Sports stats



OHL Brampton Steelheads

Game Preview

December 10, 2015 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Brampton Steelheads News Release


The Steelheads are coming into the week victorious in four of their last five games and sit tied atop the Central Division with the Barrie Colts with 34 points. The Steelheads and Colts played last Sunday at the Hershey Centre where the Trout came out on top by a score of 6-3. Nathan Bastian, Alexander Nylander and Michael McLeod combined for 10 points (5 goals and 5 assists) while Jack Flinn stopped 25 of 28 shots for his 16th win of the season. With two goals and an assist on the night, Alexander Nylander is now 4th in the league in goals with 21 and 6th in the league in points with 47. Nylander is also first in rookie scoring as he sits a comfortable 22 points up on Boris Katchouk of the Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds, who has 25 points so far. Nylander was recently invited to Sweden's National Junior Team selection camp for the upcoming 2016 World Junior Championship. Along with Nylander, Michael McLeod has been on a tear of late seeing him move into 10th overall in league scoring with 39 points (14 goals and 25 assists). After his 11-game point streak was snapped Friday night against Niagara, McLeod was able to get back on track after recording 4 points (2 goals and 2 assists) Sunday afternoon against the Colts.

Thursday at Windsor

The Steelheads will play their first of three straight road games when they take on the Windsor Spitfires Thursday night for their one and only visit to the WFCU Centre. The two teams met back on November 13th where the Spitfires shot down Mississauga 7-4. Windsor enters Thursday's game struggling as the team has dropped their last four games, with their last win coming on November 27th against the Saginaw Spirit. The Spitfires are currently leading the West Division by two points over the Sarnia Sting and their 36 points are good for 5th in the OHL. This is an impressive feat considering the prior year, Windsor had the second worst record in the league, compiling a mere 52 points.

One of the main reasons for the quick turnaround has to do in part with the play of Christian Fischer. The Wayne, Illinois native leads the team in points with 31 and his 16 goals places him tied for 11th in the league in that category. Logan Brown has also been a key contributor for Windsor as the sophomore has posted five goals and 21 assists in 21 games for the Spitfires this season. Brown was ranked an "A" level prospect by NHL Central Scouting, meaning that he is a potential first rounder in the upcoming NHL Draft.

Windsor's successful start can also be attributed to the play of their rookies, as Gabe Vilardi, Cole Carter and Mikhail Sergachev have been spectacular in their first year in the OHL. Vilardi, who was the 2nd overall pick in the 2015 OHL Priority Selection has recorded 8 goals and 5 assists while Carter is tied for 9th in rookie scoring with 18 points (3 goals and 15 assists) with a plus/minus of +4. Mikhail Sergachev has arguably been Windsor's best defenceman as the speedy Russian ranks fourth in OHL defensive rookie scoring with 18 points and his 9 goals leads all defencemen in that category. Along with Brown, Sergachev was also ranked as an "A" level prospect as many scouts believe he will be a top 10 pick the 2016 NHL Draft.

Friday at Flint

Following Thursday night's tilt with the Spitfires, the Steelheads will cross the border into Michigan where they will face off against the Flint Firebirds in a Friday night showdown. The Steelheads and Firebirds met at the Hershey Centre back on October 4th for the first ever meeting between the two organizations. The Trout look to exact some revenge after Zach Grzelewski slipped one past Jack Flinn with 45 seconds left in the game to give Flint a 2-1 victory.

The Firebirds come into Friday's game riding a mini two-game losing streak after falling to Saginaw and Sarnia respectively. The Firebirds are currently 13-12-1-2 with 29 points and sit third in the West Division. Leading the way for Flint this year has been centre, Will Bitten. Bitten leads the team in points with 37, which includes a team leading 15 goals, matching his total from all of last season, doing so in 35 fewer games. Bitten was listed as a "B" level prospect by NHL Central Scouting as the former Ottawa Jr 67 is projected to go in the second round of 2016 NHL Draft. Ryan Moore has also been a major player for the Firebirds this year as the Troy, Michigan native has recorded 11 goals and 12 assists on the season and ranks 2nd on the team in points.

The Steelheads are also likely to see a familiar foe between the pipes for Flint Friday night as they will see Brent Moran for the third time in 8 days as he will make his Firebirds' debut after being traded Sunday from Niagara to Flint for goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic and defenceman Josh Wesley. Moran's last start against the Steelheads was an excellent one as he stopped 27 of 28 shots in a 4-1 Ice Dogs win last Friday night at the Hershey Centre. Moran, who was a 4th round pick of the Dallas Stars in the 2014 NHL Draft, posted a 9-7-1-1 record with a GAA of 3.02 and a .890 save percentage in 18 games for the Ice Dogs this year.

Check out the Brampton Steelheads Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from December 10, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central