2002–03 OHL season

The 2002–03 OHL season was the 23rd season of the Ontario Hockey League. The North Bay Centennials relocated to Saginaw, Michigan, becoming the Saginaw Spirit. Due to the move, several teams changed divisions; the Saginaw Spirit were placed in the west division, the London Knights moved to the midwest division, and the Brampton Battalion moved to the central division. The London Knights moved into the new John Labatt Centre, which replaced the London Ice House. The Tim Adams Memorial Trophy was inaugurated as the MVP of the OHL Cup. Twenty teams each played 68 games. The Mississauga Icedogs qualified for the playoffs for the first time in their existence. The Kitchener Rangers won the J. Ross Robertson Cup, defeating the Ottawa 67's in the final.

Regular season

Final standings

Note: DIV = Division; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PTS = Points; x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = clinched conference title

Eastern conference

Rank	Team	DIV	GP	W	L	T	OTL	PTS	GF	GA
1	z-Ottawa 67's	East	68	44	14	7	3	98	318	210
2	y-Brampton Battalion	Central	68	34	24	6	4	78	239	202
3	x-Peterborough Petes	East	68	32	22	11	3	78	222	215
4	x-Toronto St. Michael's Majors	Central	68	32	24	7	5	76	207	214
5	x-Belleville Bulls	East	68	33	27	6	2	74	195	200
6	x-Oshawa Generals	East	68	34	30	2	2	72	243	225
7	x-Barrie Colts	Central	68	29	26	4	9	71	228	223
8	x-Mississauga IceDogs	Central	68	23	31	11	3	60	212	231
9	Kingston Frontenacs	East	68	25	37	2	4	56	222	287
10	Sudbury Wolves	Central	68	16	46	4	2	38	175	273

Western conference

Rank	Team	DIV	GP	W	L	T	OTL	PTS	GF	GA
1	z-Kitchener Rangers	Midwest	68	46	14	5	3	100	275	188
2	y-Plymouth Whalers	West	68	43	14	9	2	97	259	174
3	x-Sarnia Sting	West	68	41	19	7	1	90	251	193
4	x-Windsor Spitfires	West	68	37	25	5	1	80	259	221
5	x-London Knights	Midwest	68	31	27	7	3	72	220	205
6	x-Guelph Storm	Midwest	68	29	28	9	2	69	217	208
7	x-Owen Sound Attack	Midwest	68	27	30	7	4	65	206	243
8	x-Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds	West	68	26	33	6	3	61	232	284
9	Erie Otters	Midwest	68	24	35	6	3	57	181	248
10	Saginaw Spirit	West	68	11	45	5	7	34	158	275

Scoring leaders

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Corey Locke	Ottawa 67's	66	63	88	151	83
Matt Foy	Ottawa 67's	68	61	71	132	112
Chad LaRose	Plymouth Whalers	67	61	56	117	52
Joey Tenute	Sarnia Sting	68	41	71	112	75
Kyle Wellwood	Windsor Spitfires	57	41	59	100	20
Jamie Johnson	Oshawa Generals	68	24	76	100	34
Eric Staal	Peterborough Petes	66	39	59	98	36
Matt Stajan	Belleville Bulls	57	34	60	94	75
Kris Newbury	Sarnia Sting	64	34	58	92	149
Brandon Nolan	Oshawa Generals	68	36	52	88	57

Playoffs

Conference quarterfinals

Conference semifinals

Conference finals

Finals

E1

Ottawa

4

E8

Mississauga

1

E1

Ottawa

4

E6

Oshawa

2

E3

Peterborough

3

E6

Oshawa

4

E1

Ottawa

4

E4

Toronto

3

E4

Toronto

4

E5

Belleville

3

E4

Toronto

4

E2

Brampton

1

E2

Brampton

4

E7

Barrie

2

E1

Ottawa

1

W1

Kitchener

4

W1

Kitchener

4

W8

S.S. Marie

0

W1

Kitchener

4

W6

Guelph

1

W3

Sarnia

2

W6

Guelph

4

W1

Kitchener

4

W2

Plymouth

3

W4

Windsor

3

W5

London

4

W5

London

3

W2

Plymouth

4

W2

Plymouth

4

W7

Owen Sound

0

Conference quarterfinals

Eastern conference

Ottawa (1) vs. Mississauga (8) Date Away Home March 21 Mississauga 3 4 Ottawa OT March 23 Mississauga 3 8 Ottawa March 24 Ottawa 7 4 Mississauga March 25 Ottawa 4 5 Mississauga OT March 29 Mississauga 3 6 Ottawa Ottawa wins series 4–1	Brampton (2) vs. Barrie (7) Date Away Home March 20 Barrie 2 3 Brampton OT March 22 Brampton 2 4 Barrie March 23 Barrie 4 5 Brampton March 25 Brampton 1 0 Barrie March 27 Barrie 3 1 Brampton March 29 Brampton 2 1 Barrie Brampton wins series 4–2
Peterborough (3) vs. Oshawa (6) Date Away Home March 20 Oshawa 3 2 Peterborough OT March 21 Peterborough 6 5 Oshawa OT March 24 Oshawa 4 5 Peterborough OT March 25 Peterborough 0 3 Oshawa March 27 Oshawa 2 5 Peterborough March 31 Peterborough 1 3 Oshawa April 1 Oshawa 4 3 Peterborough OT Oshawa wins series 4–3	Toronto (4) vs. Belleville (5) Date Away Home March 23 Belleville 4 6 Toronto March 24 Toronto 1 4 Belleville March 27 Belleville 3 6 Toronto March 28 Toronto 2 4 Belleville March 30 Belleville 2 6 Toronto March 31 Toronto 1 6 Belleville April 1 Belleville 1 3 Toronto Toronto wins series 4–3

Western conference

Kitchener (1) vs. Sault Ste. Marie (8) Date Away Home March 21 Sault Ste. Marie 0 3 Kitchener March 22 Sault Ste. Marie 0 4 Kitchener March 25 Kitchener 2 1 Sault Ste. Marie March 26 Kitchener 4 2 Sault Ste. Marie Kitchener wins series 4–0	Plymouth (2) vs. Owen Sound (7) Date Away Home March 22 Owen Sound 3 6 Plymouth March 23 Plymouth 6 3 Owen Sound March 25 Owen Sound 4 6 Plymouth March 27 Plymouth 5 2 Owen Sound Plymouth wins series 4–0
Sarnia (3) vs. Guelph (6) Date Away Home March 21 Guelph 5 2 Sarnia March 23 Sarnia 5 7 Guelph March 26 Guelph 0 1 Sarnia March 28 Sarnia 1 6 Guelph March 29 Guelph 0 3 Sarnia March 31 Sarnia 1 9 Guelph Guelph wins series 4–2	Windsor (4) vs. London (5) Date Away Home March 20 London 3 2 Windsor March 21 Windsor 4 1 London March 23 London 6 7 Windsor OT March 26 Windsor 1 2 London March 28 London 5 3 Windsor March 31 Windsor 3 2 London April 1 London 7 4 Windsor London wins series 4–3

Conference semifinals

Eastern conference
Ottawa (1) vs. Oshawa (6) Date Away Home April 4 Ottawa 2 3 Oshawa April 6 Oshawa 3 4 Ottawa April 7 Oshawa 1 8 Ottawa April 9 Ottawa 5 7 Oshawa April 11 Oshawa 1 7 Ottawa April 13 Ottawa 6 0 Oshawa Ottawa wins series 4–2	Brampton (2) vs. Toronto (4) Date Away Home April 4 Toronto 0 7 Brampton April 6 Brampton 1 4 Toronto April 8 Toronto 4 3 Brampton OT April 10 Brampton 1 4 Toronto April 11 Toronto 6 3 Brampton Toronto wins series 4–1

Western conference
Kitchener (1) vs. Guelph (6) Date Away Home April 4 Guelph 3 4 Kitchener April 6 Kitchener 6 2 Guelph April 8 Guelph 5 4 Kitchener April 10 Kitchener 4 1 Guelph April 11 Guelph 4 5 Kitchener OT Kitchener wins series 4–1	Plymouth (2) vs. London (5) Date Away Home April 5 London 3 2 Plymouth April 6 Plymouth 2 1 London April 8 London 4 3 Plymouth April 9 Plymouth 3 2 London OT April 11 London 3 6 Plymouth April 12 Plymouth 1 5 London April 14 London 2 4 Plymouth Plymouth wins series 4–3

Conference finals

Eastern conference	Western conference
Ottawa (1) vs. Toronto (4) Date Away Home April 18 Toronto 3 0 Ottawa April 20 Ottawa 1 2 Toronto April 22 Toronto 0 6 Ottawa April 24 Ottawa 4 2 Toronto April 25 Toronto 6 2 Ottawa April 27 Ottawa 3 2 Toronto OT April 28 Toronto 2 5 Ottawa Ottawa wins series 4–3	Kitchener (1) vs. Plymouth (2) Date Away Home April 16 Plymouth 3 1 Kitchener April 18 Kitchener 6 1 Plymouth April 20 Plymouth 2 3 Kitchener April 22 Kitchener 2 3 Plymouth April 24 Plymouth 2 1 Kitchener OT April 26 Kitchener 7 4 Plymouth April 28 Plymouth 1 3 Kitchener Kitchener wins series 4–3

J. Ross Robertson Cup finals

Kitchener (1) vs. Ottawa (1) Date Away Home May 2 Ottawa 3 2 Kitchener OT May 4 Kitchener 4 3 Ottawa OT May 6 Ottawa 1 4 Kitchener May 8 Kitchener 4 3 Ottawa OT May 10 Ottawa 1 4 Kitchener Kitchener wins series 4–1

J. Ross Robertson Cup Champions Roster

2002-03 Kitchener Rangers[1]
Goaltenders 33 – Carlo DiRienzo  40 – Scott Dickie		Defencemen 2 – Matt McCann  3 – Matt Manias  5 – Jiří Višenka  6 – Thomas Harrison  7 – Nick Duff  8 – Steve Eminger  16 – Andre Benoit  21 – George Halkidis  25 – Markus Smith  26 – T.J. Eason		Wingers 4 – Gregory Campbell  9 – Petr Kanko  10 – Jesse Boucher  12 – Paul McFarland  13 – Mike Chmielewski  24 – Rafal Martynowski  27 – Adam Keefe  38 – Nathan O'Nabigon		Centres 11 – Matt Grennier  14 – Derek Roy  - C 15 – Cam Fergus  17 – David Clarkson  18 – Mike Richards  19 – Evan McGrath  20 – David Frawley  39 – Chad McCaffrey  Coach: Peter DeBoer General Manager: Peter DeBoer

All-Star teams

First team

• Corey Locke, Centre, Ottawa 67's
• Cody McCormick, Left Wing, Belleville Bulls
• Matt Foy, Right Wing, Ottawa 67's
• Brendan Bell, Defence, Ottawa 67's
• Lukas Krajicek, Defence, Peterborough Petes
• Andy Chiodo, Goaltender, Toronto St. Michael's Majors
• Brian Kilrea, Coach, Ottawa 67's

Second team

• Eric Staal, Centre, Peterborough Petes
• Brandon Nolan, Left Wing, Oshawa Generals
• Chad LaRose, Right Wing, Plymouth Whalers
• Steve Eminger, Defence, Kitchener Rangers
• Carlo Colaiacovo, Defence, Erie Otters
• Chris Houle, Goaltender, London Knights
• Jim Hulton, Coach, Belleville Bulls

Third team

• Matt Stajan, Centre, Belleville Bulls
• Kris Newbury, Left Wing, Sarnia Sting
• Dustin Brown, Right Wing, Guelph Storm
• Trevor Daley, Defence, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
• Tim Gleason, Defence, Windsor Spitfires
• Michael Mole, Goaltender, Belleville Bulls
• Peter DeBoer, Coach, Kitchener Rangers

Awards

J. Ross Robertson Cup:	Kitchener Rangers
Hamilton Spectator Trophy:	Kitchener Rangers
Bobby Orr Trophy:	Ottawa 67's
Wayne Gretzky Trophy:	Kitchener Rangers
Leyden Trophy:	Ottawa 67's
Emms Trophy:	Brampton Battalion
Holody Trophy:	Kitchener Rangers
Bumbacco Trophy:	Plymouth Whalers
Red Tilson Trophy:	Corey Locke, Ottawa 67's
Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy:	Corey Locke, Ottawa 67's
Matt Leyden Trophy:	Brian Kilrea, Ottawa 67's
Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy:	Matt Foy, Ottawa 67's
Max Kaminsky Trophy:	Brendan Bell, Ottawa 67's
OHL Goaltender of the Year:	Andy Chiodo, Toronto St. Michael's Majors
Jack Ferguson Award:	Patrick McNeill, Saginaw Spirit
Dave Pinkney Trophy:	Paul Drew and Jeff Weber, Plymouth Whalers
OHL Executive of the Year:	Steve Bienkowski, Kitchener Rangers
Bill Long Award:	Norm Bryan, Peterborough Petes
Emms Family Award:	Rob Schremp, Mississauga IceDogs
F.W. 'Dinty' Moore Trophy:	Ryan Munce, Sarnia Sting
OHL Humanitarian of the Year:	Michael Mole, Belleville Bulls
William Hanley Trophy:	Kyle Wellwood, Windsor Spitfires
Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy:	Chad Larose, Plymouth Whalers
Bobby Smith Trophy:	Dustin Brown, Guelph Storm
Tim Adams Memorial Trophy:	Jhase Sniderman, Toronto Young Nats
Wayne Gretzky 99 Award:	Derek Roy, Kitchener Rangers

2003 OHL Priority Selection

On May 3, 2003, the OHL conducted the 2003 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection. The Saginaw Spirit held the first overall pick in the draft, and selected Patrick McNeill from the Strathroy Rockets. McNeill was awarded the Jack Ferguson Award, awarded to the top pick in the draft.

Below are the players who were selected in the first round of the 2003 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection. ^[2]

#	Player	Nationality	OHL Team	Hometown	Minor Team
1	Patrick McNeill (D)	Canada	Saginaw Spirit	Strathroy, Ontario	Strathroy Rockets
2	Marc Staal (D)	Canada	Sudbury Wolves	Thunder Bay, Ontario	Thunder Bay Kings
3	Tony Rizzi (RW)	Canada	Kingston Frontenacs	Kingston, Ontario	Wellington Dukes
4	Ryan O'Marra (C)	Canada	Erie Otters	Mississauga, Ontario	Mississauga Senators
5	Cody Bass (C)	Canada	Mississauga IceDogs	Guelph, Ontario	Guelph Hurricanes
6	Chris Lawrence (RW)	Canada	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds	Toronto, Ontario	Toronto Marlboros
7	Bobby Ryan (LW)	United States	Owen Sound Attack	Collingswood, New Jersey	Detroit Honeybaked
8	Ryan Parent (D)	Canada	Guelph Storm	Sioux Lookout, Ontario	Waterloo Siskins
9	Steve Spade (D)	United States	Barrie Colts	Rochester, New York	Georgetown Raiders
10	Tom Mannino (D)	United States	London Knights	Farmington Hills, Michigan	Leamington Flyers
11	Justin Wallingford (D)	Canada	Oshawa Generals	Hamilton, Ontario	Hamilton Jr. Bulldogs
12	Mike Roelofsen (C)	Canada	Belleville Bulls	Chatham, Ontario	Dresden Kings
13	Cal Clutterbuck (RW)	Canada	Toronto St. Michael's Majors	Welland, Ontario	Welland Jr. Canadians
14	Daniel Ryder (C)	Canada	Peterborough Petes	St. John's, Newfoundland	Tri-Pen Ospreys
15	Philip Oreskovic (D)	Canada	Brampton Battalion	Brampton, Ontario	Toronto Nationals
16	Steve Downie (RW)	Canada	Windsor Spitfires	Queensville, Ontario	Aurora Tigers
17	Trevor Solomon (D)	Canada	Sarnia Sting	Garden River, Ontario	Sault Ste. Marie North Stars
18	Michael Lombardi (LW)	Canada	Plymouth Whalers	Richmond Hill, Ontario	Vaughan Kings
19	Elgin Reid (D)	Canada	Ottawa 67's	Milton, Ontario	Leamington Flyers
20	Devereaux Heshmatpour (D)	Canada	Kitchener Rangers	North York, Ontario	Vaughan Vipers

2003 CHL Import Draft

On June 26, 2003, the Canadian Hockey League conducted the 2003 CHL Import Draft, in which teams in all three CHL leagues participate in. The Owen Sound Attack held the first pick in the draft by a team in the OHL, and selected Štefan Ružička from Slovakia with their selection.

Below are the players who were selected in the first round by Ontario Hockey League teams in the 2003 CHL Import Draft. ^[3]

#	Player	Nationality	OHL Team	Hometown	Minor Team
3	Štefan Ružička (LW)	Slovakia	Owen Sound Attack	Nitra, Slovakia	Nitra Jr.
6	Patrick Ehelechner (G)	Germany	Sudbury Wolves	Rosenheim, Germany	Hannover Scorpions
9	Václav Meidl (C)	Czech Republic	Plymouth Whalers	Havířov, Czech Republic	Havířov Jr.
12	Ilya Yakolev (C)	Russia	Erie Otters	Chelyabinsk, Russia	Chelyabinsk Traktor-2
15	Ivan Khomutov (C/LW)	Russia	London Knights	Saratov, Russia	Moscow HC CSKA
18	Martin Tůma (D)	Czech Republic	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds	Most, Czech Republic	Litvínov Chemopetrol Jr.
21	Michal Pešek (LW	Czech Republic	Toronto St. Michael's Majors	Prague, Czech Republic	Sparta Prague Jr.
24	Andy Reiss (D)	Germany	Oshawa Generals	Hannover, Germany	Hannover Scorpions
27	Lukáš Bolf (D)	Czech Republic	Barrie Colts	Vrchlabí, Czech Republic	Sparta Prague Jr.
30	Vadim Karaga (LW)	Belarus	London Knights	Novopolotsk, Belarus	Novopolotsk Polimir
33	David Halasz (D)	Slovakia	Ottawa 67's	Kosice, Slovakia	Kosice Jr.
36	Milan Hluchý (C/LW)	Czech Republic	Belleville Bulls	Rakovník, Czech Republic	Kladno Jr.
39	Igor Mirnov (RW)	Russia	Toronto St. Michael's Majors	Chita, Russia	Moscow Dynamo
42	Martin Lučka (D)	Czech Republic	Peterborough Petes	Zlín, Czech Republic	Zlín Jr.
45	Stefan Blaho (RW)	Slovakia	Sudbury Wolves	Trenčín, Slovakia	Trenčín Jr.
48	Vasili Sysa (D)	Russia	Windsor Spitfires	Chelyabinsk, Russia	Ufa Salavat Yulayev-2
50	Boris Valábik (D)	Slovakia	Kitchener Rangers	Nitra, Slovakia	Nitra Jr.
52	Vojtěch Kloz (D)	Czech Republic	Kingston Frontenacs	Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic	Chicago Steel
54	Miloš Schejbal (LW)	Czech Republic	Kingston Frontenacs	Soběslav, Czech Republic	Sparta Prague Jr.
56	Jakub Čech (G)	Czech Republic	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds	Olomouc, Czech Republic	Havířov

See also

• List of OHA Junior A standings
• List of OHL seasons
• 2003 Memorial Cup
• 2003 NHL Entry Draft
• 2002 in sports
• 2003 in sports