Via my written coverage of prospects as part of my intermittent series on draft eligible players for the next few classes, I have taken it upon myself to watch the Canadian Hockey League as often as possible to closely study the games of blue chip prospects I wish to write about in what remains the NHL’s largest feeder system or to find what appear to be diamonds in the rough. I have written several profiles on these sorts of players, but have never covered full games on this site before, instead choosing to relegate that to a podcast segment as my other specialty on this site via the KHL takes up much of my time in terms of article dedication. However, we had a perfect storm of events that allows me today to write about a few CHL games, as the KHL is on its All-Star break and the podcast is taking a one-week hiatus. I opted to cover a matchup worth watching from each of the CHL’s three constituent leagues and consolidate them into one report.

Up first was the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, for which I opted to watch the Saint John Sea Dogs take to the road to face the Charlottetown Islanders on Friday, December 8th. I decided to focus in on Saint John as their ascension, even if it is not having its effects felt currently, was quite impressive to watch. They joined the QMJHL as an expansion franchise in 2005 and had a very star-crossed beginning, as one would expect from a newly established brand without the recruiting clout, operating budget, and established training regimens of clubs such as the Gatineau Olympiques, Quebec Remparts, or fellow New Brunswick club the Moncton Wildcats. Their first two seasons saw just 35 victories in 140 games played, finishing in the basement of the Eastern Division both times. A contact of mine (who I hope to have a full interview with up on here soon, contingent upon his schedule) played for the inaugural Saint John team, and we recently mutually acknowledged that it has been night and day watching them become the franchise that they have established themselves as. The Sea Dogs won the QMJHL league title in 2011, 2012, and 2017 and the venerated CHL-wide Memorial Cup in 2011 and 2022, as they have proven to be a competitive force in the Q.

This season, however, is something of a downturn, with them having a less than stellar record. It is not to the degree of their early stages, but it is marked, and it makes sense given their roster. They do not have a true blue chip at the moment and only D Matteo Mann (Philadelphia, 199th overall, 2023 NHL Entry Draft) has been selected by a NHL franchise with regards to their players who have been eligible. I am sure the fortunes will swing back up for Saint John at some point, but for now, it seems as though the franchise will have to take its licks a bit.

For their part in this particular game, Saint John did do an excellent job getting the whole group involved, with the forwards doing a solid job getting pucks on net and the defensemen doing well facilitating from the blue line and getting involved in the attack. I thought for certain they had Charlottetown (who have had similar fortunes to them this season) on the ropes with Saint John having scored first and seized a 2-1 lead early into the second stanza. This was especially considering it looked as though Charlottetown looked lost and unable to get good puck movement or even positioning in the time they did spend on the attack. Anchored by an excellent performance by G Aksels Ozols (who stopped 34/37 as Charlottetown were out-shot 37-22), the home team would end up generating just enough chances and converting on them, winning 4-3 as they would score three unanswered goals (with LW Michael Horth scoring the GTG at 2-a-piece just under two minutes after Saint John RW Luka Benoit had made the score 2-1 as well as getting the primary assist on the eventual GWG by RW Ross Campbell). This game definitely defied my expectations and was a prime example of a goaltender stealing a game. Charlottetown does not play again until Saturday, the 16th. For Saint John’s part, they rebounded the next night with a 3-2 victory against the Halifax Mooseheads, who are one of the best teams in the Q’s Eastern Conference this year. I am sure they will be looking to use that as a catalyst and springboard to better results.

Up next was the Ontario Hockey League. I watched a fair amount of both of the back-to-back OT thrillers that the Kitchener Rangers and Brantford Bulldogs waged against one another on the 8th and 9th and was entertained both times, but neither game was my primary focus for the OHL. The London Knights’ home matchup against the Saginaw Spirit on December 8th was the most essential, as it was pitting many great talents against one another as it was a going away party for London’s arguable three most noteworthy players this season in the form of RW Denver Barkey (PHI, 95th overall, 2023), LW Easton Cowan (Toronto, 28th overall, 2023), and D Oliver Bonk (PHI, 22nd overall, 2023) as it was their last game for the self-proclaimed (and not without good reason considering London’s success and prolificacy in producing elite prospects) “Mini-NHL” before leaving to participate in World Juniors camp for Team Canada. All three had an impact on this game, which was not even close and would have been even more of a blowout had an additional insurance goal not been questionably waved off in the third period during a 5-on-3. It was actually special teams that seemed to make the biggest difference, on that note. London’s PK was a perfect 5/5 in this matchup with Barkey tallying a short-handed goal on an assist by Cowan, while their PP was 2/6 and should have been 3/6. Their biggest stars showed up, as Barkey (2g, 2a), Cowan (1g, 2a), and Bonk (2a) were the first, second, and third stars, respectively. It seemed as though this group could create plays any which way they wanted, with the cycling game notably being very good, as well as the rush. Saginaw have weapons on their roster, but their usual suspects of C Matyas Sapovaliv (Vegas, 48th overall, 2022), D Zayne Parekh (draft eligible 2024), and LW Michael Misa (draft eligible 2025) were seemingly nowhere to be seen in this game as they combined for just 1 assist (by Sapovaliv) and 3 shots on goal (all by Misa and only one of which could have been considered an A-grade). The Knights notably also had a 36-22 advantage in SOGs and a 39-28 advantage at the draw, dominating possession for much of the game. The fortunes of these teams would change to varying degrees in their next games, as Saginaw would defeat the Flint Firebirds 7-1 yesterday and London would fall just short of a comeback on the road against the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds today, 5-4.

Last up was last night’s Teddy Bear Toss game for the Prince George Cougars against the Victoria Royals in the Western Hockey League. The WHL is already the constituent league of the CHL I’ve become most familiar with this season, with Victoria being the team I’ve dived into the most ever since rookie C Cole Reschny (draft eligible 2025) first caught my eye in back-to-back games against the Spokane Chiefs. As such, choosing this game felt like a no-brainer. It definitely did not go the way I expected, with it being a solid defensive chess match. Victoria G Jayden Kraus was the most impressive individual player on the day, stopping 32 of 33, while as a unit Prince George seemed to be experts in shot suppression, limiting Victoria to just 16 attempts. The teams were pretty evenly matched in the faceoff department and had similar power play opportunities (the Royals having 4 and the Cougars having 5), so it was interesting to see that neither could break out. This is especially considering that it wasn’t just volume, either, Prince George generated a good number of good chances but they never broke through until the Teddy Bear Toss goal by rookie RW Terik Parascak, who did it all himself as he created a turnover and a breakaway in a quick swoop, leaving Kraus completely helpless. This would be the decider, as Prince George would win 1-0. Parascak is eligible for the draft next calendar year and has been terrific, posting 44 points in 30 games. Generally speaking, he is regarded as either a late first rounder/more likely second round selection, but could see his stock rise as the season progresses. Expect a prospect profile on him from me in the near future. Prince George will look to follow this victory up against the Everett Silvertips on Wednesday the 13th, whereas Victoria will resume action on Friday the 15th against the Tri-City Americans.