What heights will Knights reach in 2023-24?

The Knights weren’t expected to reach the OHL Finals last year. Now? They seem poised to make a run at winning it all. Columnist Jake Jeffrey breaks down the roster — plus notes from around the OHL …

Denver Barkey celebrates a goal against Windsor last season. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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After coming just two wins shy of an OHL championship last season, the London Knights have some unfinished business as they get set to open up the new campaign Friday — and they may just have the group to get the job done.

Expectations are always high in London, but they will be exceptionally so this season as the Knights kick things off as the top team in the OHL Power Rankings — and the No. 2 team in the CHL Top Ten Rankings.

Three of London’s top four point-getters from last season have moved on, but this is a team that should still have some serious firepower up front, and they also possess plenty of assets to help add to their roster as they see fit as the season plays out.

San Jose Sharks prospect Kasper Halttunen, who scored in his only preseason appearance, could be one of the league’s elite scorers. Easton Cowan, Jacob Julien, Denver Barkey and Oliver Bonk are all looking to make a jump in production after being selected in this past year’s NHL draft, while Sam Dickinson enters his sophomore season as a top draft-eligible defenseman. 

Five days ago, one of the few question marks the Knights faced entering the season was who would be in net — who would replace the graduated Brett Brochu for the 2023-24 season? That question was answered Tuesday when London made a trade with the Peterborough Petes to acquire Michael Simpson, an OHL champ and London native who grew up playing for the Jr. Knights.

In exchange, London sent goaltender Zach Bowen (and a 3rd Rd 2025 draft pick) to the Petes. Simpson, who was named OHL Playoff MVP after his Petes beat the Knights in six games to win the OHL title last spring, is expected to handle the bulk of the workload in net (he played a league high 51 games last year). Fellow Londoner Owen Willmore will serve in a backup role, while Alexei Medvedev, a second round pick of the Knights in 2023, will start the season with the GOJHL’s St. Thomas Stars (but he could see some action if the opportunity arises).

The overage spot for Simpson was made available after London traded forward Ryan Humphrey to the Niagara IceDogs, along with Mathieu Paris. London did pick up Juan Copeland in the deal, an 18-year-old winger who scored 22 goals and 43 points over the last two seasons in Niagara. Max McCue and Ethan MacKinnon are the other two overagers on the Knights’ roster to begin the 2023-24 season.

Knights defenseman Sam Dickinson is considered a top prospect for the 2024 NHL Draft next spring. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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Landon Sim, Brody Crane and Ruslan Gazizov are entering their age-19 seasons and are each a big part of London’s depth up front. Sim is a St. Louis Blues draft pick (though he’s yet to sign with the NHL club), while both Crane and Gazizov are free agents looking to earn an opportunity at the next level.

London’s blueline is as solid as it comes. Isaiah George, who signed his entry level contract with the New York Islanders, is poised to play some big, productive minutes. Along with George, Dickinson, Bonk and MacKinnon, Boston Bruins prospect Jackson Edward, as well as Alec Leonard and rookie Henry Brzustewicz (who the Knights acquired during the preseason) help round out the back end for London.

The @LondonKnights and @SpiritHockey enter the 2023-24 @OHLHockey season as favourites but the @Sudbury_Wolves and @AttackOHL will be right on their heels! pic.twitter.com/XtyW3ggBiv

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) September 28, 2023

As in previous seasons, the Knights will scatter some of their prospects among local junior teams for some additional seasoning before making the full time jump to the OHL. This worked out tremendously for guys like Cowan, Bonk, Jacob Julien and MacKinnon, who all played at least one year of Junior B before earning a spot with the Knights. Sam O’Reilly and William Nicholl hope to follow that same path now that they’re with the Knights (following strong rookie seasons in the GOJHL).

Who are this year’s players hoping to continue that trend? They include: Noah Jenken (4th round in 2023) and Evan Van Gorp (free agent signing) with the Strathroy Rockets; PJ Fagan (3rd round in 2023) with the London Nationals; and goaltender Medvedev (2nd round in 2023) with the St. Thomas Stars.

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Some local players poised for big seasons

• Bryce McConnell-Barker and Jordan D’Intino are looking to build on strong seasons with the Soo Greyhounds last year.

• Ryan Roobroeck got drafted by the New York Rangers following a breakout season with the Oshawa Generals, and it will be interesting to see how he builds on that this season.

• Strathroy’s Hunter Haight made an immediate impact after joining the Saginaw Spirit midway through the season last year. The Minnesota Wild prospect is one of the key players on a very strong Spirit squad, who have championship aspirations. Speaking of Saginaw, Will Bishop, who came over from the Sudbury Wolves, will provide a large presence on the Spirit blueline.

• Owen Van Steensel has been a solid two-way forward in North Bay and will be getting more offensive opportunities with the Battalion this year.

• Injuries limited Jett Luchanko during his age-16 season after being Guelph’s first-round pick in 2022, and he’ll be looking to take a jump in development and production for the Storm this season.

• Dorchester’s Marcus Vandenburg earned a full-time spot in the Kitchener Rangers net last season, and he’ll face plenty of rubber with the Niagara IceDogs this season.

Notes from around the OHL …

• Preparing to host the Memorial Cup, the Saginaw Spirit have one of the strongest rosters in the OHL this year, and they’ll look to get stronger as they hope to be the first American CHL champs since the 2006 Spokane Chiefs.

• The Bulldogs will play this season in Brantford, the first of their three-year contract as improvements are made to Hamilton’s FirstOntario Centre. If things go well in Brantford, the move could become permanent.

• The Sudbury Wolves have their best team in years, and it’s long overdue for a franchise that hasn’t been past the second round of the playoffs since they lost to Plymouth in the 2007 OHL Finals. The Wolves have just one division title since 2001, but they enter the season as early favourites for the Central Division Crown.

• The Erie Otters haven't made the playoffs since they won the OHL championship in 2017, but this could be the year the Otters get back into the postseason mix.

• OHL fans will notice some added mid-period breaks this season, as there will be two 45-second timeouts per period instead of one. The additional stoppages will occur at the first whistle following the six-minute and 14-minute marks. There used to be just one break (following the midway point of the period).