The defending QMJHL and MasterCard Memorial Cup Champions the Saint John Sea Dogs open the season in top spot after spending an incredible 23 weeks in the rankings in each of the past two seasons. The Sea Dogs led the CHL with three players selected in the first round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft including Jonathan Huberdeau selected third overall by the Florida Panthers, Nathan Beaulieu selected 17th overall by the Montreal Canadiens, and Zack Phillips selected 28th overall by the Minnesota Wild.

The Niagara IceDogs enter the 2011-12 campaign as the top-ranked OHL team at number two in the CHL and feature two top-10 picks from the 2011 NHL Entry Draft including Ryan Strome selected fifth overall by the New York Islanders, and Dougie Hamilton selected ninth overall by the Boston Bruins.

In the WHL, the Portland Winterhawks are the top ranked team at number three and have had 12 players selected in the last two NHL Entry Drafts including Sven Baertschi selected 13th overall by the Calgary Flames in 2011, and Joe Morrow who was also selected this year 23rd overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The 2011-12 CHL season opens with the top-ranked Sea Dogs hosting the Moncton Wildcats Thursday night at Harbour Station. The OHL and WHL schedules begin on Wednesday September 21, 2011, and Thursday September 22, 2011, respectively.

Week two of the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings will be issued on Wednesday September 28, 2011.

BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings – Week 1

1. Saint John Sea Dogs

2. Niagara IceDogs

3. Portland Winterhawks

4. Shawinigan Cataractes

5. Plymouth Whalers

6. Quebec Remparts

7. Kelowna Rockets

8. Sarnia Sting

9. Red Deer Rebels

10. Victoriaville Tigres

Honourable Mention:

Oshawa Generals

Moose Jaw Warriors

London Knights

The QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts and Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors continue to dominate the CHL rankings this week after once again going undeafted. After getting back into the top 10 last week the Acadie-Bathurst Titan and Kitchener Rangers are once again on the outside looking in. The Owen Sound Attack make the biggest jump this week from ninth all the way to fourth.

The Acadie-Bathurst Titan are joined by the Portland Winterhawks and Niagara IceDogs as honourable mentions this week. Keep an eye out for the Swift Current Broncos next week as they went 5-0 last week.

Rank		Team (Record)	Last Week Rank	Number of Weeks Ranked
1		Quebec Remparts (11-0-0-1)	1	4
2		Mississauga Majors (7-1-0-0)	2	5
3		Saskatoon Blades (8-2-0-0)	4	5
4		Owen Sound Attack (8-1-0-0)	9	3
5		Drummondville Voltigeurs (10-3-1-1)	5	4
6		Saginaw Spirit (8-2-1-0)	3	3
7		Red Deer Rebels (8-3-0-0)	7	4
8		Moncton Wildcats (10-3-0-2)	-	1
9		Tri-City Americans (8-3-1-0)	6	5
10		Saint John Sea Dogs (10-2-0-1)	-	3
		Honourable Mention:
		Portland Winterhawks (8-2-0-1)	-	1
		Niagara IceDogs (7-2-1-0)	-	0
		Acadie-Bathurst Titan (10-5-0-0)	8	2

The QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts’ two wins were good enough to keep them in top spot this week. The MasterCard Memorial Cup host, Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors also went 2-0 last week good enough to climb into second spot. The Red Deer Rebels, Acadie-Bathurst Titan and Kitchener Rangers all make it back into the Top-10 this week after getting knocked out last week.

The Moncton Wildcats are joined by the Everett Silvertips and Oshawa Generals as honourable mentions this week. The Montreal Juniors were the only team to get completely knocked out of the rankings.

Rank		Team (Record)	Last Week Rank	Number of Weeks Ranked
1		Quebec Remparts (9-0-0-1)	1	3
2		Mississauga Majors (5-1-0-0)	5	4
3		Saginaw Spirit (7-1-0-0)	7	2
4		Saskatoon Blades (6-1-0-0)	8	4
5		Drummondville Voltigeurs (9-2-1-0)	4	3
6		Tri-City Americans (7-2-1-0)	6	4
7		Red Deer Rebels (7-2-0-0)	-	3
8		Acadie-Bathurst Titan (9-3-0-0)	-	2
9		Owen Sound Attack (5-1-0-0)	10	2
10		Kitchener Rangers (6-1-0-0)	-	3
		Honourable Mention:
		Moncton Wildcats (8-3-0-2)	-	0
		Everett Silvertips (4-1-0-1)	3	1
		Oshawa Generals (4-1-0-1)	2	1

The QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts swap spots with the Drummondville Voltigeurs for top spot this week. The Oshawa Generals, Everett Silvertips, Saginaw Spirit, Montreal Juniors and Owen Sound Attack are all making their first appearance in the Top-10.

It was the London Knights, Saint John Sea Dogs, Red Deer Rebels, and Acadie-Bathurst Titan who were completely knocked out of the rankings while the Kitchener Rangers managed to stay on as a honourable mention..

Rank		Team (Record)	Last Week Rank	Number of Weeks Ranked
1		Quebec Remparts (7-0-0-1)	4	2
2		Oshawa Generals (4-0-0-0)	-	1
3		Everett Silvertips (4-0-0-0)	-	1
4		Drummondville Voltigeurs (8-1-1-0)	1	2
5		Mississauga Majors (3-1-0-0)	2	3
6		Tri-City Americans (4-1-1-0)	3	3
7		Saginaw Spirit (4-1-0-0)	-	1
8		Saskatoon Blades (4-1-0-0)	7	3
9		Montreal Juniors (5-1-2-0)	-	2
10		Owen Sound Attack (3-1-0-0)	-	1
		Honourable Mention:
		Moncton Wildcats (6-2-0-2)	-	0
		Brandon Wheat Kings (4-2-0-0)	-	0
		Kitchener Rangers (3-1-0-0)	5	2

The OHL’s Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors, hosts of the 2011 MasterCard Memorial Cup, open the season in top spot.  They are followed by the Saint John Sea Dogs who spent 23 weeks in the rankings last season before falling to the Moncton Wildcats in the QMJHL finals.  In third spot are the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks who had eight players selected in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

The 2010-11 CHL season opens with QMJHL action tonight between the defending champion Moncton Wildcats and the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.  The OHL and WHL schedules begin on Thursday September 23, 2010, and Friday September 24, 2010, respectively.

Rank		Team (Record)	Last Week Rank	Number of Weeks Ranked
1		Mississauga Majors (0-0-0-0)	-	-
2		Saint John Sea Dogs (0-0-0-0)	-	-
3		Portland Winterhawks (0-0-0-0)	-	-
4		Kitchener Rangers (0-0-0-0)	-	-
5		London Knights (0-0-0-0)	-	-
6		Tri-City Americans (0-0-0-0)	-	-
7		Montreal Juniors (0-0-0-0)	-	-
8		Saskatoon Blades (0-0-0-0)	-	-
9		Rimouski Oceanic (0-0-0-0)	-	-
10		Red Deer Rebels (0-0-0-0)	-	-
		Honourable Mention:
		Ottawa 67’s (0-0-0-0)	-	-
		Quebec Remparts (0-0-0-0)	-	-
		Chilliwack Bruins (0-0-0-0)	-	-

Mediocre weeks from the top three teams allows the rest of the pack to catch up. After a few weeks down in the rankings the Voltigeurs are once again in the top four. The Hitmen also has a good week climbing into the five spot. The Tri-City Americans went 0-3 last week and are luck to stay in the tenth position.  The Majors, Silvertips and Tigres are once again the honourable mentions this week.

BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings – Week 25

Rank		Team (Record)	Last Week Rank	Number of Weeks Ranked
1		Barrie Colts (54-9-0-2)	1	21
2		Saint John Sea Dogs (52-11-1-1)	2	22
3		Windsor Spitfires (49-11-0-5)	3	25
4		Drummondville Voltigeurs (48-15-0-2)	5	23
5		Calgary Hitmen (49-17-1-2)	7	19
6		Moncton Wildcats (46-13-2-4)	4	8
7		Brandon Wheat Kings (47-18-1-3)	8	16
8		London Knights (47-15-1-2)	9	14
9		Saskatoon Blades (45-17-3-4)	6	21
10		Tri-City Americans (45-21-1-2)	10	20
		Honourable Mention:
		Victoriaville Tigres (44-19-1-2)	-	11
		Mississauga Majors (40-19-4-2)	-	18
		Everett Silvertips (44-20-3-2)	-	0

The Barrie Colts go 4-0 last week to stay atop the rankings. The Sea Dogs, Spitfires and Wildcats all had winning weeks and stay ranked the same this week. The Voltigeurs and Hitmen make the big moves of the week both climbing three spots to fifth and seventh respectively. The Majors, Silvertips and Tigres are the honourable mentions this week.

BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings – Week 24

Rank		Team (Record)	Last Week Rank	Number of Weeks Ranked
1		Barrie Colts (52-8-0-2)	1	20
2		Saint John Sea Dogs (51-10-1-0)	2	21
3		Windsor Spitfires (47-11-0-5)	3	24
4		Moncton Wildcats (44-13-1-4)	4	7
5		Drummondville Voltigeurs (46-15-0-2)	8	22
6		Saskatoon Blades (43-15-3-4)	5	20
7		Calgary Hitmen (46-17-1-2)	10	18
8		Brandon Wheat Kings (44-18-1-3)	7	15
9		London Knights (44-15-1-2)	6	13
10		Tri-City Americans (45-18-1-2)	9	19
		Honourable Mention:
		Victoriaville Tigres (40-19-1-1)	-	11
		Mississauga Majors (37-16-4-2)	-	18
		Everett Silvertips (42-19-3-2)	-	0

After being right near the top all season the long the Barrie Colts have finally climbed into the top spot this week. The Sea Dogs slide down to second and the Spitfires remain in third. The biggest move of the week comes from the Tri-City Americans who fall four spots to ninth this week. The Moncton Wildcats were also on the move, all the way into fourth from seventh. The Majors, Ice and Tigres are the honourable mentions this week.

BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings – Week 23

Rank		Team (Record)	Last Week Rank	Number of Weeks Ranked
1		Barrie Colts (48-8-0-2)	2	19
2		Saint John Sea Dogs (48-10-1-0)	1	20
3		Windsor Spitfires (45-10-0-5)	3	23
4		Moncton Wildcats (41-13-1-4)	7	6
5		Saskatoon Blades (41-14-3-4)	4	19
6		London Knights (43-14-0-2)	8	12
7		Brandon Wheat Kings (42-18-1-3)	6	14
8		Drummondville Voltigeurs (42-15-0-2)	9	21
9		Tri-City Americans (42-17-1-2)	5	18
10		Calgary Hitmen (43-17-1-1)	-	17
		Honourable Mention:
		Victoriaville Tigres (40-19-1-1)	-	11
		Mississauga Majors (37-16-4-2)	10	18
		Kootenay Ice (39-20-3-2)	-	0

The top-10 remain the same with six teams trading places. Saskatoon and Tri-City swap fourth and fifth; Brandon and Moncton flip sixth and seventh and Drummondville and Mississauga exchange the ninth and tenth spots. The Hitmen, Tigres and Rangers are the honourable mentions this week.

BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings – Week 22

Rank		Team (Record)	Last Week Rank	Number of Weeks Ranked
1		Saint John Sea Dogs (46-9-1-0)	1	19
2		Barrie Colts (45-8-0-2)	2	18
3		Windsor Spitfires (44-9-0-5)	3	22
4		Saskatoon Blades (39-13-3-3)	5	18
5		Tri-City Americans (41-15-1-2)	4	17
6		Brandon Wheat Kings (41-16-1-3)	7	13
7		Moncton Wildcats (38-13-1-4)	6	5
8		London Knights (41-14-0-2)	8	11
9		Drummondville Voltigeurs (39-15-0-2)	10	20
10		Mississauga Majors (37-13-4-2)	9	18
		Honourable Mention:
		Calgary Hitmen (40-17-1-1)	-	16
		Victoriaville Tigres (39-17-1-1)	-	11
		Kitchener Rangers (36-16-2-2)	-	7

No changes in the top-six this week. The Wheat Kings and Knights swap spots as well as the Majors and Voltigeurs. The Hitmen, Tigres and Whalers are the honourable mentions this week.

BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings – Week 21

Rank		Team (Record)	Last Week Rank	Number of Weeks Ranked
1		Saint John Sea Dogs (44-8-1-0)	1	18
2		Barrie Colts (43-7-0-2)	2	17
3		Windsor Spitfires (42-8-0-5)	3	21
4		Tri-City Americans (39-13-0-2)	4	16
5		Saskatoon Blades (36-12-3-3)	5	17
6		Moncton Wildcats (36-12-1-4)	6	4
7		Brandon Wheat Kings (38-16-1-3)	8	12
8		London Knights (37-14-0-2)	7	10
9		Mississauga Majors (35-13-0-2)	10	17
10		Drummondville Voltigeurs (37-15-0-2)	9	19
		Honourable Mention:
		Calgary Hitmen (37-16-1-1)	-	16
		Victoriaville Tigres (36-17-1-1)	-	11
		Plymouth Whalers (32-20-0-2)	-	0