This may be a little off topic but i just noticed on the heisenberg recruit site that the Lake State Lakers got a commitment from Kellan Lain ( Oakville Blades ) for 2009'
What can us Laker fans expect from him? He and the blades seem to be having a good playoffs. The Lakers seem to do well with kids out of the OPJHL as we have Fred Cassiani coming in this fall.
Lain is a tall lanky kid that spent a good part of the year seeing limited action. He was picked up by the Blades after playing only High School hockey with Blakelock in his Midget year. As the year progressed so did he & has had a very good playoff run. Lots of upside potential.
Another player took a similar path, Kevin Caister came from a good high school program at Mount Carmel in Mississauga. After starting off the season in Milton somewhat slowly he took off & was on fire for the rest of the season.
Both were undrafted, unrated 89s that decided to play High School & have done very well for themselves.
it seems that as soon as anyones team is done the fans pack it in. too bad as the weather is still cold and the best hockey is at hand.im looking forward to the waxers and blades . it looks like a great series. its also nice to see that a couple of new teams are in the final. the few of us left will have lots to discuss and the rest will be back in september.
Thanks for the post Mannmi90!I have also noticed the Caister kid this year along with Basso and Price from Milton. I don't know how these kids skate or anything or even if they are interested in going the Div.1 route but they've put up some nice stats. I guess its always possible there already being looked at. Another year at Oakville will hopefully prep Lain for Div.1
Basso may be my favourite new player of the 2007-08 season. Basso is not very physical, but he is a real thinker out there. He has the potential of racking up 50 + assists next year. I think he would be exceptional in the NCAA, more so than the OHL.
Best thing about him. He is a great kid & has great parents. We see so many others buy spots, icetime & endlessly promote their kids. He & his parents just let his performance speak for itself.
I am sorry to say it is the squeeky wheel that seems to get the grease these days. If this kid slips through the cracks it will go against the way it SHOULD be.
Last year's North-East finale was anything but a steller series. The Aurora Tigers had little resistance from the Wellington Dukes. It was ,as many had predicted, according to script.
But this year's final promises to be something that only the administration of this league could have only dreamed about.
What could be better for a league without many surprises in recent years? Either the South's St. Michael's Buzzers, the North's Aurora Tigers or the East's Wellington Dukes are always around, so it seems.
Not this year. Two new kids on the block. Not much in the way of banter on For the Fans By the fans . But as sure as this is the OPJHL, you can bet the league's admin is happy with the turn of events.
The Markham Waxers forum contributors' Matty , Ezzig , and I luv hockey will have much to write about as their Waxers embark on a possible league championship.
We don't hear much from the West fans over here. But the Blades have their own ravenous following some of which you can read over In the cage .
The West always seems to provide the league's most unpredictable results. Winning back to back playoff division championships has been nearly impossible in recent memory.
Georgetown, Milton, Brampton and Hamilton have had recent championships but never seem to get by the North dominated by Aurora.
I do hope the fans continue to post right here and keep the rest of we readers abreast of this year's OPJHL final.
Until a league champion is crowned, I always feel as though I need to stick around the forum.
Beyond that, I start to think of BBQs, the NHL playoffs and soccer as my favourite season comes upon us.....summer.
As Wayne says, the North has dominated the North/West Championship for a few years. Aurora Tigers have dominated the North and Oakville Blades have dominated the West since 2003.
1) 2003 N/W Champions - Aurora - runners up - Oakville
2) 2004 N/W Champions - Aurora - runners up - Oakville
3) 2005 N/W Champions - Georgetown - runners up - Aurora
4) 2006 N/W Champions - Stouffville - runners up - Oakville
5) 2007 N/W Champions - Aurora - runners up - Hamilton
6) 2008 N/W Champions - Oakville - runners up - Aurora
N/W Championship appearances and wins since 2003:
1) Aurora 5 appearances - 3 wins
2) Oakville 4 appearances - 1 win
3) Georgetown 1 appearance - 1 win
4) Stouffville 1 appearance - 1 win
As one can see, Aurora and Oakville have dominated the North/West finals over the past 6 years and between the two have made it to the finals 9 times.
