Toronto – The Ontario Hockey League announced today that forward Ryan Kujawinski of the Kingston Frontenacs is the OHL Player of the Week for the week ending Sept. 30 after recording five points in two games scoring twice with three assists and a plus-minus rating of plus-2.

Kujawinski helped lift the Frontenacs to a pair of victories over the weekend beginning Friday night, where he picked up three assists as second star when the club erased a 5-3 third period deficit to comeback and beat the Erie Otters 6-5 in overtime.
On Sunday afternoon, he received first-star honours with two goals in a 5-4 win over the Niagara IceDogs giving the Frontenacs their best start to a season since 1997-98 with a perfect 3-0-0-0 record as the only undefeated team remaining in the OHL.

Kujawinski, a 17-year-old from Iroqouis Falls, ON, is playing in his second OHL season. Eligible for the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, Kujawinski was a first-round pick of the Sarnia Sting in the 2011 OHL Priority Selection, but finished his rookie campaign with the Frontenacs where he scored 15 goals and 15 assists for 30 points in 30 games.

Also considered for the award this week was Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Boone Jenner of the Oshawa Generals who scored four goals and four assists for eight points in three games, and Montreal Canadiens prospect Brady Vail of the Windsor Spitfires who picked up three goals and four assists for seven points in three games.
In goal, Detroit Red Wings prospect Jake Paterson of the Saginaw Spirit posted a 1-0-1-0 record including a shutout victory with a goals-against-average of 1.46 and save percentage of .955.

- From OHL news release

KANATA, Ontario – The Erie Otters continue to surrender goals at an alarming rate.
They equaled a season high in goals against in an 8-1 loss against Ottawa Saturday in front of 3,981 at Scotiabank Place. Erie also allowed eight goals in a loss at London last weekend, as well as six in an overtime defeat at Kingston Friday night.
The Otters (1-3-1-0) have allowed a league-high 27 goals – more than five per game – in their first five games of the season.
The 67′s built a 3-0 lead 8 minutes into the game on Tyler Graovac‘s natural hat trick before rolling to a convincing win. They had lost the first three games of a season-opening, four-game home stand in their new rink. The 67′s (1-3-0-0) will play in the home of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators for the next two seasons while the Ottawa Civic Centre undergoes renovations.
Connor Brown scored the Otters’ lone goal on the power play, his third of the season, with 5:32 left in the first period.
Connor McDavid had an assist for the sixth point in his first five career games. J.P. Labardo also assisted on the goal for his fifth point in four games with the Otters. But Ottawa scored the final five goals, including two by Remy Giftopoulos. He added an assist to finish with three points, while Brett Gustavsen had a goal and two assists.
Jacob Blair stopped 22-of-23 shots to earn the win in net. In contrast, Oscar Dansk allowed all eight goals on 41 shots two days after stopping 47-of-48 in his first OHL win, a 5-1 victory at Peterborough Thursday. The Otters allowed 40 or more shots in all three games on this road trip. The Otters play their home opener Friday at 7 p.m. against Brampton in the first event at Erie Insurance Arena since the facility closed this past May for renovations. They face London at home Saturday.

KINGSTON, Ontario – The Erie Otters’ power play nearly stole a win Friday night. But the defense gave it away.
The Otters opened a two-goal lead in the third behind three straight goals with the man advantage. But Kingston scored twice in the final period, and again 33 seconds into overtime, to hand the Otters a 6-5 loss in front of 2,616 at K-Rock Centre.
Darcy Greenaway scored on the only shot of the five-minute extra period to keep the Otters (1-2-1-0) from earning a second consecutive win on their three-game East Division road trip. Greenaway poked in a rebound when goaltender Devin Williams couldn’t cover the puck after it caromed off the end boards. The Frontenacs (2-0-0-0) forced overtime by erasing a 5-3 deficit on two goals from Billy Jenkins – his second and third of the game – less than three minutes apart midway through the period.
The Otters also rallied from a two-goal deficit earlier in the game. They scored on three straight power plays – Connor Crisp at the 6:49 mark, J.P. Labardo at 16:31 and Luke Cairns with 1:31 left – to take a 4-3 lead. Then Connor Brown scored his second goal of the game 3:26 into the third to hand the Otters a 5-3 lead. But the defense, which allowed at least 40 shots for the second straight night, couldn’t hold onto the lead. Williams allowed all six goals on 46 shots in his season debut.
Adam Pelech (three assists) and Labardo (goal, two assists) led the Otters with three points apiece. Brown and Stephen Harper (two assists) also had multi-point outings. Connor McDavid had an assist – his fifth point in his first four OHL games. The Otters complete the weekend trip against Ottawa today at 2 p.m. at Scotiabank Place, home of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators.
Ryan Kujawinski and Warren Steele had three assists apiece for the Frontenacs. Colin Furlong earned the win in his OHL debut, as he stopped all five shots he faced in relief of starter Mike Morrison.

PETERBOROUGH, Ontario – The Erie Otters handed rookie goaltender Oscar Dansk an early three-goal lead Thursday night.
Then Dansk took care of the rest with a stellar 47-save effort in the Otters’ first win of the season, 5-1 against Peterborough in front of 2,344 at Peterborough Memorial Centre. The Otters (1-2-0-0) won despite being outshot 48-30.
Stephen Harper and Connor McDavid, the Otters’ last two first-round picks in the OHL Priority Selection, sparked Erie’s surge to a 3-0 lead. McDavid set up both of Harper’s goals in a span of four minutes midway through the period, and then Jake Evans scored his first goal of the season with 6:46 left in the period. McDavid has a goal and four points in his first three games.
That was more than enough offensive support for Dansk. He rebounded from a rocky debut last weekend, as he allowed 11 goals in losses at Niagara and London. But against the Petes (1-2-0-0), he overcame a barrage of shots – 16 in the second and 29 through two periods – to keep his shutout intact. The Petes recorded 15 of the first 16 shots in the second and had four straight power plays, including a pair of two-man advantages that lasted nearly two minutes. Peterborough finished 0-for-8 on the power play. In contrast, the Otters were 1-for-3.
Yet while Dansk kept the Petes off the scoreboard, the Otters built a 4-0 lead with 15 seconds left in the period on Nick Betz‘s second goal of the season. Dansk’s bid for his first OHL shutout ended on Trevor Murphy’s goal 2:53 into the third.
But Dansk finished with 18 saves on 19 shots in the period. Travis Wood capped the scoring with his first goal of the season in the final minute. Rookie Hayden Hodgson had an assist for his first OHL point, while Nathan Glass added the last of his two assists. Evans added an assist to his goal for the Otters, which travel to Kingston today for a 7 p.m. game.

Victor Fernandes unveils his predictions for the 2012-13 OHL season:

REGULAR SEASON

Eastern Conference
East Division
1. Belleville
2. Oshawa
3. Ottawa
4. Peterborough
5. Kingston

Central Division
1. Barrie
2. Niagara
3. Brampton
4. Mississauga
5. Sudbury

Western Conference
Midwest Division
1. Kitchener
2. Guelph
3. Owen Sound
4. London
5. Erie

West Division
1. Plymouth
2. Windsor
3. Sarnia
4. Saginaw
5. Sault Ste. Marie

PLAYOFFS

Eastern Conference
Quarterfinals
No. 1 Barrie def. No. 8 Peterborough, 4-0
No. 2 Belleville def. No. 7 Mississauga, 4-1
No. 3 Niagara def. No. 6 Ottawa, 4-1
No. 4 Oshawa def. No. 5 Brampton, 4-3
Semifinals
No. 1 Barrie def. No. 4 Oshawa, 4-2
No. 2 Belleville def. No. 3 Niagara, 4-2
Finals
No. 2 Belleville def. No. 1 Barrie, 4-3

Western Conference
Quarterfinals
No. 1 Kitchener def. No. 8 Erie, 4-1
No. 2 Plymouth def. No. 7 Sarnia, 4-1
No. 3 Guelph def. No. 6 Windsor, 4-2
No. 4 Owen Sound def. No. 5 London, 4-2
Semifinals
No. 1 Kitchener def. No. 4 Owen Sound, 4-1
No. 2 Plymouth def. No. 3 Guelph, 4-2
Finals
No. 1 Kitchener def. No. 2 Plymouth, 4-3

League finals
No. 1 Kitchener def. No. 2 Belleville, 4-2

- Victor Fernandes

This week, I’ll break down all 20 OHL clubs division by division and unveil my predictions for the 2012-13 season. Today, let’s look at the Eastern Conference’s East Division (listed in alphabetical order):

Belleville Bulls
Coach/GM: George Burnett
2011-12 finish: 35-32-1-0, 2nd division, 7th conference
Playoff finish: Lost to Ottawa 4-2 in conference quarterfinals
Key players: G Malcolm Subban (25-14-0-0 record, 2.50 goals-against average, .923 save percentage, 3 shutouts; signed with Boston), C Brendan Gaunce (28 goals, 40 assists, 68 points; signed with Vancouver), RW Austen Brassard (27-24-51; Winnipeg prospect); D Stephen Silas (6-26-32), D Brady Austin (6-20-26; former Erie Otter)
Key losses: C Adam Payerl (22-25-47), RW Luke Judson (18-21-39)
Outlook: Burnett has the rebuilding Bulls headed in the right direction, as they have improved by 15 wins in the past three seasons. And with Subban in net, Silas on defense and Gaunce up front, the Bulls could make a big move this season.

Kingston Frontenacs
Coach/GM: Todd Gill/Doug Gilmour
2011-12 finish: 19-41-3-5, 5th division, 10th conference
Playoff finish: Did not qualify
Key players: C Darcy Greenaway (27-25-52), LW Cody Alcock (24-23-47), C Ryan Kujawinski (16-20-36), D Roland McKeown (No. 2 pick in 2012 OHL Priority Selection), G Mike Morrison (10-19-2-3, 3.87, .890, 1 SO)
Key losses: G Igor Bobkov (17-32-2-4, 3.64, .902, 1 SO; signed with Anaheim)
Outlook: The Frontenacs had the league’s second-worst record a season ago. Morrison, an overager signed earlier this summer, will need to lead a young team headlined by the offensive trio of Greenaway, Alcock and Kujawinski, through a rebuild.

Oshawa Generals
Coach/GM: D.J. Smith/Jeff Twohey
2011-12 finish: 31-30-4-3, 3rd division, 8th conference
Playoff finish: Lost to Niagara 4-2 in conference quarterfinals
Key players: LW Lucas Lessio (34-28-62; signed with Phoenix), C Scott Laughton (21-32-53; signed with Philadelphia), C Boone Jenner (22-27-49; signed with Columbus), D Matt Petgrave (10-35-45, plus-11), G Daniel Altshuller (11-16-2-1, 3.55, ,900)
Key losses: RW Christian Thomas (34-33-67; signed with N.Y. Rangers), RW Nicklas Jensen (25-33-58), LW Andy Andreoff (22-36-58), D Julian Melchiori (2-34-36, +10)
Outlook: The Generals had talent galore last season, but lost in the first round after barely making the playoffs. They still have plenty of talent this season. Smith and Twohey, the former GM in Peterborough, are in charge of turning that talent into wins.

Ottawa 67’s
Coach/GM: Chris Byrne
2011-12 finish: 40-20-5-3, 1st division, 2nd conference
Playoff finish: Lost to Barrie 4-3 in conference semifinals
Key players: D Cody Ceci (17-43-60, +34; signed with Ottawa), C Sean Monahan (33-45-78), G Jake Cardwell (8-28-36), LW Steven Janes (16-20-36), G Keegan Wilson (12-9-3-3, 2.82, .892, 1 SO with Kingston)
Key losses: RW Tyler Toffoli (52-48-100; signed with Los Angeles), LW Shane Prince (43-47-90; signed with Ottawa), G Petr Mrazek (30-13-4-2, 2.84, .917, 3 shutouts; signed with Detroit), C Mike Cazzola (11-34-45; former Otter); D Marc Zanetti (7-21-28, +27)
Outlook: Toffoli’s 109 goals and 208 points the past two years will be difficult to replace, especially since the 67′s also lost 40-goal scorer Prince. But the key to success will be Wilson in net, where he replaces the highly skilled and consistent Mrazek.