The East Division should be a close race as it was in 2003-04, when it took until the last game of the season for the Ottawa 67’s to clinch the division title over the Kingston Frontenacs and Oshawa Generals. Since the league went to four divisions back in 1998-99, no team has won a division title with as low a point total as Ottawa’s 71 last year. Ottawa was only three games over the .500 mark, Kingston only two, and Oshawa only one.

Heading into the 2004-05 season, the 67’s are the odds-on favorite to win the division crown, despite the loss of two-time league top player Corey Locke (MON), who signed a pro contract. The Peterborough Petes, who had only 22 wins last year, may give them their best challenge. Neither Kingston nor Oshawa looks impressive going in, and the Belleville Bulls will likely once again finish in or near the basement of the league. For the 67’s, if nothing else, they have arguably the Conference’s top offense, and one that could compete with the London Knights for tops in the league.

Belleville Bulls

After roughly a six-year run as one of the better teams in the OHL, the Bulls came crashing down last year. They had the fewest wins in the league and tied Saginaw for the fewest points with 39. While former Bulls from that strong run such as Jason Spezza, Matthew Stajan, Branko Radivojevic, Jonathan Cheechoo and Justin Papineau are now making their mark in the NHL, their top offensive player last year was Marc Rancourt.

Rancourt returns as an overager, on what will again be a relatively young team. Mike Roelofsen along with Cody Thornton and John Adams were among the team’s other better forwards last year, and are all 17 or 18 years old. Another notable young forward is Michael Lombardi who had 12 points in 27 games after being acquired from Plymouth last year as a 16-year-old. Lombardi has size and skill and could move up the charts in his draft year. Because of their lack of success last year, the Bulls had the first overall pick in the summer draft, and used it on John Hughes from Whitby, Ontario. Hughes lacks size but has plenty of skill, and he’ll get more than enough chances to put it on display. On defense, much will be asked of overage acquisition Pat Sutton who played the last two years in Owen Sound. The hulking Josh Francis along with Kyle Sonnenburg and Geoff Killing all return, although none has proven much at the OHL level thus far. The team’s two import picks from last year, Martin Novak and Lubomir Stach, will be asked to inject some offense into this group that otherwise lacks talent.

In goal, the Bulls return all three goalies that played for them last year, including Eric Tobia, who is an overager this season. The veteran Tobia played in 55 games last year, and saw plenty of rubber in just about every one of them. This season, Tobia can expect more of the same, although he should have more offensive support as the young kids start to blossom. A playoff spot is possible, but this team is still very young and inexperienced in general.

Kingston Frontenacs

On paper, the Frontenacs could have been a powerful team last year, and if nothing else, should have beaten out the 67’s for the East Division crown. With Eric Himelfarb (DET) back for his overage season, Bryan Rodney putting up huge points from the blueline, and power forward prospect extraordinaire Anthony Stewart (FLA) pulling on the Frontenacs sweater, the team was good on paper. This year, while Himelfarb has graduated after a sensational season, the other two are expected back, among other veterans.

Although there may still be hope for NHL fans that there will be hockey this year, the Frontenacs hope there isn’t, because in that case, Stewart will assuredly be in uniform this coming season. This is vital to their success because while Stewart is not only a great goal scorer, he is so big and physical that he opens up space for smaller players such as Evan Kotsopoulos and Danny McDonald. The Frontenacs also have some good young forwards such as Bobby Hughes and 2003 third overall pick Tony Rizzi, who will be asked to contribute more this year. Rodney will once again patrol the blueline for the Frontenacs, which is good news for all concerned, as Rodney, who has 136 points in the last two years, is a sensational player, especially on the power play. Fellow overager Justin Suda returns for a fourth season with the Frontenacs, and will be asked to keep up his strong all-around play. Otherwise, the defense is young with sophomores such as Kyle Raftis and Trevor Waddell being asked to play a greater role this year.

Last year, Chris Beckford-Tseu was brought in early on to stabilize the goaltending situation. This year, Dayne Davis and Matthew Spezza will play between the pipes for Kingston. Davis was the back-up last year in his first full season in the OHL despite being 18. This year, the bulky Davis will need to prove he is physically able and adequately conditioned to handle the starting duties. The Frontenacs should contend, although they will not quite be with the class of the East.

Ottawa 67’s

The 67’s are a team that will match any team’s offense, but is young both on defense and in goal. Although the 67’s enter the 2004-05 season as the defending East Division champions, they were not clearly better than other teams. The defense was young and inexperienced and struggled at times, the goaltending failed to cover up the numerous defensive miscues, and Locke aside, the offense was nothing special. This year, if nothing else, the 67’s will be a powerful offensive juggernaut.

While it appeared Locke might return for an overage season, the player that will go down as one of the best ever to wear the barber pole signed just before the NHL dropped its curtains for the lockout. While there is a slim chance Locke could still end up back in Ottawa, Mark Mancari (BUF), Peter Tsimikalis and Bryan Bickell (CHI), arguably the team’s three best forwards after Locke last year, all return a year older and a year wiser. But to make up for the lost offense from Locke, will be a potent combination of import forwards with 2004 first round pick Lukas Kaspar (SJ) and fellow Czech import and good friend Jakub Petruzalek (NYR) playing together. The two Czech imports both had fantastic training camps displaying not only a high skill level but a great amount of chemistry.

Jeremy Akeson and Brody Todd are two overagers who will provide some offensive support as well as a physical edge. Pierre Mitsou, the team’s leader on defense, is the only graduation, but Will Colbert and Kyle Wharton (CLB) will be asked to carry a heavy load. Colbert last year was among the top defensive defensemen in the league, but he needs to take on a greater amount of offensive responsibility as well. Second year players such as Elgin Reid, Robbie Lawrence and Tyler Aitcheson will need to keep progressing at a nice rate. One thing to watch for is where Mancari plays. The big Sabres pick played most of last year on Locke’s wing, but has played defense in the past and did play there at times in training camp. Should the defense struggle, Mancari may be pulled back to stabilize things.

The biggest question is in goal where Danny Battochio and Anthony Guadagnalo will battle for the No. 1 position early on. In the event that neither takes off, Kilrea may go out early and acquire a veteran goaltender as legendary coach and GM Brian Kilrea did in the 2001-02 season when a young John Ceci struggled when asked to be the starter.

Oshawa Generals

Year after year, it seems the Generals are if nothing else a physically tough team. Last year, despite having no player with more than 56 points, they were in the thick of the race for the divisional crown right until the end. But arguably their top forward, Ben Eager (PHI), and top defenseman, Paul Ranger (TB), are both likely playing in the AHL this year rather than returning as overagers.

While Eager is gone, Oakville native Tyler Donati returns after leading the team in scoring as a 17-year-old rookie. This is Donati’s draft year, and while he lacks size, he has plenty of skill, and should be a force to be reckoned with. Tyler’s twin brother Justin Donati also returns, and should improve as well. A big acquisition over the summer was Brett Trudell, who will play as an overager this year after two years with the Guelph Storm. In last year’s playoffs, the bulky Trudell had 13 goals in 22 games and was a dominant force for the Storm. Adam Berti (CHI), Brandon McBride and Chris Hulit all provide more skill and size up front. This group should crash, bang and score a fair bit this year, as it will be a veteran group.

On defense, Ranger’s graduation is a major blow, and will force Chris Petrow to step up as the leader on the blueline. The time is also now for 2003 first round pick Justin Wallingford to take on a greater role with the team. A huge defenseman at 6’6 and 226 lbs, Wallingford needs to develop a mean streak and play with more consistency in his draft year. David Halasz was acquired from Ottawa at the import draft, and will be asked to play the power play and use his smarts to log significant minutes.

In goal, Dan Turple (ATL) and Ryan Gibb split duties last year, but Turple, who is 6’5 and was picked in the sixth round in the 2004 draft, should play more games this year. This area should be solid as both goalies have experience starting at times, and have room to improve on last year. This is a veteran team up front, that should be solid in goal but needs their defense to hold together with their long time field general having moved on.

Peterborough Petes

Often a mediocre team, the Petes haven’t been a top team since the days of Cameron Mann and Zac Bierk, and last year they were quite poor, finishing third last in points with only 50. But there is some hope for Petes fans as their team should ice if nothing else, a competitive team. Up front, the Petes should be speedy and talented, and a treat to watch.

The strength of the team will be up front, where Liam Reddox (EDM) and Jamie Tardif (CGY) return as two talented, hard working forwards. Also returning is top 2005 prospect Daniel Ryder, who was the team’s third leading scorer last year as a 16 year old. His brother Michael took the NHL by storm last year for the Canadiens, and Daniel plays a similar game. There are also other support players such as Brad Bonello and Jordan Morrison as well as the third Staal brother Jordan Staal, who was the third overall pick in last year’s OHL draft. The Petes boast plenty of talent and depth up front, and will most likely be strong next year as well. On defense, the return of Mark Flood (MON), arguably the team’s best player last year, is a major boost, and Columbus prospect Trevor Hendrikx (CLB) is primed to build on a break-out year last year. Big, tough and improving offensively, Hendrikx will get help from Aaron Dawson (CAR) and Bryan Young (EDM) on defense, to form a big, strong, no-nonsense crew on the blueline. Rounding out the top four will be import defenseman Niko Vainio (DAL). Vainio will provide some much needed puck movement skills, and will assuredly be given plenty of power play time.

In goal, Jeff MacDougald is going to be the main man between the pipes. The solidly built goaltender split time last year, and is ready to take on the full load of work. If MacDougald can hold up, this is a team that could push for the division. The defense is strong defensively and loves to punish the opposition, as well as having one of the league’s top defencemen in Flood.  The forwards, although not big and powerful like the Generals crew, are slick and skilled. Reddox especially could be among the league’s top scorers if he can stay consistent.

Copyright 2004 Hockey’s Future. Do not duplicate without permission of the editorial staff.