The Ontario Hockey League has been around since the 1932-33 hockey season. The league has been called the OHL since 1980-81. Previously, it was called the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League (OMJHL) from 1974-75 to 1979-80 and simply the Ontario Hockey Association from 1932-33 to 1973-74.
The Ontario Hockey League currently consists of twenty teams in two conferences with two divisions per conference. Seventeen of the teams are based in the Canadian province of Ontario, two are in the U.S. state of Michigan and one is in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The league has been at the twenty team level since the 1998-99 season. Each team plays a 68 game regular season schedule. The top eight teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs.
The two conferences are logically called the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. The Eastern consists of the East Division and the Central Division. The Western consists of the Midwest Division and the West Division.
The teams in each division are as follows:
Eastern Division
· Belleville Bulls
· Kingston Frontenacs
· Oshawa Generals
· Ottawa 67’s
· Peterborough Petes
Central Division
· Barrie Colts
· Brampton Battalion
· Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors
· Niagara IceDogs
· Sudbury Wolves
Midwest Division
· Erie Otters
· Guelph Storm
· Kitchener Rangers
· London Knights
· Owen Sound Attack
West Division
· Plymouth Whalers
· Saginaw Spirit
· Sarnia Sting
· Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
· Windsor Spitfires
Some of the Ontario Hockey League’s major awards include:
Hamilton Spectator Trophy
The Hamilton Spectator goes to the team with the best overall record during the regular season. The current holder of the Hamilton Spectator is the Barrie Colts.
J. Ross Robertson Cup
The Robertson Cup is presented to the OHL’s playoff champion. The winner for the past two seasons is the Windsor Spitfires.
Red Tilson Trophy
The Red Tilson is awarded to the player considered the most outstanding in the league. The winner in 2009-10 was Tyler Seguin of the Windsor Spitfires and currently of the NHL’s Boston Bruins.
Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy
The Eddie Powers goes to the league’s scoring champion. In 2009-10, the award was shared between Tyler Seguin of the Plymouth Whalers and Taylor Hall of the Windsor Spitfires.
Max Kaminsky Trophy
The Ontario Hockey League’s most outstanding defenseman receives the Max Kaminsky. The reigning champion is Jake Muzzin of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.
The Ontario Hockey League remains the top producer of talent for the world’s great hockey league, the NHL. Some examples of the finest players to graduate from the OHL include:
· Bobby Orr
· Chris Pronger
· Marcel Dionne
· Phil Esposito
· Stan Mikita
· Doug Gilmour
· Eric Lindros
· Corey Perry
· John Tavares
· Patrick Kane
· Wayne Gretzky
· Rick Nash
