The PDA Newsletter | OHL Cup Recap: The Final Proving Ground
Every U16 season builds toward a week like this…
The OHL Cup doesn’t replace months of projections and scouting notes. It puts them under the hardest pressure the season can offer. By the time the tournament begins, most opinions on the draft class already exist. This is where those opinions get their clearest final stress test. The best teams are in one building, the games carry real consequences, and scouts can finally judge the class under one roof instead of piecing it together rink by rink.
Just as important, nobody drifts into this tournament…
Every team earned their place. League champions. Finalists. Deep playoff survivors from the OMHA, GTHL, HEO, and ALLIANCE. Wildcard teams that refused to let their seasons end. Top American programs that spent the year proving they belonged here too. By the time these teams arrive at OHL Cup, they are carrying the full weight of the season with them. The schedule. The pressure. The expectations. For many of them, this is the tournament they have been building toward for years.
That’s what makes the week feel different from the beginning…
The Toronto Jr. Canadiens came in as one of the class's top Canadian teams. HoneyBaked arrived with one of the strongest season-long résumés anywhere in the age group, adding a real Canada-U.S. undercurrent to the week. Upper Canada College had spent the season forcing their way into serious company. Vaughan entered as reigning GTHL champions. London came in as ALLIANCE champions. Little Caesars had been our top-ranked team all season. Markham, Hill Academy, Quinte, Don Mills, Toronto Marlboros, Credit River, Niagara, and others all came in with something meaningful to confirm, defend, or change.
And by the end of the week, HoneyBaked had left the strongest impression of all.
Let’s see how it all unfolded…
The play-in round set the tone
The tournament got serious fast…
Ajax-Pickering needed triple overtime to get past a strong Mississauga Senators team just to stay alive. The Upper Canada Cyclones earned their spot by winning a tightly-contested, all-HEO battle, over rival Ottawa Valley behind Kellen McKeown’s 34-save shutout. Barrie recovered from allowing a goal 11 seconds in and grinded out an all-OMHA win over the high-octane Central Ontario Wolves. Hill Academy got in behind Tanner Adams, who took over a must-win game against a very talented BioSteel club with a hat trick.
That did more than just finish the bracket. It was an early sign of what the week was going to demand.
There would be no comfort here. No easing into pace or pressure. Goaltending mattered from the start. Special teams mattered from the start. So did the ability to take a bad bounce and keep the game from tilting too far.
The Hill gathered attention almost immediately…
Their play-in win didn’t feel like a footnote. It felt like the opening chapter of one of the tournament’s more compelling team stories. Tanner Adams scored in every game and became one of the defining players of the week, while Brayden Jaravata brought bite, presence, and push from the back end.
Though The Hill didn’t make it to the quarterfinals, they were stronger than their finish suggests. This was a team that pushed back, played with conviction, and refused to fade quietly. Adams embodied that spirit from start to finish. He scored in every game, piled up 24 penalty minutes, and made it clear that neither he nor his team were going down without a fight.
The round robin sorted the field
This is where the tournament started telling the truth…
Some teams looked fully like themselves right away. Others emerged more slowly. A few never quite landed on the version of their game they needed. By the end of the round robin, the separation was visible not only in the standings, but in identity.
The Toronto Jr. Canadiens carried themselves like a team that had been building toward this stage for months.
A 4-0 round robin. Back-to-back shutouts. More than 98 minutes without allowing a goal. In a setting like this, those numbers spoke volumes about the level of play JRC demanded of themselves.
Brayden Grima and Kash Kwajah finished with 13 points each, tied for second in the tournament. Kwajah led the event with 10 assists. Marko Mesich and Zidane Jasey handled the crease with poise. Cooper Ross reflected the team’s balance and stability. And Kade O’Rourke didn’t just look comfortable as an underager, he looked dominant. With exceptional-status buzz following him around the rink, he gave people plenty to talk about.
Upper Canada College also backed up what their season had been building toward.
They beat a highly-talented Vaughan Kings club in overtime, defeated a strong Quinte team 6-1 to win the Nash Division, moved through the round robin unbeaten, and finished the tournament 5-1 overall. Logan Prud’Homme used the week to strengthen his standing as one of the top prospects in the class. Max Fransen did the same from the back end. Cole Guizzetti was productive and noticeable, and underager Bohdan Gorenstein looked like a name to watch closely next season. By week’s end, UCC looked less like a team rising and more like one that had already arrived.
HoneyBaked came into Toronto with a different kind of burden.
Their résumé was already secure. They had won big all season, handled pressure, and shown they could perform on major stages. The only question left was whether they could carry that all the way to the finish line.
They answered it…
What made their run stand out wasn’t simply that they won, but how complete they looked doing it. HoneyBaked showed they could control games, respond to adversity, and find different answers depending on what the moment demanded. Their comeback overtime win over The Hill Academy was the clearest example. Down 3-1, they never had a doubt. They pushed momentum back in their favour and found the winner in overtime through heroics from captain Max Lappan.
Austin Hall was the central figure all week, leading the tournament with 14 points in 7 games. Lappan brought leadership and timely offence from the back end with 10 points, while Easton Dozark gave them another key piece on the blue line. Liam Voit’s arrival added another layer to the attack, and his 6 points proved meaningful. Cash McElmurry, Blake Stephens, and Derek Moon each chipped in with timely offence that helped keep the run moving.
That HoneyBaked accomplished all of this without Dylan Delgado and Henry Buttweiler made it even more impressive. Behind it all, Carter Nash stood tall in goal and gave them the kind of stability championship teams need.
Elsewhere, several teams added important layers to the tournament story…
Little Caesars were one of the tournament’s heavyweights, and their story should be told that way.
They had held the top spot in our rankings all season, brought one of the most talent-rich rosters in the event, and were still without key injured pieces. Even with that, they won the Lindros Division and looked like exactly what they had been billed as all year: one of the week’s high-end contenders. Aiden Kelly, Ben Slavick, Sam Nowlan, Colin Kennedy, and Jack Hair led the charge.
London’s semifinal finish only tells part of their story too.
London came in as ALLIANCE champions and proved why. They led their division in scoring and finished with 36 goals, the highest mark among the tournament’s top teams. Drew Bate posted 13 points, tied for second overall, while Ryan Beaulieu added 11 from the backend. With 10 players recording at least five points, London’s depth was one of their defining strengths.
TPH deserves recognition as well.
This wasn’t a team built over the course of a season, but a collection of high-end American talent assembled specifically for the event. Groups like this do not get months to build chemistry, which makes a quarterfinal appearance all the more impressive. Just like last year’s TPH group, they found a way to make noise. Quinn Kaiser, Christopher Pinko, Caiven Walos, Nathan Pavelski, and defenseman Jake Hall were among their standout performers.
Quinte handled the big stage well with a statement win against Vaughan.
The Toronto Marlboros were better than their finish suggests, narrowly missing out despite going 3-1-0 in a tough Shanahan Division.
Niagara also left behind a stronger impression than their placement alone will show.
Vaughan is the hardest team to summarize cleanly.
They came in as reigning GTHL champions and one of the province’s marquee teams. Their talent is undeniable. Top prospect Kane Cloutier still had a highly productive tournament, and the blue line brought quality too, with contributions from Adrian Sgro, Sebasatien Fortin and Nixon McCaig.
But what the OHL Cup made clear was the same question that had followed them into spring, despite their GTHL title: how fully would that talent translate on the biggest stage of the year? By the end of the week, that question unfortunately hadn’t disappeared from their narrative.
The elimination games left no room to hide
By the quarterfinals, the conversation changes…
The focus shifts away from potential and onto what actually works when the pace rises, the pressure builds, and the margin for error gets smaller.
JRC handled TPH the way strong teams often handle threats. They gave up the first goal, stayed composed, and gradually bent the game back in their direction until it belonged to them. JRC won 4-1.
UCC beat Don Mills 4-2 in a game that felt true to their entire week: structured, controlled, and mature. Gorenstein’s late shorthanded goal gave UCC their decisive finish.
HoneyBaked’s 8-3 win over Markham felt less like a shootout than a gradual takeover. The scoring came by committee, with contributions from all throughout the lineup.
Then came London and Little Caesars, and with them one of the tournament’s defining games. London’s 8-6 quarterfinal win was pure chaos in its most entertaining form. The game kept opening up, Little Caesars kept pushing, and London kept answering. Drew Bate had 4 points. Ryan Beaulieu kept driving play from the back end. Aiden Kelly poured in 5 points for Little Caesars, but it wasn’t enough.
The semifinals made one thing clear: the championship game had the right two teams in it.
The JRC-UCC semifinal was tight from start to finish. Khov Long scored first for JRC, Cammie List answered for UCC, Brayden Grima restored the lead, and George Majic tied it on the power play in the second. From there, the game stayed level until Kade O’Rourke broke the deadlock with a highlight-reel short-angle snipe that found the top of the net.
HoneyBaked’s semifinal against London had a different pulse. More pace. More pressure. More open-ice danger. They won 5-3, with Liam Voit scoring twice and Austin Hall getting the game-winner. Again, they showed the same thing they had shown all week: they could play forcefully without losing their shape.
That’s what made the final feel deserved…
The Jr. Canadiens earned their place through structure, defensive command, and their ability to stay in control when games tightened. HoneyBaked arrived through pace, pressure, and a style that kept pushing the game forward. Different paths. Different identities. Both earned in full. Add in the Canada vs. USA backdrop, and the final had the kind of gravity that the week had been building toward all along.
In the end, HoneyBaked turned months of momentum into the finish they were chasing. A 3-1 win over the Toronto Jr. Canadiens. A perfect 7-0 tournament. Two more goals from Hall, who left as MVP. 23 saves from Carter Nash. And one more line in tournament history: HoneyBaked became the first American-based team to win the OHL Cup.
That win carried more than just a banner with it. HoneyBaked had spent the season building one of the strongest résumés in the age group. OHL Cup gave them the one thing even a great season still has to earn at the end: final proof under the brightest lights.
JRC still leaves with plenty to feel good about. They reached the final and spent the week looking like one of the strongest teams in the class, just as they had all season. They might not have left with the title, but they left with their standing fully intact, and their impact on the season was undeniable.
What the week settled
This was the finale of the season…
OHL Cup was the last major test before June, the final stage where the 2010 class could still be analyzed in full view. It did not define everything about the class. But it clarified what mattered most.
And when it ended, HoneyBaked held the strongest final claim.
It also closed the book on a long, eventful, and memorable season. From the Titans Early Bird, Wendy Dufton, Silver Stick, Oakille Winter Classic, Steve Richey, the Regional Rundowns, league playoffs, and finally the OHL Cup, this class kept evolving. Teams surged, others slipped, and new players kept forcing their way into the story. That was the beauty of this season. The picture never stayed still for long. And now, with the final major event behind us, attention turns to what comes next.
Our final rankings and 2010 Class Draft Guide are coming soon. Stay tuned.
Standings Snapshot
Lindros Division
xy Little Caesars — GP: 5 | W: 4 | L: 1 | PTS: 8 | PCT: .800
x Majors — GP: 5 | W: 3 | L: 2 | PTS: 6 | PCT: .600
Capitals — GP: 4 | W: 2 | L: 2 | PTS: 4 | PCT: .500
Jr. 67s — GP: 4 | W: 1 | L: 3 | PTS: 2 | PCT: .250
Cyclones — GP: 4 | W: 0 | L: 4 | PTS: 0 | PCT: .000
McDavid Division
xy Jr. Knights — GP: 6 | W: 4 | L: 2 | PTS: 8 | PCT: .667
x TPH Academy — GP: 5 | W: 3 | L: 2 | PTS: 6 | PCT: .600
x Flyers — GP: 5 | W: 3 | L: 2 | PTS: 6 | PCT: .600
Colts — GP: 4 | W: 1 | L: 3 | PTS: 2 | PCT: .250
Thunder Bay Kings — GP: 4 | W: 0 | L: 4 | PTS: 0 | PCT: .000
Nash Division
Blues — GP: 6 | W: 5 | L: 1 | PTS: 10 | PCT: .833
Red Devils — GP: 4 | W: 2 | L: 2 | PTS: 4 | PCT: .500
Vaughan Kings — GP: 4 | W: 2 | L: 1 | PTS: 4 | PCT: .500
NOHA — GP: 4 | W: 1 | L: 3 | PTS: 2 | PCT: .250
99ers — GP: 4 | W: 1 | L: 2 | PTS: 2 | PCT: .250
Subban Division
xy Jr. Canadiens — GP: 7 | W: 6 | L: 1 | PTS: 12 | PCT: .857
Stars — GP: 4 | W: 2 | L: 1 | PTS: 5 | PCT: .625
Wild — GP: 4 | W: 2 | L: 2 | PTS: 4 | PCT: .500
Raiders — GP: 4 | W: 1 | L: 3 | PTS: 2 | PCT: .250
Panthers — GP: 4 | W: 0 | L: 3 | PTS: 1 | PCT: .125
Shanahan Division
xy Honeybaked — GP: 7 | W: 7 | L: 0 | PTS: 14 | PCT: 1.000
Marlboros — GP: 4 | W: 3 | L: 1 | PTS: 6 | PCT: .750
Hill Academy — GP: 4 | W: 1 | L: 0 | PTS: 3 | PCT: .375
Express — GP: 4 | W: 1 | L: 2 | PTS: 3 | PCT: .375
Lakers — GP: 4 | W: 0 | L: 4 | PTS: 0 | PCT: .000
Top 10 Scorers
Hall, Austin (HB) — GP: 7 | G: 7 | A: 7 | PTS: 14
Bate, Drew (LDN) — GP: 6 | G: 7 | A: 6 | PTS: 13
Grima, Brayden (JRC) — GP: 7 | G: 5 | A: 8 | PTS: 13
Kwajah, Kash (JRC) — GP: 7 | G: 3 | A: 10 | PTS: 13
Kelly, Aiden (DLC) — GP: 5 | G: 5 | A: 7 | PTS: 12
Cloutier, Kane (VK) — GP: 4 | G: 6 | A: 5 | PTS: 11
Beaulieu, Ryan (LDN) — GP: 6 | G: 5 | A: 6 | PTS: 11
Littlejohn, Graham (LDN) — GP: 6 | G: 3 | A: 8 | PTS: 11
O'Rourke, Kade (JRC) — GP: 7 | G: 4 | A: 6 | PTS: 10
Slavick, Benjamin (DLC) — GP: 5 | G: 3 | A: 7 | PTS: 10
Goalie Wins Leaders
Nash, Carter (HB) — W: 5
Grixti, Joseph (UCC) — W: 4
Jasey, Zidane (JRC) — W: 3
Mesich, Marko (JRC) — W: 3
Hardy, Nolan (MAR) — W: 2
Ferriss, Nathan (QUI) — W: 2
Gonzalez, Valentino (LDN) — W: 2
Sack, Dylan (MAJ) — W: 2
Jardine, Nolan (HB) — W: 2
Loftus, Owen (DMF) — W: 2
Talon Mills
