The 2019–20 OHL season was the 40th season of the Ontario Hockey League, in which twenty teams were scheduled to playing 68 games each according to the regular season schedule, from September 19, 2019 to March 22, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North America, the regular season was suspended on March 12, 2020, and cancelled six days later.
The post-season was to commence following the regular season, in which sixteen teams would compete for the J. Ross Robertson Cup and be crowned champions of the OHL. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North America, the playoffs were cancelled.
Postponed games On December 12, 2019, Niagara IceDogs goaltender Tucker Tynan suffered a severe injury after being cut by a skate blade in his right thigh as he was involved in a collision with an opposing player during the first minute of play in the second period. The IceDogs game against the London Knights was postponed following the incident. The league then postponed the IceDogs next two games, against the Peterborough Petes on December 15 and the Ottawa 67's on December 16 to allow IceDogs players time to cope and access resources for support. The IceDogs home game against the London Knights was rescheduled and played on February 4, 2020. The IceDogs rescheduled game in Peterborough against the Peterborough Petes was rescheduled on played on January 19, 2020; and their road game in Ottawa against the Ottawa 67's was rescheduled and played on March 10, 2020.
Suspension and cancellation of regular season On March 12, 2020, the Ontario Hockey League announced that the season would be paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North America. Six days later, on March 18, the league announced that the remainder of the regular season was cancelled. The final OHL standings are based on each OHL team having played an equal number of 61 regular season games.
Cancellation of playoffs and Memorial Cup On March 23, 2020, the Ontario Hockey League announced the cancellation of the playoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North America. The Canadian Hockey League announced that the 2020 Memorial Cup held in Kelowna, British Columbia was cancelled.
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-Ottawa 67's East 62 50 11 0 1 101 296 165 2 y-Sudbury Wolves Central 63 34 27 1 1 70 259 240 3 x-Peterborough Petes East 62 37 21 2 2 78 250 198 4 x-Oshawa Generals East 62 31 20 6 5 73 229 227 5 x-Barrie Colts Central 63 29 28 4 2 64 220 261 6 x-Mississauga Steelheads Central 61 27 29 4 1 59 223 227 7 x-Hamilton Bulldogs East 62 24 30 7 1 56 235 267 8 x-Kingston Frontenacs East 62 19 39 2 2 42 198 285 9 Niagara IceDogs Central 63 18 39 5 1 42 194 320 10 North Bay Battalion Central 62 17 41 4 0 38 189 314
Western conference Rank TeamDIV GP W L OTL SL PTS GF GA 1 z-London Knights Midwest 62 45 15 1 1 92 265 187 2 y-Saginaw Spirit West 62 41 16 3 2 87 289 225 3 x-Kitchener Rangers Midwest 63 40 16 5 2 87 264 213 4 x-Flint Firebirds West 63 40 21 1 1 82 274 243 5 x-Windsor Spitfires West 62 34 20 8 0 76 256 233 6 x-Guelph Storm Midwest 63 32 23 3 5 72 218 209 7 x-Owen Sound Attack Midwest 62 30 24 4 4 68 235 207 8 x-Erie Otters Midwest 63 26 26 4 7 63 229 236 9 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds West 64 29 31 3 1 62 253 257 10 Sarnia Sting West 62 22 34 5 1 50 244 299
Scoring leaders Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
Player Team GP G A Pts PIMMarco RossiOttawa 67's 56 39 81 120 40Cole PerfettiSaginaw Spirit 61 37 74 111 16Connor McMichaelLondon Knights 52 47 55 102 26Philip TomasinoNiagara/Oshawa 62 40 60 100 32Arthur KaliyevHamilton Bulldogs 57 44 54 98 28Pavel GogolevGuelph Storm 63 45 51 96 66Joseph GarreffaOttawa 67's 52 36 54 90 2Jack QuinnOttawa 67's 62 52 37 89 32Austen KeatingOttawa 67's 58 32 57 89 10Nick RobertsonPeterborough Petes 46 55 31 86 40
Leading goaltenders Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses: OTL = Overtime losses; SL = Shootout losses; GA = Goals Allowed; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average
Player Team GP Mins W L OTL SL GA SO Sv% GAABrett BrochuLondon Knights 42 2271 32 6 0 0 91 2 0.919 2.40Cedrick AndreeOttawa 67's 43 2529 32 9 0 1 102 4 0.916 2.42Nico DawsGuelph Storm 38 2254 22 8 3 3 93 5 0.924 2.48Hunter JonesPeterborough Petes 49 2833 31 14 2 1 130 4 0.913 2.75Jacob InghamKitchener Rangers 46 2739 33 8 4 1 135 2 0.917 2.96
Awards Playoffs trophies Trophy name Recognition Recipient J. Ross Robertson Cup OHL Finals champion Not Awarded Bobby Orr Trophy Eastern Conference playoff champion Not Awarded Wayne Gretzky Trophy Western Conference playoff champion Not Awarded Wayne Gretzky 99 Award Playoffs MVP Not AwardedRegular season — Team trophies Trophy name Recognition Recipient Hamilton Spectator Trophy Team with best record Ottawa 67's Leyden Trophy East division champion Ottawa 67's Emms Trophy Central division champion Sudbury Wolves Bumbacco Trophy West division champion Saginaw Spirit Holody Trophy Midwest division champion London KnightsRegular season — Executive awards Trophy name Recognition Recipient Matt Leyden Trophy Coach of the year Andre Tourigny, Ottawa 67's Jim Gregory Award General manager of the year Jim Boyd, Ottawa 67's Bill Long Award Lifetime achievement - OHL Executive of the Year Executive of the Year –Regular season — Player awards Trophy name Recognition Recipient Red Tilson Trophy Most outstanding player Marco Rossi, Ottawa 67's Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy Top scorer Marco Rossi, Ottawa 67's Dave Pinkney Trophy Lowest team goals against Cedrick Andree & Will Cranley, Ottawa 67's Max Kaminsky Trophy Most outstanding defenceman Noel Hoefenmayer, Ottawa 67's Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy Top scoring right winger Arthur Kaliyev, Hamilton Bulldogs Emms Family Award Rookie of the year Shane Wright, Kingston Frontenacs William Hanley Trophy Most sportsmanlike player Nick Robertson, Peterborough Petes F. W. "Dinty" Moore Trophy Best rookie GAA Brett Brochu, London Knights Bobby Smith Trophy Scholastic player of the year Cole Perfetti, Saginaw Spirit Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy Overage player of the year Austen Keating, Ottawa 67's Jim Rutherford Trophy Goaltender of the year Nico Daws, Guelph Storm Dan Snyder Memorial Trophy Humanitarian of the year Jacob Ingham, Kitchener Rangers Roger Neilson Memorial Award Top academic college/university player Jacob Golden, Erie Otters Ivan Tennant Memorial Award Top academic high school player Logan LeSage, Owen Sound Attack Mickey Renaud Captain's Trophy Team captain that best exemplifies character and commitment Ty Dellandrea, Flint FirebirdsProspect player awards Trophy name Recognition Recipient Jack Ferguson Award First overall pick in priority selection Ty Nelson, North Bay Battalion Tim Adams Memorial Trophy OHL Cup MVP Not Awarded
All-Star teams The OHL All-Star Teams were selected by the OHL's General Managers.
First team Marco Rossi, Centre, Ottawa 67's Nick Robertson, Left Wing, Peterborough Petes Arthur Kaliyev, Right Wing, Hamilton Bulldogs Noel Hoefenmayer, Defence, Ottawa 67's Jamie Drysdale, Defence, Erie Otters Nico Daws, Goaltender, Guelph Storm Andre Tourigny, Coach, Ottawa 67's
Second team Connor McMichael, Centre, London Knights Cole Perfetti, Left Wing, Saginaw Spirit Joseph Garreffa, Right Wing, Ottawa 67's Thomas Harley, Defence, Mississauga Steelheads Kevin Bahl, Defence, Ottawa 67's Jacob Ingham, Goaltender, Kitchener Rangers Dale Hunter, Coach, London Knights
Third team Quinton Byfield, Centre, Sudbury Wolves Pavel Gogolev, Left Wing, Guelph Storm Sean Josling, Right Wing, Sarnia Sting Alec Regula, Defence, London Knights Ryan Merkley, Defence, London Knights Cedrick Andree, Goaltender, Ottawa 67's George Burnett, Coach, Guelph Storm
All-Rookie teams The OHL All-Rookie Teams were selected by the OHL's General Managers.
First team Shane Wright, Centre, Kingston Frontenacs Brennan Othmann, Left Wing, Flint Firebirds Chase Stillman, Right Wing, Sudbury Wolves Brandt Clarke, Defence, Barrie Colts Ruben Rafkin, Defence, Windsor Spitfires Brett Brochu, Goaltender, London Knights
Second team Mason McTavish, Centre, Peterborough Petes Martin Chromiak, Left Wing, Kingston Frontenacs Oliver Suni, Right Wing, Oshawa Generals Paul Christopoulos, Defence, North Bay Battalion Mitchell Smith, Defence, Saginaw Spirit Joe Vrbetic, Goaltender, North Bay Battalion
2020 OHL Priority Selection On April 4, 2020, the OHL conducted the 2020 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection. The North Bay Battalion held the first overall pick in the draft, and selected Ty Nelson from the Toronto Jr. Canadiens of the GTHL. Nelson 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 2020 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection.
# Player Nationality OHL team Hometown Minor team 1 Ty Nelson (D) Canada North Bay Battalion Toronto, Ontario Toronto Jr. Canadiens (GTHL) 2 Pano Fimis (C) Canada Niagara IceDogs Richmond Hill, Ontario Toronto Jr. Canadiens (GTHL) 3 Max Namestnikov (C) United States Sarnia Sting Wolverine Lake, Michigan Detroit Honeybaked U15 (HPHL) 4 Bryce McConnell-Barker (C) Canada Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds London, Ontario London Jr. Knights (MHAO) 5 Paul Ludwinski (C) Canada Kingston Frontenacs Pickering, Ontario Toronto Marlboros (GTHL) 6 Jorian Donovan (D) Canada Hamilton Bulldogs Richmond, Ontario Kanata Lasers (HEO Midget) 7 Zakary Lavoie (RW) Canada Mississauga Steelheads Orleans, Ontario Toronto Nationals (GTHL) 8 Spencer Sova (D) / Canada/USA Erie Otters Windsor, Ontario Detroit Honeybaked U15 (HPHL) 9 Hunter Haight (C) Canada Barrie Colts Strathroy, Ontario Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs (MHAO) 10 Cedrick Guindon (C) Canada Owen Sound Attack Rockland, Ontario Rockland Nationals (HEO Midget) 11 David Goyette (C) Canada Sudbury Wolves Hawkesbury, Ontario South Kent Selects U15 (NPHL15) 12 Matt Poitras (C) Canada Guelph Storm Brooklin, Ontario Whitby Wildcats (OMHA-EHL) 13 Aidan Castle (LW) Canada Oshawa Generals Mississauga, Ontario Toronto Jr. Canadiens (GTHL) 14 Ryan Abraham (C) United States Windsor Spitfires Livonia, Michigan Detroit Compuware U15 (HPHL) 15 Donovan McCoy (D) Canada Peterborough Petes Belleville, Ontario Quinte Red Devils (OMHA-EHL) 16 Gavin Hayes (RW) United States Flint Firebirds Westland, Michigan Detroit Compuware U15 (HPHL) 17 Andrew Leblanc (C) Canada Kitchener Rangers Port Colborne, Ontario Southern Tier Admirals (OMHA-SCTA) 18 Adam Fantilli (C) Canada Saginaw Spirit Nobleton, Ontario Kimball Union Academy Wildcats (NEPS) 19 Ben Bujold (C) Canada London Knights Richmond, Ontario Kanata Lasers (HEO Midget) 20 Nicholas Moldenhauer (RW) Canada Ottawa 67's Mississauga, Ontario Toronto Titans (GTHL)
2020 CHL Import Draft On June 30, 2020, the Canadian Hockey League conducted the 2020 CHL Import Draft, in which teams in all three CHL leagues participate in. The North Bay Battalion held the first pick in the draft by a team in the OHL, and selected Matvei Petrov from Russia with their selection.
Below are the players who were selected in the first round by Ontario Hockey League teams in the 2020 CHL Import Draft.