2023-24 CHL Top-10 Rankings: Week 10
The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) announced today the Week 10 edition of its CHL Top-10 Rankings for the 2023-24 season.
Riding a nine-game winning streak, having won 18 of their last 19 games since October 20, the Baie-Comeau Drakkar of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) have jumped into the No. 1 spot for the first time this season. No club in the CHL has more wins than the Drakkar (25) so far during the 2023-24 campaign. Sitting in second are the Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League (WHL), who stand atop the WHL standings with 21 wins. The Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), who continue to lead the OHL with a 20-7-1-0 record this season, round out the top-three.
With three straight losses in the last week, the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL slipped down the rankings to No. 7. At the same time, the Wenatchee Wild of the WHL, who are unbeaten in regulation over their last 10 games, jumped into the No.8 spot to make their debut in the CHL Top-10 Rankings.
The next rankings will be released the week of December 11, following the eleventh week of regular season action in all three member leagues of the CHL.
CHL Top-10 Rankings – Week 10
1. Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL): With nine straight wins, along with only one loss over their last 19 games, the Drakkar (25-3-2-0) are No.1 for the very first time this season. Baie-Comeau’s nine-game winning streak is the longest active streak in the CHL. After shutting out Blainville-Boisbriand (3-0 & 5-0) in consecutive games at home last week, Baie-Comeau improved its goal differential to +53, which now ranks as the third-best mark in the CHL. Impressively, the Drakkar also continue to be unbeaten in regulation at home. Specifically, following their most recent wins against the Armada, the Drakkar now own a CHL-best 12-0-2-0 record at home. Helping Baie-Comeau extend its winning streak last week was Justin Paillé, who led the Drakkar with four points (2G-2A) in their two victories, ultimately extending both his goal and point streak to four games (4G-3A over that stretch). Additionally, netminder Olivier Ciarlo (who was named the QMJHL’s Videotron Player of the Week) posted back-to-back shutouts. Ciarlo now has three straight shutouts, having stopped the last 57 shots he’s faced. His shutout streak is up to 192 minutes and 35 seconds – which is only 14:57 shy of a new Drakkar franchise record. At the same time, 2024 NHL Draft prospect Justin Poirier recorded an assist in Baie-Comeau’s two wins, while Raoul Boilard scored his 12th goal of the season. Boilard continues to lead all rookies in the QMJHL with 29 points. This week, the Drakkar will first welcome the Titan before travelling to Chicoutimi for a date with the Saguenéens.
Games this week: vs. Acadie-Bathurst (Dec. 8), @ Chicoutimi (Dec. 10)
2. Prince George Cougars (WHL): Although they fell back down to No.2 in the rankings this week, the Cougars (21-7-0-0) continued to show why they belong in the conversation for the top spot. Having lost Los Angeles Kings prospect Koehn Ziemmer to an ankle injury for the foreseeable future at the start of the week, Prince George showed its resilience and the depth of its club by winning road games against Tri-City (4-1), Spokane (6-3) and Portland (4-0). 20-year-old Zac Funk continued his incredible start to the season, scoring 10 points (9G-1A) in the Cougars’ four games last week, including a pair of hat-tricks. Funk is now riding an eight-game goal streak (14G over that stretch). He leads the CHL with 30 goals, including a CHL-best 19 goals on the power play this season. Meanwhile, Minnesota Wild prospect Riley Heidt and rookie netminder Joshua Ravensbergen both continue to do their thing. Heidt accrued nine points (1G-8A) over the last week and he now leads the CHL with 53 points on the season. Ravensbergen posted a pair of 30-save performances last week, including a 33-save shutout against the No. 10-ranked Winterhawks. Ravensbergen now leads the CHL with five shutouts and he owns an impressive 10-2-0-0 record this season. This week, the Cougars will welcome the Royals for a pair of home games in Prince George.
Games this week: vs. Victoria (Dec. 8), vs. Victoria (Dec. 9)
3. Kitchener Rangers (OHL): Although they suffered a 4-3 overtime loss to the IceDogs this weekend, the Rangers (20-7-1-0) earned road victories over Erie (5-4 OT) and Sarnia (6-3) to maintain their place atop the OHL standings. With 20 wins so far this season, Kitchener is one of just three clubs across the CHL to reach this mark. Additionally, they continue to pace the CHL in goals per game (5.00) and goal differential (+57). Helping them maintain their success is many of the same names we’ve seen lead Kitchener throughout the first half of this season. Heading that group last week was 20-year-old forward Matthew Sop, who scored seven points (4G-3A) in the Rangers’ three contests. Sop is now riding a five-game goal and point streak. Meanwhile, Seattle Kraken prospect Carson Rehkopf added three goals and two assists to his season’s totals. Rehkopf continues to lead the OHL with 29 goals (2nd in the CHL) and 50 points (3rd in the CHL). Vancouver Canucks prospect Hunter Brzustewicz put together three straight outings with a pair of assists, while Montreal Canadiens prospect Filip Mešár collected points in all three games (2G-2A) as well. This week, the Rangers will host the Storm and Bulldogs at home before they hit the road for another pair of contests against Brantford and Guelph.
Games this week: vs. Guelph (Dec. 5), vs. Brantford (Dec. 8), @ Brantford (Dec. 9), @ Guelph (Dec. 10)
4. Saginaw Spirit (OHL): Although the Spirit (16-8-0-1) saw their franchise-record 10-game winning streak come to halt against the No. 5-ranked Greyhounds to start the week, Saginaw rebounded positively by first avenging that loss by defeating the Soo 3-1 before edging the London Knights 7-5. The Spirit have now won 12 of their last 13 games, having also scored six or more goals on seven occasions over that stretch. This past week, Saginaw were led by 2024 NHL Draft prospect Zayne Parekh who collected eight points (2G-6A) to extend his point streak to seven games (4G-10A over that stretch). Meanwhile, Anaheim Ducks prospect Rodwin Dionicio tallied his fourth multi-point game as a member of the Spirit (tallying 1G-1A vs. London), while Nashville Predators prospect Joey Willis registered five points (1G-4A in last three games) over the last seven days. Holding a 6-5-0-0 record on the road this season, Saginaw will look to improve on that mark when they travel to London and Flint this weekend.
Games this week: @ London (Dec. 8), @ Flint (Dec. 9)
5. Soo Greyhounds (OHL): Similarly to the No.-4 ranked Spirit, the Greyhounds (17-8-2-0) won two of their three games last week, including a 4-3 win against Saginaw. In addition to their win south of the border, the Soo edged Barrie 4-1 just a day after falling to the Spirit 3-1 at home. The Greyhounds have gotten points in eight of their last 10 games, having won six of those contests. Their 4.33 goals per game average also stands as the second-best mark in the OHL. Over their three games last week, Vegas Golden Knights prospect Arttu Karki tallied his 16th goal of the season, which continues to rank as the most of any defenceman in the CHL (four more than his closest competitor, Calgary’s Carter Yakemchuk). The goal was also his 11th on the power play, which places him in a tie for first in the OHL for that category. Meanwhile, New York Rangers prospect Bryce McConnell-Barker recorded four points (3G-1A) in the Soo’s two victories last week, giving him points in 13 of his last 15 contests. This week, the Greyhounds will travel to Sudbury before returning home for contests against Kingston and London.
Games this week: @ Sudbury (Dec. 6), vs. Kingston (Dec. 8), vs. London (Dec. 10)
6. Saskatoon Blades (WHL): After slipping in the rankings last week, the Blades (19-8-1-0) have risen to No.6 in the rankings following a strong seven days where the club won three contests in a row to close out a seven-game road trip. Winners of four of their last five games, Saskatoon continues to benefit from the excellent play of Anaheim Ducks prospect Egor Sidorov, who had five points (4G-1A) in three games last week, including a hat-trick against Tri-City. The 19-year-old from Belarus has tallied 25 goals this season, which rank third in the CHL. Meanwhile, captain Trevor Wong recorded four assists last week to maintain his place in the CHL top-three with 37 assists on the year. Additionally, the Blades enjoyed some stellar goaltending to close out their road trip, highlighted by a 30-save shutout by Evan Gardner against Spokane and a 27-save performance by Austin Elliott in a win against Lethbridge. This week, the Blades will welcome both the Rebels and Hitmen for games in Saskatoon, while also travelling to Moose Jaw on Saturday for a date with the Warriors.
Games this week: vs. Red Deer (Dec. 8), @ Moose Jaw (Dec. 9), vs. Calgary (Dec. 10)
7. Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL): Since their CHL-best 10-game winning streak came to halt at the hands of the No.1-ranked Drakkar in overtime a little over a week ago, the Mooseheads (19-7-3-0) have struggled to find their groove. Halifax has now lost five of their last six games, including three in a row on the road last week. Safe to say, it’s been a difficult five-game road trip for the Mooseheads, who despite their struggles, remain in second in the QMJHL standings. Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Jordan Dumais also continues to be a bright spot for the club. Dumais tallied a goal and four assists last week, and he was held off the scoresheet for only the second time this season in a 2-0 loss to Rouyn-Noranda. Defenceman Brady Schultz also tallied five points (1G-4A) over the last week, which included a four-point outing against Blainville-Boisbriand. Schultz now leads all defencemen in the QMJHL with 21 assists and his 23 points rank third among that same group. This week, Halifax will hope a pair of home games against Drummondville and Gatineau will be just what they need to get back in the win column. The Mooseheads will be facing the Voltigeurs on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. AT in what will be the CHL Game of the Week – it’s a contest that can be seen live on CHL TV for free.
Games this week: vs. Drummondville (Dec. 7), vs. Gatineau (Dec. 8), @ Saint John (Dec. 9)
8. Wenatchee Wild (WHL): Faced with playing four games over five nights, the Wild (19-8-3-0) won three contests, earning seven out of a possible eight points last week. Now unbeaten in regulation over their last 10 games (8-0-2-0), Wenatchee is making its debut in the CHL Top-10 Rankings at No. 8. Over those 10 games, the Wild’s offense has been particularly dominant – as they have scored four or more goals on nine occasions. A big part of the latter has no double been the play of Arizona Coyotes prospect Conor Geekie, who has recorded three straight four-point games, which include tallying four unanswered goals (including the OT winner) against Portland on Saturday. Geekie’s point streak is now up to eight games (9G-13A over that stretch) and he was named the WHL Tempo Player of the Week. Meanwhile, Buffalo Sabres prospect Matthew Savoie is also on an eight-game point streak of his own (10G-11A over that stretch). Savoie, who has seven multi-point contests in 10 games played this season, tallied a hat-trick against Portland on Friday. Nashville Predators prospect Graham Sward tallied a goal and seven assists in Wenatchee’s four games last week – as he continues to lead all WHL defencemen with 35 assists and 41 points on the season. This weekend, Wenatchee will travel for games against the Americans and the Chiefs in the hopes of continuing their climb up the WHL Standings and CHL Top-10 Rankings.
Games this week: @ Tri-City (Dec. 9), @ Spokane (Dec. 10)
9. Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL): After falling to Saint John 7-4 on Thursday night, the Wildcats (18-7-1-1) bounced back in a big way by defeating the Chicoutimi Saguenéens 8-2. The latter gave Moncton its 18th win of the 2023-24 campaign, the third highest mark of any club in the QMJHL. Yoan Loshing, the Wildcats’ leading scorer, had a strong showing against the Saguenéens – registering two goals and two assists. Loshing is up to 19 goals on the year, which rank tied for second in the QMJHL. He’s also averaging 1.55 points per game this season, which is the third-highest mark in the QMJHL behind only Halifax’s Jordan Dumais (2.21) and Baie-Comeau’s Justin Gill (1.63). Meanwhile, rookies Julius Sumpf (2G-1A in last two games) and Caleb Desnoyers (0G-2A in last two games) tallied points in Moncton’s two games last week to maintain their place among the top-three rookie scorers in the QMJHL. This week, Moncton will hit the road for contests against Sherbrooke, Québec and Shawinigan. The Wildcats have arguably been the best road team in the CHL this season. They hold a QMJHL-best 10-1-1-0 record away from home, and they are the only team in the CHL with just one regulation loss on the road this season.
Games this week: @ Sherbrooke (Dec. 7), @ Québec (Dec. 8), @ Shawinigan (Dec. 9)
10. Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL): After a one-week absence from this list, the Huskies (16-7-1-3) are back in the CHL Top-10 rankings, sliding in at No. 10. Rouyn-Noranda is coming off an impressive week that first saw them shutout No.7-ranked Halifax 2-0 before winning in convincing fashion against Victoriaville (4-1). Rouyn-Noranda is now an impressive 9-1-0-3 at home this season. Huskies netminder William Rousseau stopped 51-of-52 shots over his two stars last week, which included a 24-save shutout against the No.7-ranked Mooseheads. Rousseau now has a 2.07 GAA and a .933 SV% this season, which rank among the top-three in the QMJHL. Meanwhile, Antonin Verreault scored his team-leading 17th goal of the season – he now has goals in four of his last five games. Seattle Kraken prospect Andrei Loshko registered an assist in the Huskies’ victory against Victoriaville, giving him points in 10 of his last 12 games. This week, Rouyn-Noranda will look to keep the good times rolling when they head to Blainville-Boisbriand, Victoriaville and Shawinigan over the weekend. Namely, they’ll look to improve on their 7-6-1-0 road record so far during the 2023-24 season.
Games this week: @ Blainville-Boisbriand (Dec. 8), @ Victoriaville (Dec. 9), @ Shawinigan (Dec. 10)