{"id":5589,"date":"2017-01-18T20:58:40","date_gmt":"2017-01-19T01:58:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/?p=5589"},"modified":"2017-01-20T12:26:26","modified_gmt":"2017-01-20T17:26:26","slug":"2016-17-london-knights-ready-to-defend-ohl-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2017\/01\/18\/2016-17-london-knights-ready-to-defend-ohl-championship\/","title":{"rendered":"2016-17 London Knights Ready to Defend OHL Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the recent OHL trade deadline, the London Knights stole the show with a trio of blockbuster trades. They<\/a> cemented their position as one of the main contenders for this year’s J. Ross Robertson Cup, once again<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Battling with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, the defending Memorial Cup Champions looked like a heavyweight even before the additions of\u00a0Mitchell Stephens<\/strong>\u00a0(TBL ’15),\u00a0Dante Salituro<\/strong>\u00a0(CBJ FA), and\u00a0Mitchell Vande Sompel<\/strong>\u00a0(NYI ’15)<\/span>. Now, the 2016-17 London Knights are once again one of the major favourites to go far this spring.<\/p>\n

2016-17 London Knights Ready to Defend OHL Championship<\/h2>\n

Last Friday, the new-look Knights lineup was bolstered by<\/span> five new and returning players<\/span>. Max Jones<\/strong>\u00a0(ANA ’16), returning from injury, and goalie\u00a0Tyler Parsons<\/strong>\u00a0(CGY ’16), back from his lights-out showing at the World Juniors, joined the three deadline additions<\/span>. After a slow start, the Knights adjusted to new lines and beat the struggling Saginaw Spirit 5-1.<\/p>\n

Salituro, three games into his OHL season after an up-and-down year in the AHL, already has two goals for London. As a speedy, undersized winger he helps fill the offensive gap left by the departure of\u00a0Aaron Berisha<\/strong>. Last year, Berisha was a key second liner and the Knights have missed him in the offensive zone this year.<\/p>\n

“I’ve been sitting out a lot of the season,” commented Salituro after that first game. “It’s going to take a couple games to reach my full potential.”<\/p>\n

Salituro comes in to join an already-potent forward core. The Knights score the second-most goals per game, averaging 4.2 every night. First line centre\u00a0Cliff Pu<\/strong>\u00a0(BUF ’16) is already fourth in league scoring with 60 points, and the addition of a weapon like Salituro will add an extra spark<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Although he hasn’t played much this year, Salituro is a proven OHL scorer, with over 35 goals the past two seasons with the Ottawa 67’s. Overshadowed a little by former teammate\u00a0Travis Konecny<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(PHI ’15), Salituro has four prior years of valuable junior experience under his belt<\/span>.<\/p>\n

London’s lineup has improved in both ends of the ice, though, with arguably<\/span> the OHL’s best two-way centre in Stephens<\/span>. Great in the faceoff circle and in his own zone, Stephens will add some fire to the team’s top six.<\/p>\n

“I talk on the bench, or talk in the room, so we keep everyone level-headed or dialed in,” said Stephens. “We’ve got a lot of great forwards on this team, it’s four deep lines. . . . We don’t really<\/span> have a defined first line on this team.”<\/p>\n

Slotting into the Knights’ top unit was tough for Stephens, who played his first two OHL games after the World Juniors for a new team, in a home-and-home series against his former team, Saginaw.<\/p>\n

Despite the opposition, though, Stephens wasted no time in getting into it. He had no qualms butting heads with his old teammates, playing a strong physical game on five penalty kills over the two games against the Spirit<\/span>. it’<\/p>\n

London also added some defensive help at the deadline with Vande Sompel, who will hope to make Tyler Parsons’ life a little easier. The Knights already had a core of elite offensive blueliners, with\u00a0Victor Mete<\/strong>\u00a0(MTL ’16) and\u00a0Olli Juolevi<\/strong>\u00a0(VAN ’16) the resident power play wizards, but Vande Sompel, himself a former Memorial Cup champion, will bring a wealth of experience to the team’s strength in their own zone<\/span>.<\/p>\n

A London native, Vande Sompel jumped at the opportunity to finish his junior career in his hometown. Leaving the Oshawa Generals was difficult, but few players would <\/span>be upset<\/span> about getting another chance at a title<\/span>.<\/p>\n

“I was getting a little bit homesick,” he said. “We’re a deep team, we’re solid and we’re skilled.”<\/p>\n

Stephens echoed Vande Sompel’s excitement at coming to London.\u00a0“London’s a world-class junior organization, if not one of the best hockey organizations in the world,” he said<\/span>. “They treat you like a pro here, it’s one thing that I really<\/span> like.”<\/p>\n

With so many top-end players in the lineup for London down the stretch, it’s difficult to squeeze everyone in. Even players <\/span>potentially<\/span> set to <\/span>be picked<\/span> in the first round of this year’s NHL Draft,\u00a0Alex Formenton<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Robert Thomas<\/strong>, <\/span>are limited<\/span> to the third or fourth line<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Unlike last season, when the Knights’ special teams were pretty much set in stone with the trio of\u00a0Mitch Marner<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(TOR ’15),\u00a0Christian Dvorak<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(ARI ’14), and\u00a0Matthew Tkachuk<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(CGY ’16) leading the way everywhere, assistant coach Dylan Hunter<\/strong> says they’ll be riding the hot hand down the stretch this year.<\/p>\n

“We’ll see who gels with who, it’ll be on a game-to-game basis,” he said. “There won’t be a cemented penalty kill or power play. We have so many guys who can play on it that whoever’s doing well momentum-wise is going to be getting a chance.”<\/p>\n

The Knights are now, arguably<\/span>, the best defensive team in the OHL, with a forward core that can go head-to-head with that of the Erie Otters<\/span>. Add to that a goalie in Tyler Parsons who may be in the best form of his life, not missing a beat after leading Team USA to a gold medal at the World Juniors, and it’ll be hard to stop this team<\/span>.<\/p>\n

The OHL’s Western Conference has four powerhouse teams this year who all fancy their chances of winning the Memorial Cup in Windsor. With such a well-rounded team, though, it’s hard not to bet on the 2016-17 London Knights.<\/p>\n

Only three teams have repeated as national champions in the competition’s current format, the last being the 2010 Windsor Spitfires. London definitely believe they can be the fourth.<\/p>\n

Main Photo:<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n