The 2008–09 OHL season was the 29th season of the Ontario Hockey League. Twenty teams played 68 games each during the regular season schedule, which started on September 17, 2008 and concluded on March 15, 2009. The OHL inaugurated the Mickey Renaud Captain's Trophy following his death in the previous season. The Windsor Spitfires played their last game at Windsor Arena on December 4, defeating the Guelph Storm, 2–1. The Spitfires played their first game at the WFCU Centre on December 11 against the Belleville Bulls, losing the game 4–0. The playoffs began on March 18, 2009, and ended on May 8, 2009 with the Windsor Spitfires winning the J. Ross Robertson Cup, and a berth in the 2009 Memorial Cup which was held in Rimouski, Quebec. Windsor went on to win the Memorial Cup.
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-Belleville Bulls East 68 47 17 2 2 98 258 176 2 y-Brampton Battalion Central 68 47 19 1 1 96 264 184 3 x-Ottawa 67's East 68 40 21 5 2 87 272 231 4 x-Mississauga St. Michael's Majors Central 68 39 26 1 2 81 229 208 5 x-Barrie Colts Central 68 30 33 3 2 65 214 207 6 x-Niagara IceDogs Central 68 26 32 4 6 62 213 264 7 x-Peterborough Petes East 68 28 37 1 2 59 210 266 8 x-Sudbury Wolves Central 68 26 35 3 4 59 227 282 9 Oshawa Generals East 68 25 35 2 6 58 213 283 10 Kingston Frontenacs East 68 18 40 6 4 46 200 278
Western conference Rank TeamDIV GP W L OTL SL PTS GF GA 1 z-Windsor Spitfires West 68 57 10 0 1 115 311 171 2 y-London Knights Midwest 68 49 16 1 2 101 287 194 3 x-Saginaw Spirit West 68 36 24 4 4 80 235 219 4 x-Plymouth Whalers West 68 37 26 5 0 79 253 244 5 x-Sarnia Sting West 68 35 26 4 3 77 216 210 6 x-Guelph Storm Midwest 68 35 26 4 3 77 226 209 7 x-Erie Otters Midwest 68 34 29 3 2 73 233 239 8 x-Owen Sound Attack Midwest 68 26 27 7 8 67 226 258 9 Kitchener Rangers Midwest 68 26 37 3 2 57 208 254 10 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds West 68 19 45 2 2 42 172 290
Scoring leaders Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
Player Team GP G A Pts PIMJohn Tavares Oshawa/London 56584610454Chris Terry Plymouth Whalers 5339559475Justin DiBenedetto Sarnia Sting 6245489385Cody Hodgson Brampton Battalion 5343499233Matt Caria Sault Ste. Marie/Plymouth 6734589291Taylor Hall Windsor Spitfires 6338529060Ryan Ellis Windsor Spitfires 5722678957Eric Tangradi Belleville Bulls 5538508861Logan Couture Ottawa 67's 6239488746Chris MacKinnon London/Kitchener 6726598556
Leading goaltenders Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses: OTL = Overtime losses; SL = Shootout losses; GA = Goals allowed; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
Player Team GP Mins W L OTL SL GA SO SV% GAA Mike Murphy Belleville Bulls 543169 40 9 2 2 110 50.9412.08 Tom McCollum Guelph/Brampton 543192 34 16 2 2 112 7 0.9272.11 Andrew Engelage Windsor Spitfires 543086 46 4 0 1 121 50.9142.35 Trevor Cann Peterborough/London 523027 35 15 0 1 132 60.9192.62 Daniel Spence Sarnia Sting 543151 29 19 4 2 146 2 0.9142.78
Playoffs
Conference quarterfinals
Eastern conference
(1) Belleville Bulls vs. (8) Sudbury Wolves
(2) Brampton Battalion vs. (7) Peterborough Petes
(3) Ottawa 67's vs. (6) Niagara IceDogs
(4) Mississauga St. Michael's Majors vs. (5) Barrie Colts
Western conference
(1) Windsor Spitfires vs. (8) Owen Sound Attack
(2) London Knights vs. (7) Erie Otters
(3) Saginaw Spirit vs. (6) Guelph Storm
(4) Plymouth Whalers vs. (5) Sarina Sting
Conference semifinals
Eastern conference
(1) Belleville Bulls vs. (6) Niagara IceDogs
(2) Brampton Battalion vs. (4) Mississauga St. Michael's Majors
Western conference (1) Windsor Spitfires vs. (4) Plymouth Whalers
(2) London Knights vs. (3) Saginaw Spirit
Conference finals
Eastern Conference
(1) Belleville Bulls vs. (2) Brampton Battalion
Western conference
(1) Windsor Spitfires vs. (2) London Knights
J. Ross Robertson Cup (W1) Windsor Spitfires vs. (E2) Brampton Battalion
J. Ross Robertson Cup Champions Roster 2008-09 Windsor Spitfires Goaltenders
Defencemen
– C Wingers
– A
– A Centres
– A
Coach: Bob Boughner General Manager: Warren Rychel
Playoff scoring leaders Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
Player Team GP G A Pts PIMTaylor Hall Windsor Spitfires 2016203612Andrei Loktionov Windsor Spitfires 201122332Cody Hodgson Brampton Battalion 2111203118Ryan Ellis Windsor Spitfires 208233120Dale Mitchell Windsor Spitfires 2014152924Matt Duchene Brampton Battalion 14122621Evgeny Grachev Brampton Battalion 191114254John Carlson London Knights 147152216John Tavares London Knights 141011218Eric Wellwood Windsor Spitfires 2010112112
Playoff leading goaltenders Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses: OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals Allowed; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average
Player Team GP Mins W L GA SO Sv% GAA J. P. Anderson Mississauga St. Michael's Majors 11697 6 5 29 0 0.9282.50 Mike Murphy Belleville Bulls 171007 10 7 43 00.9162.56 Andrew Loverock Sudbury Wolves 6360 2 4 16 00.9292.67 Trevor Cann London Knights 13805 9 4 38 00.9122.83 Andrew Engelage Windsor Spitfires 201112 14 3 53 00.9082.86
All-Star teams
First team Cody Hodgson, Centre, Brampton Battalion Taylor Hall, Left Wing, Windsor Spitfires Bryan Cameron, Right Wing, Belleville Bulls Ryan Ellis, Defence, Windsor Spitfires P. K. Subban, Defence, Belleville Bulls Mike Murphy, Goaltender, Belleville Bulls Bob Boughner, Coach, Windsor Spitfires
Second team John Tavares, Centre, London Knights Justin DiBenedetto, Left Wing, Sarnia Sting Greg Nemisz, Right Wing, Windsor Spitfires Cameron Gaunce, Defence, Belleville Bulls John Carlson, Defence, London Knights Thomas McCollum, Goaltender, Brampton Battalion George Burnett, Coach, Belleville Bulls
Third team Chris Terry, Centre, Plymouth Whalers Evgeny Grachev, Left Wing, Brampton Battalion Matt Kennedy, Right Wing, Guelph Storm Alex Pietrangelo, Defence, Niagara IceDogs Michael Del Zotto, Defence, London Knights Edward Pasquale, Goaltender, Saginaw Spirit Mike Vellucci, Coach, Plymouth Whalers
All-Star Classic The 2009 Subway OHL All-Star ClassicOHL All Star Team Pegs Chappell and Pasquale - OurSports Central - Independent and Minor League Sports News was played February 4, 2009 at the WFCU Centre in Windsor, won 11–6 by the Eastern Conference. Cody Hodgson of the Brampton Battalion won the player of the game award, as he scored three goals and added two assists. The skills competition was held the previous night on February 3, with the Western Conference winning. Honorary captains for the event were former Peterborough Petes player Steve Yzerman for the Eastern Conference, while former Windsor Spitfires player Adam Graves represented the Western Conference.
Awards J. Ross Robertson Cup: Windsor SpitfiresHamilton Spectator Trophy: Windsor SpitfiresBobby Orr Trophy: Brampton BattalionWayne Gretzky Trophy: Windsor SpitfiresEmms Trophy: Brampton BattalionLeyden Trophy: Belleville BullsHolody Trophy: London KnightsBumbacco Trophy: Windsor SpitfiresRed Tilson Trophy: Cody Hodgson, Brampton BattalionEddie Powers Memorial Trophy: John Tavares, London KnightsMatt Leyden Trophy: Bob Boughner, Windsor SpitfiresJim Mahon Memorial Trophy: Justin DiBenedetto, Sarnia StingMax Kaminsky Trophy: Ryan Ellis, Windsor SpitfiresOHL Goaltender of the Year: Mike Murphy, Belleville BullsJack Ferguson Award: Daniel Catenacci, Sault Ste. Marie GreyhoundsDave Pinkney Trophy: Mike Murphy, Belleville BullsOHL Executive of the Year: Warren Rychel, Windsor SpitfiresEmms Family Award: Evgeny Grachev, Brampton BattalionF. W. "Dinty" Moore Trophy: J. P. Anderson, Mississauga St. Michael's MajorsDan Snyder Memorial Trophy: Chris Terry, Plymouth WhalersWilliam Hanley Trophy: Cody Hodgson, Brampton BattalionLeo Lalonde Memorial Trophy: Justin DiBenedetto, Sarnia StingBobby Smith Trophy: Matt Duchene, Brampton BattalionRoger Neilson Memorial Award: Tim Priamo, Guelph StormIvan Tennant Memorial Award: Freddie Hamilton, Niagara IceDogsMickey Renaud Captain's Trophy: Chris Terry, Plymouth WhalersTim Adams Memorial Trophy: Lucas Lessio, Toronto MarlborosBill Long Award: Bert O'Brien, Ottawa 67's & Sam Sisco, Ontario Hockey LeagueWayne Gretzky 99 Award: Taylor Hall, Windsor Spitfires
2009 OHL Priority Selection On May 2, 2009, the OHL conducted the 2009 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection. The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds held the first overall pick in the draft, and selected Daniel Catenacci from the York-Simcoe Express. Catenacci 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 2009 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection.
# Player Nationality OHL team Hometown Minor team 1 Daniel Catenacci (LW) Canada Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds Newmarket, Ontario York-Simcoe Express 2 Alan Quine (C) Canada Kingston Frontenacs Orleans, Ontario Toronto Jr. Canadiens 3 Ryan Murphy (D) Canada Kitchener Rangers Aurora, Ontario York-Simcoe Express 4 Boone Jenner (LW) Canada Oshawa Generals Dorchester, Ontario Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs 5 Justin Sefton (D) Canada Sudbury Wolves Thunder Bay, Ontario Notre Dame Hounds 6 Matt Puempel (LW) Canada Peterborough Petes Essex, Ontario Sun County Panthers 7 Lucas Lessio (LW) Canada Niagara IceDogs Maple, Ontario Toronto Marlboros 8 Ryan Strome (C) Canada Barrie Colts Mississauga, Ontario Toronto Marlboros 9 Curtis Crombeen (D) Canada Owen Sound Attack Sarnia, Ontario Lambton Jr. Sting 10 David Broll (LW) Canada Erie Otters Mississauga, Ontario Toronto Nationals 11 Carter Sandlak (LW) Canada Guelph Storm London, Ontario London Jr. Knights 12 Brett Ritchie (RW) Canada Sarnia Sting Orangeville, Ontario Toronto Marlboros 13 Garrett Meurs (C) Canada Plymouth Whalers Ripley, Ontario Huron Perth Lakers 14 Anthony Camara (LW) Canada Saginaw Spirit Toronto, Ontario Mississauga Senators 15 Stuart Percy (D) Canada Mississauga St. Michael's Majors Oakville, Ontario Toronto Marlboros 16 Cody Ceci (D) Canada Ottawa 67's Orleans, Ontario Peterborough Jr. Petes 17 Barclay Goodrow (RW) Canada Brampton Battalion Aurora, Ontario York-Simcoe Express 18 Tyson Teichmann (G) Canada Belleville Bulls Belleville, Ontario Quinte Red Devils 19 Scott Harrington (D) Canada London Knights Kingston, Ontario Kingston Jr. Frontenacs 20 Austen Brassard (RW) Canada Windsor Spitfires Windsor, Ontario Windsor AAA Zone
2009 CHL Import Draft On June 30, 2009, the Canadian Hockey League conducted the 2009 CHL Import Draft, in which teams in all three CHL leagues participate in. The Plymouth Whalers held the first pick in the draft by a team in the OHL, and selected Gabriel Landeskog from Sweden with their selection.
Below are the players who were selected in the first round by Ontario Hockey League teams in the 2009 CHL Import Draft.