With the NHL entry draft still five months away there’s going to be lots of talk about game breakers and their goal scoring abilities. We here at Open Ice Hockey wanted to give you a look at the most clutch goal scorers in the CHL, starting with the OHL.

For simplicity reasons clutch scoring will be defined by a goal that is scored in the final ten minutes of a game that lead to overtime or winning the game in regulation or overtime. Goals were not counted if the team did not reach at least reach OT.

The Ontario Hockey League averages six clutch goal scorers per team. The Owen Sound Attack lead the way with nine. On the other end of the scale is the Brampton Battalion with only one player who has registered a clutch goal to date.

To make it more interesting we included every player, not just draft eligible players.

The results may surprise you.

The most clutch goal scorer in the entire OHL is Alex Friesen of the Niagara IceDogs. The 19-year-old center is in his third season with the IceDogs and currently sits 58^th among OHL points leaders with 16 goals and 43 points. The 5’10” 189lbs, native of Niagara-on-the-Lake went undrafted in his first year of NHL availability.  Teams may have to consider a late round flyer on this kid when they see a full 25 percent of Friesen’s goals are considered clutch.

Next on this list should be of no surprise to Kitchener Rangers’ fans.  Former Toronto Young Nationals forward Jeff Skinner has 37 goals so far this season, tied with Tyler Seguin for tops in the OHL. The second year center is ranked No. 47 for North American skaters for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft he is the top ranked OHL player on this list.

Plymouth Whalers’ fans will be happy to see the next name. No, it’s not Tyler Seguin. Phil McRae, the Whalers prized trade deadline acquisition is tied with Alex Friesen with 43 points so far this season.  The second-round pick of the St. Louis Blues has already shown his clutch scoring ability with an OT winner for the Whalers. The soon to be 20-year-old has never reached 30 goals in a season. He has 15 this year.

Pat Daley is in his fifth season in the OHL and fourth with the Peterborough Petes. Daley, who turns 21 in April, is having a career year with 21 goals and 52 points good enough for 29^th in the OHL. The undrafted winger’s clutch scoring is the reason why the Petes are looking at home ice advantage in the playoffs.

A slew of other players are tied for fifth on this list including Storm center Matt Sisca, Frontenacs center and New York Rangers second-round pick Ethan Werek, draft eligible winger Christian Thomas of the Generals and second leading rookie scorer, 16-year-old Boone Jenner also of the Oshawa Generals.

As for the “big guns” of the OHL, Tyler Seguin sits tied for 25^th on this list. Taylor Hall, Nazem Kadri, Chris MacKinnon, Zack Torquato, Adam Henrique, and Greg Nemisz are the only players in the top-25 of league scoring without a single clutch goal to their name.  116 OHL players registered at least one clutch goal so far this season.

The 2010 OHL Showcase for the OHL Cup will be played at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, from March 17, 2010 through March 21, 2010.  The tournament will include 20 participating teams from across Ontario and the United States.  The champions and finalists from minor hockey associations in Ontario, including the GTHL, OMHA, ODMHA, ALLIANCE, and an NOHA representative will participate in the tournament with additional teams identified by the Tournament Selection Committee.

Minor Midget Rankings for the 2010 OHL Cup Showcase Tournament – Week 3

Last March, the Toronto Marlboros defeated the Elgin Middlesex Chiefs 5-1 in the championship game to capture the OHL Cup.  The title was their first since 2005 with a team that included current New York Islanders rookie John Tavares and Edmonton Oilers forward Sam Gagner.  The Marlboros also led the way with a total of 13 players taken in the 2009 OHL Priority Selection.

First overall pick Daniel Catenacci of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds competed in the 2009 Showcase as captain of the York Simcoe Express, while his current Greyhounds rookie teammate Nick Cousins led the tournament in scoring with 13 points in six games as a member of the Quinte Red Devils.  First round selections Boone Jenner (Oshawa Generals) of the Chiefs and Ryan Strome (Barrie Colts) of the Marlboros finished tied for second in tournament scoring with 11 points in seven games.  Second and third overall picks Alan Quine (Kingston Frontenacs) and Ryan Murphy (Kitchener Rangers) also competed at the event last season with the Toronto Jr. Canadiens and York Simcoe Express respectively.

Several current OHL stars are graduates of the OHL Cup including Taylor Hall and Ryan Ellis of the Windsor Spitfires, Tyler Seguin of the Plymouth Whalers, Ethan Werek of the Kingston Frontenacs, and John McFarland of the Sudbury Wolves.