The 2015–16 OHL season was the 36th season of the Ontario Hockey League, in which twenty teams played 68 games each according to the regular season schedule, from September 2015 to March 2016. The Plymouth Whalers relocated to Flint and became the Flint Firebirds, playing at the Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center. The Belleville Bulls relocated to Hamilton and became the Hamilton Bulldogs, playing at FirstOntario Centre. The London Knights won the J. Ross Robertson Cup for the fourth time in franchise history, as they defeated the Niagara IceDogs in four games in the final round of the playoffs. The Knights qualified for the 2016 Memorial Cup held at the ENMAX Centrium in Red Deer, Alberta. London defeated the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 3-2 in overtime in the final game, winning the Memorial Cup for the second time in franchise history.
Regular season
Final standings Note: DIV = Division; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; SL = Shootout losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PTS = Points; x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = clinched conference title
Eastern conference Rank TeamDIV GP W L OTL SL PTS GF GA 1 z-Kingston Frontenacs East 68 46 17 3 2 97 252 189 2 y-Barrie Colts Central 68 43 22 0 3 89 295 207 3 x-North Bay Battalion Central 68 35 23 6 4 80 240 227 4 x-Niagara IceDogs Central 68 35 26 4 3 77 213 198 5 x-Ottawa 67's East 68 36 29 2 1 75 234 219 6 x-Peterborough Petes East 68 33 28 2 5 73 240 259 7 x-Mississauga Steelheads Central 68 33 30 2 3 71 215 229 8 x-Oshawa Generals East 68 27 33 4 4 62 197 235 9 Hamilton Bulldogs East 68 25 35 8 0 58 197 260 10 Sudbury Wolves Central 68 16 46 5 1 38 183 328
Western conference Rank TeamDIV GP W L OTL SL PTS GF GA 1 z-Erie Otters Midwest 68 52 15 1 0 105 269 183 2 y-Sarnia Sting West 68 42 19 5 2 91 254 192 3 x-London Knights Midwest 68 51 14 2 1 105 319 182 4 x-Kitchener Rangers Midwest 68 44 17 5 2 95 256 197 5 x-Windsor Spitfires West 68 40 21 6 1 87 253 200 6 x-Owen Sound Attack Midwest 68 32 25 8 3 75 209 222 7 x-Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds West 68 33 27 7 1 74 243 233 8 x-Saginaw Spirit West 68 24 37 4 3 55 209 282 9 Flint Firebirds West 68 20 42 4 2 46 184 279 10 Guelph Storm Midwest 68 13 49 4 2 32 156 297
Scoring leaders Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
Player Team GP G A Pts PIMKevin LabancBarrie Colts 65 39 88 127 70Christian DvorakLondon Knights 59 52 69 121 27Mitch MarnerLondon Knights 57 39 77 116 68Dylan StromeErie Otters 56 37 74 111 44Matthew TkachukLondon Knights 57 30 77 107 80Andrew MangiapaneBarrie Colts 59 51 55 106 50Alex DeBrincatErie Otters 60 51 50 101 28Travis KonecnyOttawa/Sarnia 60 30 71 101 27Michael AmadioNorth Bay Battalion 68 50 48 98 40Christian FischerWindsor Spitfires 66 40 50 90 34
Leading goaltenders Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses: OTL = Overtime losses; SL = Shootout losses; GA = Goals Allowed; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average
Player Team GP Mins W L OTL SL GA SO Sv% GAATyler ParsonsLondon Knights 49 2835 37 9 2 1 110 4 0.921 2.33Devin WilliamsErie Otters 55 3179 41 10 1 0 125 2 0.915 2.36Michael DiPietroWindsor Spitfires 29 1644 16 8 1 1 67 2 0.912 2.45Justin FazioSarnia Sting 41 2466 24 13 3 1 110 3 0.902 2.68Luke OpilkaKitchener Rangers 44 2552 27 11 3 2 115 3 0.906 2.70
Playoffs
Conference quarterfinals
Eastern conference quarterfinals
(1) Kingston Frontenacs vs. (8) Oshawa Generals
(2) Barrie Colts vs. (7) Mississauga Steelheads
(3) North Bay Battalion vs. (6) Peterborough Petes
(4) Niagara IceDogs vs. (5) Ottawa 67's
Western conference quarterfinals
(1) Erie Otters vs. (8) Saginaw Spirit
(2) Sarnia Sting vs. (7) Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
(3) London Knights vs. (6) Owen Sound Attack
(4) Kitchener Rangers vs. (5) Windsor Spitfires
Conference semifinals
Eastern conference semifinals
(1) Kingston Frontenacs vs. (4) Niagara IceDogs
(2) Barrie Colts vs. (3) North Bay Battalion
Western conference semifinals
(1) Erie Otters vs. (7) Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
(3) London Knights vs. (4) Kitchener Rangers
Conference finals
Eastern conference finals
(2) Barrie Colts vs. (4) Niagara IceDogs
Western conference finals
(1) Erie Otters vs. (3) London Knights
J. Ross Robertson Cup
(W3) London Knights vs. (E4) Niagara IceDogs
J. Ross Robertson Cup Champions Roster 2015-16 London Knights Goaltenders
Defencemen
Wingers
– C Centres
– C
Coach: Dale Hunter General Manager: Basil McRae
Playoff scoring leaders Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
Player Team GP G A Pts PIMMitch MarnerLondon Knights 18 16 28 44 8Matthew TkachukLondon Knights 18 20 20 40 42Christian DvorakLondon Knights 18 14 21 35 4Kevin LabancBarrie Colts 15 6 20 26 24Josh Ho-SangNiagara IceDogs 17 6 20 26 8Dylan StromeErie Otters 13 10 11 21 12Andrew MangiapaneBarrie Colts 15 10 11 21 14Justin ScottBarrie Colts 15 17 3 20 8Alex DeBrincatErie Otters 13 8 11 19 13Michael AmadioNorth Bay Battalion 11 12 6 18 10
Playoff leading goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses: OTL = Overtime losses; SL = Shootout losses; GA = Goals Allowed; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average
Player Team GP Mins W L GA SO Sv% GAATyler ParsonsLondon Knights 18 1086 16 2 39 1 0.925 2.15Jeremy HelvigKingston Frontenacs 7 325 3 1 13 2 0.908 2.40Mackenzie BlackwoodBarrie Colts 13 797 6 5 36 1 0.914 2.71Alex NedeljkovicNiagara IceDogs 17 1026 12 5 48 0 0.903 2.81Jack FlinnMississauga Steelheads 7 447 3 4 21 1 0.913 2.82
Awards J. Ross Robertson Cup: London KnightsHamilton Spectator Trophy: Erie OttersBobby Orr Trophy: Niagara IceDogsWayne Gretzky Trophy: London KnightsEmms Trophy: Barrie ColtsLeyden Trophy: Kingston FrontenacsHolody Trophy: Erie OttersBumbacco Trophy: Sarnia StingRed Tilson Trophy: Mitch Marner, London KnightsEddie Powers Memorial Trophy: Kevin Labanc, Barrie ColtsMatt Leyden Trophy: Kris Knoblauch, Erie OttersJim Mahon Memorial Trophy: Kevin Labanc, Barrie ColtsMax Kaminsky Trophy: Mikhail Sergachev, Windsor SpitfiresOHL Goaltender of the Year: Mackenzie Blackwood, Barrie ColtsJack Ferguson Award: Ryan Merkley, Guelph StormDave Pinkney Trophy: Tyler Parsons & Brendan Burke, London KnightsEmms Family Award: Alexander Nylander, Mississauga SteelheadsF. W. "Dinty" Moore Trophy: Michael DiPietro, Windsor SpitfiresDan Snyder Memorial Trophy: Will Petschenig, Saginaw SpiritWilliam Hanley Trophy: Mike Amadio, North Bay BattalionLeo Lalonde Memorial Trophy: Kevin Labanc, Barrie ColtsBobby Smith Trophy: Nicolas Hague, Mississauga SteelheadsRoger Neilson Memorial Award: Damian Bourne, Mississauga SteelheadsIvan Tennant Memorial Award: Kyle Keyser, Flint FirebirdsMickey Renaud Captain's Trophy: Michael Webster, Barrie ColtsTim Adams Memorial Trophy: Andrei Berezinskiy, York Simcoe ExpressWayne Gretzky 99 Award: Mitch Marner, London KnightsBill Long Award: Pat Casey, Peterborough Petes
All-Star teams The OHL All-Star Teams were selected by the OHL's General Managers.
First team Christian Dvorak, Centre, London Knights Matthew Tkachuk, Left Wing, London Knights Mitch Marner, Right Wing, London Knights Mikhail Sergachev, Defence, Windsor Spitfires Rasmus Andersson, Defence, Barrie Colts Mackenzie Blackwood, Goaltender, Barrie Colts Kris Knoblauch, Coach, Erie Otters
Second team Michael Amadio, Centre, North Bay Battalion Andrew Mangiapane, Left Wing, Barrie Colts Kevin Labanc, Right Wing, Barrie Colts Travis Dermott, Defence, Erie Otters Jakob Chychrun, Defence, Sarnia Sting Devin Williams, Goaltender, Erie Otters Rocky Thompson, Coach, Windsor Spitfires
Third team Dylan Strome, Centre, Erie Otters Alexander Nylander, Left Wing, Mississauga Steelheads Alex DeBrincat, Right Wing, Erie Otters Olli Juolevi, Defence, London Knights Roland McKeown, Defence, Kingston Frontenacs Alex Nedeljkovic, Goaltender, Niagara IceDogs Mike Van Ryn, Coach, Kitchener Rangers
2016 OHL Priority Selection On April 9, 2016, the OHL conducted the 2016 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection. The Guelph Storm held the first overall pick in the draft, and selected Ryan Merkley from the Toronto Jr. Canadiens of the GTHL. Merkley was awarded the Jack Ferguson Award, awarded to the top pick in the draft.
Below are the players who were selected in the first round of the 2016 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection.
# Player Nationality OHL team Hometown Minor team 1 Ryan Merkley (D) Canada Guelph Storm Mississauga, Ontario Toronto Jr. Canadiens (GTHL) 2 Owen Lalonde (D) Canada Sudbury Wolves Windsor, Ontario Windsor Jr. Spitfires (MHAO) 3 Connor Roberts (C) Canada Hamilton Bulldogs Owen Sound, Ontario Grey-Bruce Highlanders (OMHA-SCTA) 4 Blade Jenkins (C) United States Saginaw Spirit Jackson, Michigan Detroit Compuware 16U (HPHL) 5 Ty Dellandrea (C) Canada Flint Firebirds Port Perry, Ontario Central Ontario Wolves (OMHA-EHL) 6 Danil Antropov (RW) Canada Oshawa Generals Toronto, Ontario Toronto Marlboros (GTHL) 7 Kirill Nizhnikov (RW) Russia Mississauga Steelheads Moscow, Russia Toronto Jr. Canadiens (GTHL) 8 Pavel Gogolev (LW) Russia Peterborough Petes Moscow, Russia CIH Academy White (OEMHL) 9 Barrett Hayton (C) Canada Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds Peterborough, Ontario Toronto Red Wings (GTHL) 10 Aidan Dudas (C) Canada Owen Sound Attack Parry Sound, Ontario North Central Predators (OMHA-EHL) 11 Peter Stratis (D) Canada Ottawa 67's Toronto, Ontario Mississauga Rebels (GTHL) 12 Akil Thomas (C) Canada Niagara IceDogs Toronto, Ontario Toronto Marlboros (GTHL) 13 Adam McMaster (C) Canada North Bay Battalion Beamsville, Ontario Niagara North Stars (OMHA-SCTA) 14 Tyler Tucker (D) Canada Barrie Colts Longlac, Ontario Toronto Titans (GTHL) 15 Tyler Weiss (C) United States Sarnia Sting Raleigh, North Carolina Don Mills Flyers (GTHL) 16 Giovanni Vallati (D) Canada Kitchener Rangers Toronto, Ontario Vaughan Kings (GTHL) 17 Nathan Dunkley (C) Canada Kingston Frontenacs Campbellford, Ontario Quinte Red Devils (OMHA-EHL) 18 Liam Foudy (C) Canada London Knights Toronto, Ontario Markham Majors (GTHL) 19 Allan McShane (C) Canada Erie Otters Toronto, Ontario Toronto Marlboros (GTHL) 20 Jack McBain (C) Canada Barrie Colts Toronto, Ontario Don Mills Flyers (GTHL)
2016 NHL entry draft On June 24–25, 2016, the National Hockey League conducted the 2016 NHL entry draft held at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York. In total, 48 players from the Ontario Hockey League were selected in the draft. Olli Juolevi of the London Knights was the first player from the OHL to be selected, as he was taken with the fifth overall pick by the Vancouver Canucks.
Below are the players selected from OHL teams at the NHL Entry Draft.