The 2020–21 OHL season would have been the 41st season of the Ontario Hockey League. After the 2019–20 OHL season was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league initially planned to play a full 68-game regular season beginning in September 2020. However, due to continued public health orders and increasing cases of COVID-19 in Ontario, the league eventually shortened the planned season and postponed it indefinitely in December 2020. By April 2021, the league ultimately cancelled the season.
Postponement and cancellation The regular season was originally planned to begin in September 2020 and end in March 2021 as each of the 20 teams would play 68 games, followed by 16 teams playing in the post-season. On August 5, 2020, the OHL announced that the start of the regular season was moved to December 1, 2020, and would end on April 29, 2021. Each team was to play a condensed 64 game schedule, followed by a playoff format in which 16, eight from each conference, would participate in.
On October 29, the league announced an updated timeline for the season, moving the opening date of the regular season to February 4, 2021. The regular season would end on May 8, 2021, as the clubs would play a 40 game schedule against opponents in their geographic region. The post-season would consist of eight teams playing three rounds to determine the J. Ross Robertson Cup champion.
Due to Ontario's provincewide shutdown in December 2020, which ordered the closure of all sports and recreation facilities with limited exceptions for "high-performance athletes and specified professional leagues", the OHL delayed the season indefinitely on December 23, 2020, and stated that they would work with health officials in order to determine potential start dates in 2021. While it had discussed the use of hub cities as used in portions of the WHL and QMJHL seasons, the OHL had not yet announced any plans for a return to play while still committed to a 2020–21 season.
In April 2021, Ontario implemented a second provincewide shutdown and stay-at-home order due to widespread infections involving variants of concern. The OHL was intended to host the 2021 Memorial Cup, but no host city was ever announced. On April 13, 2021, the Memorial Cup was cancelled for the second season in a row due to logistical issues associated with the pandemic. On April 20, 2021, the OHL announced that due to continued public health orders and the need to provide certainty to players and staff, the 2020–21 season has been cancelled and would not be played.
Awards Regular season — Player awards Trophy name Recognition Recipient Roger Neilson Memorial Award Top academic college/university player Adam Varga, Ottawa 67's Ivan Tennant Memorial Award Top academic high school player Lawson Sherk, Hamilton BulldogsProspect player awards Trophy name Recognition Recipient Jack Ferguson Award First overall pick in priority selection Quentin Musty, Sudbury Wolves
2021 OHL Priority Selection On May 5, 2021, the league announced the results of their first-ever Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection Draft Lottery. The Sudbury Wolves won the lottery and selected Quentin Musty from the North Jersey Avalanche of the AYHL. The Niagara IceDogs forfeited their first round draft pick due to violating league recruitment rules.
These are the results for the first round of the draft:
# Player Nationality OHL team Hometown Minor team 1 Quentin Musty (RW) United States Sudbury Wolves Hamburg, New York North Jersey Avalanche (AYHL) 2 Calum Ritchie (C) Canada Oshawa Generals Oakville, Ontario Oakville Rangers (OMHA-SCTA) 3 Cameron Allen (D) Canada Guelph Storm Toronto, Ontario Toronto Nationals (GTHL) 4 Ethan Miedema (LW) Canada Windsor Spitfires Cobourg, Ontario Quinte Red Devils (OMHA-ETA) 5 Matthew Soto (RW) Canada Kingston Frontenacs Oakville, Ontario Oakville Rangers (OMHA-SCTA) 6 Nick Lardis (RW) Canada Peterborough Petes Oakville, Ontario Oakville Rangers (OMHA-SCTA) 7 Tristan Bertucci (D) Canada Flint Firebirds Vaughan, Ontario Toronto Marlboros (GTHL) 8 Colby Barlow (RW) Canada Owen Sound Attack Vaughan, Ontario Toronto Marlboros (GTHL) 9 Luke Misa (C) Canada Mississauga Steelheads Oakville, Ontario Oakville Rangers (OMHA-SCTA) 10 Carey Terrance (C) Canada / USA Erie Otters Akwesasne, New York Kemptville 73's (CCHL) 11 Owen Outwater (C) Canada North Bay Battalion Orleans, Ontario Oakville Rangers (OMHA-SCTA) 12 Christopher Barlas (C) Canada Ottawa 67's Ottawa, Ontario Navan Grads (CCHL) 13 Angus MacDonell (C) Canada Sarnia Sting Toronto, Ontario Toronto Marlboros (GTHL) 14 Alex Pharand (C) Canada Hamilton Bulldogs Sudbury, Ontario Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves (NOHA) 15 Luke McNamara (C) Canada Saginaw Spirit Mississauga, Ontario Bishop Kearney Selects (Youth-USA) 16 Denver Barkey (C) Canada London Knights Maple, Ontario Toronto Titans (GTHL) 17 Carson Rehkopf (C/LW) Canada Kitchener Rangers Vaughan, Ontario Toronto Jr. Canadiens (GTHL) 18 Justin Cloutier (RW) Canada Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa Jr. Senators (CCHL) 19 Beau Akey (D) Canada Barrie Colts Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo Wolves (MHAO)
2021 CHL Import Draft On June 30, 2021, the Canadian Hockey League conducted the 2021 CHL Import Draft, in which teams in all three CHL leagues participate in. The Barrie Colts held the first pick in the draft by a team in the OHL. The Colts selected Artur Cholach from Ukraine with the OHL's first selection in the draft.
Below are the players who were selected in the first round by Ontario Hockey League teams in the 2021 CHL Import Draft.
# Player Nationality OHL team Hometown Last team 3 Artur Cholach (D) Ukraine Barrie Colts Novoyavorivsk, Ukraine Sokil Kyiv 6 Kirill Kudryavtsev (D) Russia Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds Yaroslavl, Russia Loco-Junior Yaroslavl Jr. B 9 Filip Mesar (RW) Slovakia Kitchener Rangers Spišská Belá, Slovakia Poprad HK 12 Ruslan Gazizov (LW) Russia London Knights Omsk, Russia Omsk Yastreby 15 Matyas Sapovaliv (C) Czech Republic Saginaw Spirit Kladno, Czech Republic Litomerice Stadion HC 18 Rodwin Dionicio (D) Switzerland Niagara IceDogs Bern, Switzerland Bern Jr. 21 No selection made Hamilton Bulldogs 24 Andrei Malyavin (D) Russia Sarnia Sting Voronezh, Russia Loco-Junior Yaroslavl Jr. B 27 Vinzenz Rohrer (RW) Austria Ottawa 67's Küsnacht, Switzerland GCK Lions Jr. 30 Aleksander Lukin (D) Russia North Bay Battalion Chekhov, Russia Chekhov Russkie Vityazi 33 Jiri Tichacek (D) Czech Republic Erie Otters Kladno, Czech Republic Rytiri Kladno Jr. 36 No selection made Mississauga Steelheads 39 Servac Petrovsky (C) Czech Republic Owen Sound Attack Veľký Šariš, Czech Republic Reprezentacia SR U18 42 Simon Slavicek (RW) Czech Republic Flint Firebirds Prague, Czech Republic Slavia Praha Jr. 45 Adrian Klein (D) Germany Peterborough Petes Neustadt an der Waldnaab, Germany Straubing Tigers 48 Leevi Merilainen (G) Finland Kingston Frontenacs Oulu, Finland Karpat Oulu U20 51 Avval Baisov (LW) Russia Windsor Spitfires Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia Khanty-Mansiysk Mamonty Yugry 54 Valentin Zhugin (LW) Russia Guelph Storm Magnitogorsk, Russia Magnitogorsk Stalnye Lisy 56 Kevin Niedenz (RW) Germany Oshawa Generals Berlin, Germany Bad Nauheim EC 58 Tomas Trunda (RW) Czech Republic Sudbury Wolves Prague, Czech Republic Mount St. Charles Academy 16U
2021 NHL entry draft On July 23–24, 2021, the National Hockey League conducted the 2021 NHL entry draft held via video conference call. Mason McTavish of the Peterborough Petes was the highest player from the OHL to be selected, as he was taken with the third overall pick by the Anaheim Ducks. A total of 30 players were drafted from the OHL.
Below are the players selected from OHL teams at the NHL Entry Draft. Round # Player Nationality NHL team Hometown OHL team 1 3 Mason McTavish (C) Canada Anaheim Ducks Carp, Ontario Peterborough Petes 1 8 Brandt Clarke (D) Canada Los Angeles Kings Nepean, Ontario Barrie Colts 1 16 Brennan Othmann (LW) Canada New York Rangers Pickering, Ontario Flint Firebirds 1 23 Wyatt Johnston (C) Canada Dallas Stars Toronto, Ontario Windsor Spitfires 1 29 Chase Stillman (RW) Canada New Jersey Devils Sudbury, Ontario Sudbury Wolves 1 31 Logan Mailloux (D) Canada Montreal Canadiens Belle River, Ontario London Knights 2 38 Daniil Chayka (D) Russia Vegas Golden Knights Moscow, Russia Guelph Storm 2 42 Francesco Pinelli (C) Canada Los Angeles Kings Stoney Creek, Ontario Kitchener Rangers 2 49 Ben Roger (D) Canada Ottawa Senators Brighton, Ontario London Knights 3 67 Ryan Winterton (C) Canada Seattle Kraken Whitby, Ontario Hamilton Bulldogs 3 81 Benjamin Gaudreau (G) Canada San Jose Sharks Corbeil, Ontario Sarnia Sting 3 85 Brett Harrison (C) Canada Boston Bruins Dorchester, Ontario Oshawa Generals 3 93 Tristan Lennox (G) Canada New York Islanders Cambridge, Ontario Saginaw Spirit 3 95 Josh Bloom (LW) Canada Buffalo Sabres Oakville, Ontario Saginaw Spirit 4 99 Ville Ottavainen (D) Finland Seattle Kraken Oulu, Finland Kitchener Rangers 4 105 Ethan Del Mastro (D) Canada Chicago Blackhawks Freelton, Ontario Mississauga Steelheads 4 121 Ethan Cardwell (RW) Canada San Jose Sharks Courtice, Ontario Barrie Colts 4 124 Jack Matier (D) Canada Nashville Predators Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Ottawa 67's 5 135 Artem Guryev (D) Russia San Jose Sharks Moscow, Russia Peterborough Petes 5 143 Jacob Holmes (D) Canada Dallas Stars Alliston, Ontario Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 5 153 Ty Voit (RW) United States Toronto Maple Leafs Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Sarnia Sting 5 156 Max McCue (LW) Canada San Jose Sharks Sudbury, Ontario London Knights 6 166 Pasquale Zito (RW) Canada Detroit Red Wings Ottawa, Ontario Windsor Spitfires 6 168 Jack Beck (LW) Canada Calgary Flames Richmond Hill, Ontario Ottawa 67's 6 170 Bryce Montgomery (D) United States Carolina Hurricanes Bowie, Maryland London Knights 6 175 Francesco Arcuri (LW) Canada Dallas Stars Woodbridge, Ontario Kingston Frontenacs 6 178 Connor Lockhart (C) Canada Vancouver Canucks Kanata, Ontario Erie Otters 6 181 Ryan Mast (D) United States Boston Bruins Bloomfield, Michigan Sarnia Sting 7 210 Braden Haché (D) Canada Florida Panthers Newmarket, Ontario Kingston Frontenacs 7 214 Joe Vrbetic (G) Canada Montreal Canadiens Dunvegan, Ontario North Bay Battalion
2021 IIHF World Junior Championship The 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship was held at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta starting on December 25, 2020. The tournament concluded on January 5, 2021.
Twenty-seven current and former OHL players were on eight rosters in this tournament, including eight on Canada, four on the Czech Republic, three on Germany, three on Slovakia, two on Finland, two on Russia, two on the United States, two on Switzerland and one on Austria.
Austria Team Austria had one player on their roster that played in the OHL. Marco Rossi of the Ottawa 67's was the lone OHL player on the team.
In four games, Rossi earned no points.
Austria finished in fifth place in Group B, as the team did not earn any points during their four games. They finished the tournament in tenth place.
Canada The Canadian team had eight players on their roster that plays in the OHL. The players on the Canadian team were: Quinton Byfield (Sudbury Wolves); Jamie Drysdale (Erie Otters); Thomas Harley (Mississauga Steelheads); Connor McMichael (London Knights); Cole Perfetti (Saginaw Spirit); Jack Quinn, (Ottawa 67's); Ryan Suzuki (Saginaw Spirit); and Philip Tomasino (Oshawa Generals). Andre Tourigny, the head coach of the Ottawa 67's, is the head coach of the Canadian team.