Knights’ goal prevention should be elite. Can they score?

A disappointing finish last spring has the Knights hungry for playoff success in 2022-23. What are this team’s strengths? Their weaknesses? Jake Jeffrey previews the new season …

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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There are always a handful of unknowns heading into a junior hockey season — and that is certainly the case for the London Knights as they drop the puck for real Friday night to open the 2022-23 OHL season.

London has elite goaltending and a very strong blue line. The team also has several young guns up front who will look to provide much-needed depth to London's offence, which is something that was lacking at times last season. Will they be able to replace the scoring now gone from last year’s graduates?

Losing their three top scorers from last year is obviously a big hit for the Knights, but that’s also something that many teams around the league are all dealing with this year (and many years, really). There’s no doubt Luke Evangelista, Antonio Stranges and Cody Morgan will be tough to replace, as the Knights — for better or worse — relied heavily on that trio last season.

In fact, those top three scorers accounted for nearly 44 percent (116 of 264) of the team’s total goal total last year. This year? It’ll be a different approach on offense, as the Knights will need to see a more widespread offence to be successful.

As it stands, London’s major strength is in net with reigning OHL Goaltender of the Year Brett Brochu returning for a final season. He played the bulk of the minutes last year while healthy, but he was noticeably worn down come playoff time when he returned from an ankle injury that sidelined him for several weeks. It will be interesting to see if London looks to alleviate Brochu’s workload this time around. Zach Bowen will start the season as the backup. After being passed over in the 2021 draft, the Knights selected Bowen in the 4th round in the 2022 edition.

Overagers Gerard Keane and Bryce Montgomery, along with Montreal Canadiens prospect Logan Mailloux will lead the way on the back end. London also has Jackson Edward (Boston Bruins) and Isaiah George (New York Islanders), as well as two rookies to keep an eye out for — Sam Dickinson and Oliver Bonk. I expect that both Dickinson and Bonk will play well beyond their years this season, and if I’m an NHL scout, I’m taking a good long look at Bonk ahead of this year’s draft. Meanwhile, 19-year-olds Ethan MacKinnon and Connor Federkow help provide very solid depth on the blue line as well.

There’s a decent group of 18- and 19-year-olds that London can turn to up front, including newly acquired Ryan Del Monte, Max McCue (San Jose Sharks), Landon Sim (St. Louis Blues), Ruslan Gazizov, and Brody Crane, who will likely get more responsibility in his sophomore season. I also expect Ben Bujold and Denver Barkey to take a big step in production this season. They were London’s first round picks in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

Brett Brochu, now an overager, is coming off a season in which he was named OHL Goaltender of the Year — and represented Canada at the World Junior Championship. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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Injuries kept Abakar Kazbekov to just nine games played last year, but the first overall pick in the 2021 U18 draft has looked very good in preseason games this year, notching four points in four games. If he can stay healthy, he could be a major catalyst for London’s offence.

The Knights have a pair of first-round picks from the most recent draft in Luca Testa and Dickinson. The latter was acquired in an off-season trade with Niagara, reminiscent of when London acquired Max Domi and Victor Mete before either had played a game with the team that drafted them. While the Knights selected Testa with their first-round pick, he also won a Sutherland Cup Championship with the St. Catharine’s Falcons last season as an underage call-up.

There won’t be many easy games in the Western Conference this year, and the Midwest Division in particular looks to be pretty stacked again this year. Guelph, Owen Sound and Kitchener will all be tough opponents, and the Erie Otters have improved as well (the Knights and Otters split a recent home-and-home preseason series).

On a first glance, it looks like London may be in the middle of the pack. However, if they’re able to get production from their younger players, this is a team that could be rubbing shoulders with some of the top teams in the conference.

It will be interesting to see what Easton Cowan can do with a full season at the OHL level. The 17-year-old local product saw action in seven games for London last year — and then played five more (recording two points) in the playoffs. Mathieu Paris, Nicholas Yearwood and Kaeden Johnston are three others looking to make the jump from the Junior B level. Michael Levin, younger brother of former 1st overall pick David Levin, will also jostle for a roster spot.

The Knights will have to handle some housekeeping issues early on, as they enter the season with four overagers (one more than the league allows) — Brochu, Sean McGurn, Keane and Montgomery. They can carry four for now, but only three can dress in any given game, so it will be interesting to see how that plays out.

Some future Knights to keep in mind this season? William Nicholl and Sam O’Reilly, who will likely get some games in with London this year. They will start in the GOJHL, though, playing for the St. Thomas Stars and London Nationals, respectively.