middlesex Canucks are a little concerning because they’ve played the weakest schedule among Top-10 teams; at least according to MyHockeyRankings. That’s slightly supported by their 7-1 loss to Vaughan and 4-4 tie to the Oakville Rangers in the only two games EMC played against ranked opponents. Regardless, they do have a potent offense that averages 4.64 goals per game and enter the tournament with a 13-1-0 record since Feb. 1st.
They opened up the season on a 19-game unbeaten streak, and now enter the All-Ontario Championship on a 19-game unbeaten streak. York-Simcoe Express looks to be arguably the hottest team in the tournament right now. With a plus-209, YSE has the second-best goal differential this season among participating teams. Also reflected by their 60-6-9 record. Only three teams in Ontario reached the 60-win plateau; one of them is the top rated team, and the other is the Oakville Rangers. York-Simcoe has reached rare heights this season and could continue to climb before Sunday.
The Vaughan Kings have arguably been the top 2008-born team in Canada for more than two seasons. They won last year’s season-ending U14 OHL Cup championship as the best team in Ontario. This season, they won the International Silver Stick tournament. They also won the regular season and playoff championships in the GTHL. With a 69-5-2 record, all the Kings have done this season is win. They already have victories over York-Simcoe, Elgin-Middlesex, the Soo and Thunder Bay by an average margin of 4.3 goals. It won’t be a cakewalk, but there’s no reason to think Vaughan can be stopped in Sault Ste. Marie this week.
Top teams from the 2010 birth year will compete in the U13 All-Ontario Championship this week as well. The tournament will run concurrently to the U15 tournament, just an hour west up the coast of Lake Superior.
Participating teams include:
Host Thunder Bay Kings
ALLIANCE Hockey champion No. 2 Sun County Panthers
GTHL champion No. 4 Markham Majors
HEO champion Ottawa Valley Titans
NOHA champion Nickel City Sons
OMHA champion Whitby Wildcats
HNO representative Kenora Thistles
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