THE O.H.L. PLAYOFFS BEGIN *SIGH* IN TWO WEEKS

I wish I could really excited about the upcoming playoffs I really do. But I'm not. I suppose I'm not going to get summoned for any playoff hype videos with that sort of approach, but, well, reality sometimes is not what you want it to be.

In reality I should be excited because I am an OHL broadcaster and the team I call games for (the Niagara IceDogs) are in the playoffs for the 2nd consecutive year after an absence of five years. The Dogs slated to be either a 6 or 7 (see what I did there?) seed and will face either the Barrie Colts, the Brantford Bulldogs or the Ottawa 67s. The aforementioned three teams have beaten the IceDogs fairly decisively through and that kind of is the theme when it comes to the OHL Playoffs.

There's not as much intrigue, drama or chance of an upset special due to how the league is set up. On the other hand when it comes to the NHL, the 1st round is often the best, and then when the stakes get higher there is a fever pitch built. Lets check the stats.

OHL 2025 playoffs NHL 2025 playoffs

7 series finished 4-0 0 finished 4-0

4 series finished 4-1 7 finished 4-1

2 series finished 4-2 5 finished 4-2

1 series finished 4-3 3 finished 4-3

OHL 2024 playoffs

7 series finished 4-0 1 finished 4-0

2 series finished 4-1 5 finished 4-1

4 series finished 4-2 5 finished 4-2

2 series finished 4-3 4 finished 4-3

As you parse the numbers the OHL had 14 sweeps over the course of two years while the NHL had one. The OHL had three 4-3 series while the NHL had seven. On the whole the NHL 17/30 series finish either 4-2 or 43 while the OHL 9/30.

Why are the numbers so far apart. Well, the OHL has several teams load up at the trade deadline at the expense of others, but those who trade away their best players still make the playoffs so the chances of an upset are remote. The NHL trade deadline sees the odd elite player, but generally it's bottom pair D or 3rd and 4th line F's traded to fit a specific role. Both leagues playoff format are somewhat stale and could use a rebrand. More on that later.

As it stands right these are the OHL playoff match ups, (subject of course to change)

Eastern Conference

1 Brantford vs 8 Sudbury 45 points separation

2 Barrie vs 7 Kingston 29 points separation

3 Ottawa vs 6 Niagara 26 points separation

4 Peterborough vs 5 North Bay 3 points separation

Western Conference

1 Kitchener v 8 Saginaw (39 point separation)

2 Flint v 7 Owen Sound 32 point separation

3 Windsor v 6 28 points separation

4 Soo vs 5 London one point separation

The 4/5 match-ups promise to intriguing for sure and we could see a minor upset in both conferences. You can go as far and say that London beating the Soo would be a monumental upset given that the Soo acquired key players (G Carter George and D Lukas Fischer) while London sold off key players (D Jared Wooley, F Sam O'Reilly among others). The rest of the series the teams are separated by an average of 33 points. In the NHL's Eastern Conference eight points separate the current eight playoff teams while in the Western Conference separation is 28 thanks to Colorado, Dallas and Minnesota distancing themselves from the rest.

SOLUTIONS:

Ok, so I was told that you cannot really criticize unless you are prepared to offer solutions. The problem is that solutions are limited. Is there a chance to limit or cap trades so that teams do not get too stacked? Sure, but I'm not sure the league would like the idea as trade talk creates attention to the league. However, one worth trying is to keep the playoff teams at 16 but ditch the conference model and go 1-16, 2-15, 3-14 .... Now, I know that you might be just shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic here but you create new match ups and as the seedings get closer you might have a greater chance at an upset. If we did it this year, this is what we would get:

1 Brantford v 16 Sudbury 45 points difference

2. Kitchener v 15 Saginaw 39 points difference

3. Barrie v 14 Owen Sound 35 points difference

4. Ottawa v 13 Guelph 31 points difference

5. Flint v 12 Kingston 26 points difference

6. Windsor vs 11 Niagara 23 points difference

7. Soo vs 10 North Bay 7 points difference

8. London v 9 Peterborough 3 points difference

Maybe the intrigue of the matchups is not there, but you have created six new match ups, and I do think there can be an increase in some of the series being more competitive. Throw in competitive balance between the conferences shifting from year to year and you might get longer series and less sweeps.

It is clear the OHL is invested in change in their league. They trying a live draft again, there is talk of teams being allowed to trade 1st rounders, and expansion is most definitely on the horizon. It might be time to focus a similar lens to invest in change in their current playoff format.

Steve Clark

Steve has called Niagara IceDogs games for 18 years how and somehow has never, ever called a Game 7

www.steveclarkmedia.com

clarkmedia29@gmail.com to find me via email.