A few years ago, with some time on my hand, I did a haphazard project linking NHL players to their Ontario Hockey League roots, in essence to determine which OHL organization was doing the best job of identifying, drafting and then developing professional players.
In the interim, I’ve been approached on several occasions to do an update, which I attempted recently.
I changed the point system somewhat from the original project.
First of all, any player who plays a game in the NHL, as of mid-April, is an NHL’er.
Therefore, using an Owen Sound reference, Theo Peckham is every bit as much an NHL’er as say Bobby Ryan.
Second, each qualified NHL player gains 1 point for each year that he played for an OHL club.
Again from an Owen Sound perspective, Trevor Lewis would gain 1 point for the Attack while Joel Ward would be good for 4.
There were only 3 players; Jamie Tardiff, Kurtis Foster and Andre Benoit who garnered 5 points for their organizations.
Finally, if a player was dealt in junior, his OHL value points were divided.
Using Josh Bailey as an example, he was worth 1 & 1/2 points for the Attack and 1 & 1/2 points for Windsor.
Imagine the fun I had with Brian McGrattan; he of SIX OHL teams.
The complete results from the project are posted today at www.bayshorebroadcasting.ca and trust me when I tell you, the top 4 finishers are not a surprise.
I’m Fred Wallace