Talk about perfect timing for a return match.
The Barrie Colts will host the Ottawa 67’s on Saturday night, and now inside the 12 Days of Christmas perhaps both Ontario Hockey League teams will display a little goodwill toward one another compared to six days ago in the nation’s capital.
Ah, the poor teddy bears.
If you haven’t heard, or seen, last Sunday’s game in Ottawa had a made-for-social-media moment when a line brawl broke out as 67’s fans rained down teddy bears in line with the promotion that was taking place.
Video clips of stuffed animals bouncing off hockey players who were trying to beat the daylights out of one another was perfect TikTok and Instagram content.
Where stuff really matters – not stuffing or social media, but the standings – the Colts won to complete a six-point weekend that started with a home victory over Flint and a road win in Kingston.
Head coach/general manager Marty Williamson’s club is rolling and sits atop the Eastern Conference standings.
Game time tonight is 7:30 p.m. at Sadlon Arena and it’s the second-last home contest before the Christmas. The Colts also host the Niagara IceDogs on Thursday before a nine-day holiday break.
A truly unique edition of The Beautiful Game, as the Ottawa 67's and the Barrie Colts get into a kerfuffle in the middle of the Teddy Bear Toss. pic.twitter.com/2zXj2a1QQc
— David Castillo (@DavidCastilloAC) December 8, 2024
A few general points to consider with the Christmas break just around the corner:
How good are the Colts?
National rankings mean little.
The Owen Sound Attack started last season nationally ranked and won just 29 games. The Brampton Steelheads were the No. 1 in the country to start this season. They are not — at least not yet — anywhere near that lofty perch. Nor were the Attack at any point last season.
Still, it’s puzzling that the Colts have not yet gotten a sniff of the Canadian Hockey League Top 10 that is issued each week. The team is the class of the Eastern Conference and look — along with the Oshawa Generals — to be the favourites no matter what happens at the roster deadline in three weeks.
It may not matter a whole lot because it’s difficult to imagine any team – the Colts or otherwise – beating the London Knights in a seven-game series.
And with the Memorial Cup slated to be played in faraway Rimouski, Que., the OHL gets just one spot in the four-team tournament in May.
Big Ben
At the start of the season, the Colts' most pressing need may have been to find an experienced goalie to share duties with Sam Hillebrandt. Ben Hrebik had played just two games before the season began and didn’t look particularly good in the pre-season.
What a difference 10 weeks has made.
The 18-year-old Hrebik has posted 8-1/1.93/.938 numbers in 10 games. His stellar play allowed the Colts to deal the rights to overage netminder Austin Elliot to the London Knights, which in turn allowed them to pick-up Dalyn Wakely.
On a purely emotional level, it’s nice to see a young man take advantage of an opportunity.
Brave New World
Representatives from U.S. college hockey programs are now in regular attendance at Colts games.
There has been little direct effect on the Colts aside from 2024-pick Ben Bowen signing with the team. He had been keeping his NCAA options open by playing in the British Columbia Hockey League.
Cole Emmerton, another Colts pick from the same draft, is apparently headed to U.S. college, but he could now play for the Colts before heading south.
Both Bowen and Emerton are 2008-born.
It remains to be seen if Will Moore or John Mustard ever darken the doors of Sadlon Arena. Moore is supposed to be heading to Boston College, but is currently playing with the U.S. national development program and the recent challenge series between Canada and the U.S. showed, ahem, it could benefit Moore to return to Canada (he’s a dual citizen).
A 2007-birth, the Colts have a fair shot at getting Moore next year after he is drafted by an NHL team.
Mustard is a year older than Moore. The Chicago Blackhawks' prospect is content at Providence College. For now.
Looking toward the NHL Draft
That Kashawn Aitcheson is expected to be picked in the first round of the 2025 draft is no surprise. The Colts defenceman is rugged and mean and has developed a nice offensive element to his game.
More unexpected is the play of Evan Passmore. The towering blue-liner looks much more comfortable this season and is heading in the right direction on a steep development curve.
One former NHL general manager, who is now a special assignment scout/consultant, was in Barrie last month and was disappointed to find out that Passmore was suspended. Passmore was one of the main reasons he had travelled up Highway 400 that night to see the Oshawa Generals visit.
Beau chance Team Canada
Cole Beaudoin and Beau Akey have both made Team Canada. The world junior tournament will be played in Ottawa starting on Boxing Day.
Hillenbrandt is expected to make the U.S. roster, but how much he plays in Ottawa – if at all – is unknown.
In any case, all three players will likely be away until about the Colts road game Jan. 8 in Owen Sound. Ditto for Finnish forward Emil Hemming if he gets the call for his national team.
The world junior medal games are slated for Sunday, Jan. 5.
