Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced the fourth
edition of the weekly minor midget rankings for the 2018 OHL Cup Showcase
Tournament powered by Under Armour and hosted by the Greater Toronto Hockey
League.
The 2018 OHL Cup powered by Under Armour and hosted by the GTHL is scheduled for March 13-19 and will feature 20 teams from across Ontario and the United States showcasing many of the top players eligible for the 2018 OHL Priority Selection. All games will be played at Scotiabank Pond in Toronto until the Championship Final moves to the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Monday March 19 where it will be broadcasted nationally on Sportsnet.
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.
Minor Midget Rankings for the 2018 OHL Cup powered by Under Armour – Week 4
|
RANK
|
TEAM
|
LEAGUE
|
LAST WEEK
|
WEEKS RANKED
|
|
1
|
Toronto Marlboros
|
GTHL
|
1
|
4
|
|
2
|
Oakville Rangers
|
OMHA
|
2
|
4
|
|
3
|
Barrie Colts
|
OMHA
|
3
|
4
|
|
4
|
Vaughan Kings
|
GTHL
|
4
|
4
|
|
5
|
Mississauga Reps
|
GTHL
|
5
|
4
|
|
6
|
Cambridge Hawks
|
ALLIANCE
|
6
|
4
|
|
7
|
Don Mills Flyers
|
GTHL
|
7
|
4
|
|
8
|
Niagara North Stars
|
OMHA
|
8
|
3
|
|
9
|
Detroit Little Caesars U15
|
USA
|
9
|
4
|
|
10
|
Peterborough Petes
|
OMHA
|
10
|
2
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Honourable Mention:
|
|
|
|
|
|
York-Simcoe Express
|
OMHA
|
-
|
2
|
|
|
Toronto Jr. Canadiens
|
GTHL
|
-
|
-
|
|
|
North Bay Trappers
|
NOHA
|
-
|
-
|
The past week of Minor Midget action saw each team in the Top 10 maintain their standing with success on the ice. This week's lone move comes in the honourable mention department as the North Bay Trappers turned heads, being crowned champions of the Waterloo Gold Puck Tournament.
Tournament Structure:
16 of the 20 spots in the 2018 OHL Cup powered by Under Armour are guaranteed through league competition. The 16 guaranteed spots continue to include all four GTHL Semi-Finalists, and the top four teams that place at the OMHA Championship. Three teams from the ALLIANCE will still 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. Also as in past years, two tournament entries are reserved for United States competition, while both an HNO and NOHA representative will also compete. For the second straight season the final guaranteed spot will be awarded to HEO but represented by their previous year Bantam Championship team who will be reassembled for tournament competition. This season, HEO’s entry will be members of the 2017 Bantam Champion Ottawa Jr. 67’s.
Wild Card Games:
The final four entries at the 2018 OHL Cup powered by Under Armour will be Wild Cards determined among eight teams that will play a one game ‘win and in’ scenario. The eight competing teams aiming for the final four tournament spots will continue to include the fifth place team at the OMHA Championship, and the loser of the ALLIANCE Semi-Final Wild Card Series. As introduced in 2016, two spots in Wild Card games will be reserved for GTHL teams. The two competing GTHL teams will be determined through a pair of Wild Card Play-In Series matchups involving the four GTHL teams who qualified for the playoffs but lost in the first round. As introduced in 2017, one spot in a Wild Card will also be reserved for the winner of an OMHA SCTA Consolation Game that features both teams who lost in the SCTA Tournament Semi-Final. The OMHA teams eligible for this matchup will be determined annually based on the league not hosting the OMHA Championship. Finally, the three remaining teams who will compete in the Wild Card matchups will be named by the Tournament Selection Committee. The Committee will evaluate and review a team’s post-season success as the first criteria for selection, with additional criteria to include regular season play and tournament play. All four Wild Card games will take place on Tuesday March 13 with specific matchups and times of play to be determined by random draw among the eight competing teams on Tuesday March 6.
History:
Last season the Mississauga Reps captured their first OHL Cup title, defeating the Toronto Nationals 3-2 on Dennis Golovatchev’s late game winner with nine seconds remaining in the third period. Current Kitchener Rangers forward Mike Petizian led the showcase with 13 points (5-8—13) in seven games to earn the Tim Adams Memorial Trophy as tournament MVP.
The 2017 OHL Priority Selection featured 15 players chosen in the first round who competed for the OHL Cup including Ryan Suzuki (London Jr. Knights – 1st overall Barrie Colts), Tag Bertuzzi (TPH Hockey – 2nd overall Guelph Storm), Brandon Coe (Toronto Nationals – 3rd overall North Bay Battalion), Nicholas Porco (Vaughan Kings – 4th overall Saginaw Spirit), Philip Tomasino (Mississauga Rebels – 5th overall Niagara IceDogs), Graeme Clarke (Toronto Marlboros – 6th overall Ottawa 67’s), Blake Murray (Whitby Wildcats – 7th overall Sudbury Wolves), Jack Hughes (Toronto Marlboros – 8th overall Mississauga Steelheads), Jamieson Rees (Mississauga Reps – 9th overall Sarnia Sting), Ethan Keppen (Toronto Nationals – 10th overall Flint Firebirds), Connor McMichael (Ajax-Pickering Raiders – 11th overall Hamilton Bulldogs), Cody Morgan (Toronto Jr. Canadiens – 12th overall Kingston Frontenacs), Thomas Harley (Vaughan Kings – 14th overall Mississauga Steelheads), Nathan Staios (Vaughan Kings – 17th overall Windsor Spitfires) and Lucas Rowe (Mississauga Reps – 18th overall London Knights).
Notable OHL Cup graduates currently playing in the NHL include Travis Konecny (Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs/Philadelphia Flyers), Mitch Marner (Vaughan Kings/Toronto Maple Leafs), Connor McDavid (Toronto Marlboros/Edmonton Oilers), Max Domi (Don Mills Flyers/Arizona Coyotes), Sean Monahan (Mississauga Rebels/Calgary Flames), Taylor Hall (Greater Kingston Frontenacs/New Jersey Devils), Tyler Seguin (Toronto Nationals/Dallas Stars), John Tavares (Toronto Marlboros/New York Islanders), P.K Subban (Markham Islanders/Nashville Predators), and Steven Stamkos (Markham Waxers/Tampa Bay Lightning).
2018 marks the second season of a three-year partnership between the OHL and GTHL with Under Armour that includes title sponsorship of the OHL Cup Showcase Tournament. The OHL and GTHL are also in the second season of a five-year partnership extension announced in 2017 that ensures the event will continue to be hosted by the GTHL through 2021.
For more information, please visit ohlcup.ca.