For the fifth time ever, all within the era begun by the acquisition of the club by Dale Hunter, brother Mark, and co-investor/fellow NHL alumnus Basil McRae, the London Knights have won the J. Ross Robertson Cup.

There was only some Sturm und drang in this finals series against the most accomplished club in the OHL/the Eastern Conference’s best team, the Oshawa Generals (13-time league champions), and it was all found in Game 3. The Knights fell into a 3-0 hole in the third period, as Oshawa were very opportunistic and scored two goals on exceptional shots and worked one in. London D Sam Dickinson (2024 Draft eligible) was able to make the period look a bit better on the surface level by scoring off of a turnover within the last few minutes, but it was evident that Oshawa had the upper hand despite London having the 9-7 edge in the SOG category. Things got further out of hand in the second period, as Oshawa tallied three more goals in the frame on 12 shots, which would ultimately end G Michael Simpson’s night as Dale Hunter opted to pull the netminder in favor of backup Owen Willmore. While RW Kasper Halttunen (San Jose Sharks) would tally a power play goal in this stanza, it did appear that Oshawa had the upper hand in special teams play in the opening forty minutes, particularly looking great at taking away room on the penalty kill. The Gens both exercised killer instinct in the offensive zone and looked sharp defending and had the game seemingly in the palm of their hands with a 6-2 edge with C Calum Ritchie (Colorado Avalanche) and C Dylan Roobroeck (New York Rangers) (the game’s eventual first and second stars) leading the way with four-point nights and RW Connor Lockhart having two goals to his name.

However, in the third period, Dale Hunter’s group came out looking very confident, and everything began to change. They would generate 14 shots on goal and this provided plenty enough offense to completely turn the tides of Game 3. The power play did what it had to do this time around when given the opportunity, with PPGs tallied by D Oliver Bonk (Philadelphia Flyers), ever reliable as an unconventional choice as a bumper option on the man advantage, and Halttunnen narrowing the deficit to 6-4. Halttunen would maintain his impressive form by tallying yet another goal just under two minutes later, marking a historic night for the Finnish national as he became the first player ever to tally hat tricks in back-to-back games in the OHL Championship series and overtook the record for most goals in a single OHL postseason by an import. Ultimately, it would be C Sam “Peanut” O’Reilly (2024 Draft eligible) that fully erased the four goal deficit, as he scored a one-hander in close on Oshawa G Jacob Oster. Eventually, this game would go to OT, which only felt right. A game with as phenomenal of a narrative as this one had could never be settled in 60 minutes. As it would turn out, 80 minutes would not be enough, either. Plenty of storytelling to be conducted here.

The account of this game cannot exclude the efforts of Willmore in relief of Simpson. He bailed out his team on a fair number of occasions on the shots that he faced, including erasing a misplay with the puck by Bonk, and really stepped up in the first overtime period, making 11 saves as, while London had some strong phases, Oshawa did look like the better team in the extra 20. The game would ultimately be resolved in the 2OT period. Just prior to the conclusion of events two minutes into the 5th frame, Oster made what appeared to be an incredibly clutch save. However, on the ensuing faceoff, D Isaiah George (New York Islanders) got off a strong point shot, which forward turned blueliner Henry Brzustewicz would deflect and get past Oster to give London a 3-0 lead. This game truly felt like a film, and it was the storybook ending that the Knights were looking for.

Game 4 was much more in line with what Games 2 and 3 were like. London dominated possession and pace, seeming to have an exceptional transition game every single time the puck ended up in their own zone. They exploited every bit of open space that they were given, exemplified by LW/C Denver Barkey’s (Philadelphia Flyers) 4-on-4 goals which came off a rebound off a shot by George that was set up by C/W Easton Cowan (Toronto Maple Leafs) but was the conclusion of an exceptional rush play, as well as their three power play goals by Halttunen (who had two goals on the night to build upon his record), Cowan, and C William Nicholl. Ultimately, London would finish with 7 goals on 30 SOGs, and skate to a 7-1 victory for their first championship since 2016.

It cannot be emphasized enough that London were motivated by redemption this year after coming so close to championship glory, but ultimately falling short in six games to the Peterborough Petes at the last hurdle in 2023. Among these figures that played a big role on both incarnations of the Knights, none were more impressive on this run than Easton Cowan. Building upon an impressive D+1 year where he visibly took his game up to the next level, had a historic point streak, and earned OHL MVP honors, Cowan was unstoppable in the playoffs. All told, he tallied 34 points in 18 playoff games (a CHL best at present in this postseason), including 15 points in the 4 game sweep in the championship round. He was the clear pick for the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award for postseason MVP and the press saw it precisely that way. He will likely be a huge catalyst in the Memorial Cup.

To that point, the focus is on the task lying ahead in Michigan beginning on the 24th. London will seek to do what their predecessors in 2016 and the “Team of the Century” London squad accomplished in 2005 and capture junior hockey’s greatest prize. One has to like their chances given how head and shoulders they are above the rest of the OHL. That said, Saginaw, the hosts, gave them a challenge in the Western Conference Finals and will be rested and healthy, and they will face some strong competition in whoever the representatives end up being from the WHL (likely the very stacked Moose Jaw Warriors, who lead their Ed Chynoweth Cup final series against the Portland Winterhawks 3-0 and are ahead 1-0 in Game 4 at the time of writing – expect more coverage on this game later on). Dale Hunter’s squad will have to remain very focused and complement their tremendous skill with strong effort to capture their third Memorial Cup.