Knights ready for early test vs. top OHL talent

Knight Watch: London gets reinforcements — but some stars remain at NHL camps; Van Gorp, Nicholl shine early; Weekend offers good early test; It’s Erie Friday (home) and Brampton Saturday …

William Nicholl celebrates a goal during the Knights' season opening win Friday, Sept. 27 at Budweiser Gardens. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

* * *

After splitting a pair of contests in the opening weekend of the regular season, the London Knights will have some reinforcements when they suit up for a pair of tough games this weekend.

First-round draft picks Sam Dickinson (San Jose) and Sam O’Reilly (Edmonton) are back from NHL camps, and they’ll give the Knights a fresh look as the team faces Erie Friday and Brampton Saturday. The Otters have one of their best teams in nearly a decade, while Brampton is an early season favourite to win the OHL Championship.

In other words, this will a good early test for the Knights.

The Knights did not get back high-scoring winger Kasper Halttunen, as the San Jose Sharks assigned him to their AHL affiliate for the time being. That leaves London with two import players — New York Islanders prospect Jesse Nurmi and Gleb Semyonov, who is eligible for the 2025 draft. Nurmi has a pair of assists through his first two games.

Landon Sim is still expected to be out as he nurses an upper body injury, so London’s other three overagers will get another opportunity to prove themselves. That includes: Owen Willmore, who made 31 saves in Friday's loss to Flint; Alec Leonard, who recorded a goal and an assist in that contest; and Jacob Julien, who also scored and took a majority of the faceoffs, winning 28 of 43 draws.

Evan Van Gorp and William Nicholl both scored a pair of goals over the weekend to lead London offensively. Rookie Netminder Alexei Medvedev made 33 saves in Flint on Saturday to record his first career win.

This is the time of year to really work on special team details and make the necessary adjustments. After successfully killing just one of three penalties on Friday, the Knights allowed just one powerplay goal on 10 attempts Saturday night.

The Knights had an elite transition game last year, and it looks like they’ll be relying on that to generate offence again this year. That was certainly the case through the opening weekend.

Though London was able to generate decent scoring chances in both games against Flint last weekend, their overall shot output was lacking, and that could be the result of slow starts. On Friday, they generated only 11 shots on goal in the first two periods before firing 12 on goal in the final frame. And it was a similar story in Flint one day later, as the Knights recorded just six shots in the opening period and finished with 24 overall. They surrendered 76 shots against over those two games.

Jacob Julien, who had a breakout year in 2023-24, found the back of the net in London's 7-4 win last Friday. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

* * *

UPCOMING GAMEDAYS

Friday (Oct. 4, 7:00pm) vs. Erie Otters (1-1-0-0, 2nd in Midwest)

The Otters are icing their most talented teams since Dylan Strome and Alex Debrincat led them to an OHL Championship in 2017. They returned to the playoffs last year with a 73-point season, winning more than 30 games for the first time since that championship team. And they’ll be even better this year. Overagers Sam Alfano, Pano Fimis, and Martin Misiak are tough to defend against, while Malcolm Spence will likely be a first rounder in the upcoming NHL draft.

Saturday (Oct. 5, 4:00pm) @ Brampton Steelheads (2-0-0-0, 1st in Central)

For the first time in nearly 12 years, the Knights will make the trip to Brampton to take on the recently relocated Steelheads. Captain Porter Martone is a top prospect for the upcoming draft and has six points through his first two games. Carson Rehkopf, meanwhile, has a goal in both games he’s played this season. He scored 30 and 52 goals with Kitchener over the last two seasons, respectively. Reigning OHL Goaltender of the week Jack Ivankovic is one of the league’s elite netminders and could be a first-round pick in the 2025 NHL draft. The Steelheads are a favourite to win the Eastern Conference and are currently in the top spot in the CHL Top Ten Ranking. The Knights are currently third.

A LOOK AT THE LOCALS

- Ilderton’s Owen Van Steensel has been named captain of the North Bay Battalion. The former Elgin Middlesex Canucks forward scored 41 goals for the Battalion last season.

- Beckham Edwards, from nearby Komoka, scored his first OHL goal which was also the first goal of the season for the Sarnia Sting.

- Aylmer's Cameron Reid picked up an assist in each of his two games to start the season. The Kitchener Rangers defenseman is eligible for the NHL draft in 2025.

- Will Bishop picked up two goals and an assist through the opening three games for the Saginaw Spirit.

KNIGHTS BY THE NUMBERS

3 - Players have started to trickle down at pro camps, but a handful of Knights remain with their respective NHL clubs. Sam Dickinson (San Jose) and Sam O’Reilly (Edmonton) return to the lineup with weekend, but Easton Cowan (Toronto), Denver Barkey (Philadelphia), and Oliver Bonk (Philadelphia) remain in NHL camps. Kasper Halttunen’s return is doubtful as he was assigned to the AHL affiliate of the San Jose Sharks.

#1 - Rene Van Bommel and Blake Arrowsmith both scored their first OHL goals Saturday in Flint, while Alexei Medvedev made 33 saves to record his first career win.

AROUND THE OHL

- First overall pick Ethan Belchetz has made an immediate impact with the Windsor Spitfires with eight points through his first three games. That includes a four-goal game in the Spitfires’ home opener against Kitchener.

- The Oshawa Generals have acquired Winnipeg Jets prospect Colby Barlow from the Owen Sound Attack for Tristian Delisle, David Bedkowski and six draft picks. The team also named Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Ben Danford their captain this week.

- North Bay’s Ryan Oulahen was named an assistant coach for the CHL USA Top Prospect Game. One of those games will be played in London on November 26.

- Four OHL Teams have cracked the CHL Top Ten Rankings: Brampton Steelheads (1st); London Knights (3rd); Brantford Bulldogs (8th); and Oshawa Generals (9th)