Visors and Risers

Credit Toronto Sun The 2016-2017 Ontario Hockey League's regular season has officially ended and the first-round matchups for the Western Division can be seen here below. The OHL playoff format is the same as the NHL where the highest remaining seed plays the lowest remaining seed in each round, the finals are the winner of the Eastern and Western Division, all series are best of 7 (win 4 games). Eastern Division series are as follows: #1 Peterborough Petes Vs. #8 Niagara Ice Dogs - Peterborough has earned the #1 seed in the East with a record of 42-21-5 - Niagara earned the last spot in the East with a record of 23-35-10 - The Petes won the regular season series against the Ice Dogs, winning 3 of the 4 games - Leading scorer for the Petes: Nikita Korotelev  17 goals, 18 assists - Leading scorer for the Ice Dogs: Johnny Corneil  31 goals, 31 assists   #2 Mississauga Steelheads Vs. #7 Ottawa 67's  - Mississauga has earned the #2 overall seed with a record of 34-21-

Credit Pittsburgh Post-Gazette   Following the end of his senior season at Northeastern, un-drafted NHL free agent Zach Aston-Reese was being pursued by at least five different NHL organizations looking to sign him to an entry-level contract. Some of these teams included Arizona, San Jose, and Vancouver, all teams that he could theoretically sign with and begin playing at the NHL level right away. Aston- Reese instead decided to sign with the Pittsburgh Penguins, a team that he would have to scratch and claw his way just to crack the NHL roster over the course of the next few years. Why wouldn't he sign somewhere where he can make an immediate impact you may ask? The answer is simple, Pittsburgh has a history of setting NCAA free agent players up for success in the long run. Credit Dubber Prospects  In recent history, two of the biggest NCAA un-drafted free agents that have had a massive impact on the Penguins organization are Forwards Carter Rowney and Connor Sheary . C

Once a player has been drafted by an NHL team they usually take one of two different routes, either go play in one of the Junior Hockey Leagues such as the OHL or take the NCAA route and get an education while playing for their schools team. The majority of American born players tend to take the NCAA route as they are usually offered a full-ride to come and play in the very competitive atmosphere of Men's Division 1 College Hockey. However, the thing that confuses me the most is why some of these more talented players decide to leave college after only a year or two to turn pro, just as how Boston University star and Arizona Coyotes Draft pick Clayton Keller left after one year to sign with the Coyotes following the Terriers loss in the 2017 NCAA tournament . Credit Hockey Futures  How could someone who is being given four free years of higher education ever want to turn that down just for the chance to play in the NHL three years sooner? I understand that there are many fac

Credit Erienewsnow.com The 2016-2017 Ontario Hockey League's regular season has officially ended and the first-round matchups for the Western Division can be seen here below. The OHL playoff format is the same as the NHL where the highest remaining seed plays the lowest remaining seed in each round, the finals are the winner of the Eastern and Western Division, all series are best of 7 (win 4 games). Western Division series are as follows: #1 Erie Otters Vs. #8 Sarnia Sting  - The Otters had their third straight 50 win season, going 50-15-3 - Sarnia Barely made it into the playoffs winning only 31 games this season - Erie won the regular season series 3 games to 1, losing only one game against the Sting at home 5-3 on March 4th - Leading Scorer for Erie: Alex Debrincat  65 goals, 62 assists - Leading Scorer for Sarnia: Jordan Kyrou  30 goals, 64 assists   #2 Sault St. Marie Greyhounds Vs. #7 Flint Firebirds  - Greyhounds finished second in the Western Divisio