Knight Watch: London suddenly winners of four straight; They’ll play a home-and-home series against Kitchener this weekend; Jaxon Cover shining early, named Rookie of the Week; Wilmott on a heater.
It’s remarkable how quickly the tide can turn in junior hockey. Two weeks ago, the London Knights were looking for their first win of the season after dropping four straight to open the 2025-26 campaign. Now, they’ve won four in a row, and they’re steadily climbing the Western Conference standings.
Last Friday’s win over Erie was a dominant one, as the home side allowed a season-low 14 shots in a 6-1 win at Canada Life Place. Sam O’Reilly had three assists in the win — and he added a goal and an assist in Saturday’s overtime win over Sarnia, giving him three multi-point games so far this season.
Things were a little tighter in a back-and-forth affair with the Sting on Saturday. Cohen Bidgood was the overtime hero with his third goal of the season. He’s had a nice start to the year after making the team out of training camp, posting points in five straight games.
Ben Wilmott is another player who’s been on a tear lately. His four goals and seven points over his last three games has been a welcomed sight for the Knights, who expected the free agent forward to be one of London’s top producers this season.
The Knights’ penalty kill has been a difference maker so far. After allowing three powerplay goals in the first two games of the season, London went five games without allowing any. They killed off 13 straight penalties before allowing a powerplay goal in the first period of Saturday’s game against Sarnia. After lack of discipline proved costly during their first few games, the Knights have turned that around, and they’ve been shorthanded just 30 times overall, the fifth fewest in the OHL.
It was a breakout weekend for rookie Jaxon Cover, who had a goal and four points in two games, helping him earn the OHL’s Rookie of the Week honours.
Knights defenseman Cooper McAslan was named to Canada White for the upcoming U17 World Hockey Challenge in Truro, Nova Scotia next month. McAslan, a second round pick of the Knights last spring, has five goals and ten points through 10 games with the GOHL’s London Nationals.
UPCOMING GAMEDAYS
Friday (Oct. 17, 7:00pm on road) and Sunday (Oct. 19, 2:00pm at home) vs. Kitchener Rangers (6-2-1-0, 3rd in Western Conference)
Aylmer’s Cameron Reid (Nashville) captains a very strong Kitchener team that’s an early favourite in the Western Conference. Reid is one of eight NHL draft picks on the Rangers’ roster. Jack Pridham (Chicago), Luca Romano (NYI), and goaltender Christian Kirsch (San Jose) are some of the other impact players on the Rangers roster. Harden Ellis leads the team with 11 points, but the Rangers’ biggest strength is their offensive depth. They have five players with nine or more points this season, and that’s without one of their top players, Luke Ellinas (Ottawa), who has missed the start of the season with a shoulder injury. The Rangers will also be without Matthew Hlacar (Toronto), who was suspended six games for a blindside hit last weekend.
KNIGHTS BY THE NUMBERS
4 – The Knights have allowed just four goals while short handed, one of the league’s most efficient penalty kills at 86.7%.
5 – Cohen Bidgood has points in each of his last five games, giving him three goals and seven points on the season.
5 – Of London’s eight games this season, five have required overtime, with the Knights winning three of them.
A LOOK AT THE LOCALS
– Harrison Franssen has four goals in his last four games, including the overtime winner in Oshawa’s win over Windsor on Sunday. The former London Junior Knight was recently named an alternate captain for the Generals.
– Komoka’s Beckham Edwards extended his point streak to seven games, the second longest active point streak in the OHL at the moment.
– Liam Spencer picked up an assist in each of his last two games. He was acquired from London by the Niagara IceDogs at the start of the season.
– Brenner Lammens, a Sarnia Sting forward from nearby Langton, was named to Canada White for the upcoming U17 Hockey Challenge.
AROUND THE OHL
– Brantford remains the only OHL team without a regulation loss this season. They’ve won six of their eight games, with a loss each in overtime and shootout.
– After just one win through their first five games, the Flint Firebirds have back-to-back shutout victories.
– 17 OHL players were named to Canada’s two rosters for the upcoming U17 Hockey Challenge that will be played Nov. 2-8 in Truro, Nova Scotia. Knights Associate General Manager Rob Simpson was part of the selection process as a regional scout for Ontario.
