CALGARY, Alta. – While the Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons, was originally slated to have begun today in Portage la Prairie, Man., we’ll have to wait to see who will be the next title holder within the confines of the Canadian Junior Hockey League.
One member of the CJHL that continues to make strides is the Central Canada Hockey League.
Based in the Ottawa region of eastern Ontario, the 12-team CCHL featured Carleton Place Canadians netminder Devon Levi, who earned a plethora of national honours for his on-ice excellence in 2019-20.
Levi earned himself CJHL Most Valuable Player, Top Goaltender and Top Rookie award laurels and was also recognized by Hockey Canada by being named CJHL Player of the Year in backstopping Carleton Place to their seventh straight CCHL regular season crown.
Here’s a further guide at some of the overall performances compiled in the CCHL during the campaign in the weekly league-by-league look across the CJHL.
The CCHL
Commissioner: Kevin Abrams
Website: thecchl.ca
Twitter: @theCCHL
REGULAR SEASON: Carleton Place once again proved to be the top side in league play as they topped the CCHL table, following regular season action, with 104 points in 62 games with a league-best record of 49-7-4-2.
In the past seven years, in which the Canadians collected a first place finish in each of them under head coach and general manager Jason Clarke, his club has gone 342-67-13-12 in that span.
The last time another CCHL team ended up in top spot was back in 2012-13 when the Ottawa Jr. A Senators did the trick, finishing three points ahead of second place Carleton Place.
TOP SCORERS: It was a tight race to see who came out on top in CCHL offensive production, but in the end, Luke Grainger of the Hawkesbury Hawks won the league’s scoring title.
The Western Michigan University (NCHC) NCAA D-I commit put up 82 points on 34 tallies and 48 helpers in 56 outings.
That was one more than Ryland Mosley of Carleton, who had 81 points, including a league-high 58 assists for the 20-year-old forward who will be playing NCAA hockey at Alabama-Huntsville (WCHA).
Third in CCHL scoring was Ryan Richardson as he picked up 76 points on the year.
The Smiths Falls Bears standout led the CCHL in goals with 35 and will attend Clarkson University on NCAA scholarship.
On defence, Brett Thorne of Carleton Place had a huge year offensively for the Canadians, while leading all CCHL rearguards in scoring with 74 points.
That included a league-high 27 markers for the Michigan Tech (WCHA) commit giving him the most goals by a CCHL defender since Brett Bisdee buried 30 for Kanata back in 2011-12.
TOP TENDERS: Levi, who is off to Northeastern University in Boston, Mass., on NCAA scholarship, was the man between the pipes leading all CCHL goalkeepers in wins (34), goals-against average (1.47), save percentage (.941) and shutouts (8).
His overall record in the CCHL during the course of the regular season was 34-2-1 in 37 appearances.
Bryan Landsberger of the Ottawa Jr. A Senators was second in the league in average at 2.36 while Jake Begley from the Brockville Braves was third at 2.53.
Reece Proulx, from Pembroke, was second in save percentage at .920 while Landsberger and Begley were close behind at .917. Proulx was also second in victories with 26.
CCHL COLLECTIONS: The CCHL currently has 39 of its players committed to NCAA programs in upcoming seasons and five who will be playing U SPORTS. … To no one’s surprise, CPC led the CCHL in goals scored this season at 263 and allowed the fewest against at 139, which was 34 fewer than their closest rival in that category. … The Canadians also led the way in power play proficiency at 26.4% while the Hawkesbury Hawks paced the pack on the penalty kill at 86%. … A total of eight players represented the CCHL at the 2020 CJHL Prospects Game in Hamilton, Ont. … They were Devon Levi, (G) Carleton Place; Reece Proulx, (G) Pembroke; Tucker McIntosh, (D) Ottawa; Ben Brunette, (D) Carleton Place; Chase Lammi, (F) Kemptville; Cameron Last, (F) Rockland; Cole Craft (F) Rockland and Hunter Brazier, (F) Kemptville. … Brockville Braves head coach Randy Jones also served as an assistant on the Team East staff at the Prospects Game. … Devon Levi was rated eighth among North American goaltenders by NHL Central Scouting in its final 2020 Draft rankings released back in April. … Meanwhile, Ottawa Jr. A Senators blueliner Tucker McIntosh was tabbed 174th among skaters. … Jackson Arcan from the Navan Grads boasted a league-best 14-game point streak on the year. … Under first-year head coach Randy Jones, the Brockville Braves ran off a 15-game winning streak from mid-October through all of November. … 2019-20 CCHL Award Winners: MVP: Devon Levi, Carleton Place Canadians; Top Forward: Luke Grainger, Hawkesbury Hawks; Top Defenceman: Brett Thorne, Carleton Place Canadians; Top Goaltender: Devon Levi, Carleton Place Canadians; Rookie of the Year: Devon Levi, Carleton Place Canadians; Coach of the Year: Jason Clarke, Carleton Place Canadians; Regular Season champion: Carleton Place Canadians.
With files, in part, from Sean Marcellus, Director of Hockey Operations (CCHL)