2026 OMHA U16 AAA Championship Preview: The Race For “Red Hats”
After a long 34-game regular season, and a three week long round-robin playoff, the OMHA playoff field has shrunk from 20 teams to now just eight. The remaining teams all have the same two goals: make it out of the group stage, and from there, clinch a berth in the OMHA finals to reserve their right to compete for the infamous “Red Hats”.
The four teams who survive group play will not only punch their ticket to the semi-final, but will also secure an automatic berth in the OHL Cup tournament which kicks off on March 30th at Scotiabank Pond in Toronto. The four teams who don’t qualify for the semifinals of the OMHA Championship will aim to hear their name called as a wildcard entry for the OHL Cup, in hopes of extending their season a few more weeks to compete in the biggest event on the OHL Draft calendar.
The U16 AAA OMHA Championships will be hosted by Peterborough this year. Round robin play will take place March 13th-14th, with the semifinals and final slated for March 15th. All games will take place at the Miskin Law Community Complex.
With the details out of the way, let’s take a look at how the eight teams will be split up for group play, and see what a possible semifinal slate might look like.
Group 1
Quinte Red Devils (1st East)
Quinte entered the round robin playoff on a high note, after finishing out the regular season with a 9-0-1 record in their final 10 games. The Red Devils then topped East - Pool A in the round robin tournament, going 7-1-0 in their eight games. Given they were a top-two seed going into round robin play, their only real challenge came in the form of the Barrie Colts, with whom they split the two games.
Lauchlan Whelan, who has led Quinte up front all season, hasn’t wavered now that it’s playoff time. After registering 12 goals and 15 points in the eight game round robin, he enters OMHA Championship weekend red hot. Teammates Lawson Liboiron-Minifie, and Andrew Laurin are both coming off strong performances as well. Liboiron-Minifie registered 10 assists, while Laurin had six goals and six assists in the eight games. All season long, Quinte has been a team that has needed to outscore opponents, so I anticipate that to be the case this weekend as well, as they look to punch their ticket to the OHL Cup for the first time since 2022.
Niagara North Stars (2nd West)
Over the 34 game regular season, there wasn’t a team with fewer regulation losses in the OMHA than Niagara. Losing just two games in regulation, this North Stars team really started to peak after the holiday break. They went to the Steve Richey Tournament of Champions in the middle of January and made it to the semifinals. From there, it’s been complete dominance the last few months. In their final 10 regular season games, they went 8-0-2 before sweeping their six game round robin. This included two 2-1 victories over the number one seeded Credit River Capitals in the OMHA’s West division.
Nathan Hewitt has been a force for the North Stars all season, and that hasn't changed. Hewitt finished with four goals and six assists in the six games on the back of a well over point-per-game campaign. His ability to work down low, hunger to play a physical game and make a difference on the walls, all paired with his ability to put the puck in the net and put up points, make him one of the more intriguing options out of the OMHA.
On the back end, Niagara is led by assistant captain Caden Petrovsky. The 5-foot-10, right-shot defenceman possesses high-level hockey sense and shows great instincts in the defensive zone, anticipating and breaking up opposing offensive chances. He has shown the ability to contribute to the play offensively as well, registering a point-per-game regular season, and routinely picking his spots well to activate. Niagara will look to keep their winning ways going as they enter OMHA championship weekend.
Ajax-Pickering Raiders (3rd East)
Similar to Niagara, the Raiders have been scorching hot since the holidays. They were semifinalists at the Toronto Marlboros Holiday Classic, in a loaded field, and then followed that up with another semifinal and top four appearance at the Steve Richey. They’ll hope to repeat their prior success in Peterborough this weekend, when they return with much more at stake. After finishing just two points back of both Quinte and the Barrie Colts for top spot in the OMHA East, the Raiders were given a much tougher group and path to qualify for this weekend. The hope is the group will be battle tested, and although the team surprisingly dropped a game to the Markham Waxers and maybe more surprisingly tied the Whitby Wildcats, they won the important games against the Central Ontario Wolves, who were right on their heels in the round robin standings.
After a 10th place finish in the OMHA East just a year ago, the Raiders turned over all but one player on this year's U16 roster. The biggest splash now appears to be Matthew Taylor, who came over from the Sun County Panthers. The speedy centre was named to the U16 Top Prospects Game, and turned heads there with his ability to create and shoot off the rush, while still carrying the physical tools required to play at 5-foot-6. The other name up front for the Raiders came over from Whitby, right winger Shea Huinink. The cerebral, smart winger finished the regular season with 23 goals and 39 assists across 34 games, adding just one goal and four assists in his nine game playoff round robin. For the Raiders to clinch a berth in the OHL Cup and make it out of group play this weekend, they’ll need both Taylor and Huinink to be clicking and producing at their best.
Southern Tier Admirals (4th West)
After a very successful U15 season, it has been a bumpy ride for this 2010 Admirals group in their OHL Draft year. They finished the regular season well under .500 with an 11-19-2-2 record, good for sixth place in a fairly weak OMHA West division this year. Although invited to the all-prestigious Whitby Silver Stick, they went winless there, in addition to winless appearances at the Titans Early Bird, Marlies Holiday Classic, and the Steve Richey Tournament of Champions.
A 5-3-1 round robin was enough for the Admirals to sneak into the championship weekend after their rival Burlington Eagles surprisingly fell flat. They finished with a 3-5 record, good for last in the round robin group, despite going in as the second highest ranked team of the five. After both Southern Tier and the Hamilton Steel tied for second in the group with nine points, they played a deciding third game to dictate who would move into the Championship weekend. Southern Tier took it by a final score of 5-1 on the back of two-goal games from both Cash Brown and Madden Hare. It is one of the biggest uphill battles I have seen in years, but the Admirals are likely two big wins away from continuing their season beyond this weekend. However, I don’t see them making it out of this tough group, and don’t believe the OHL Cup committee would grant them a wildcard spot.
Group 2
Credit River Capitals (1st West)
The Capitals have been one of the steadier teams in the OMHA all season long. At no point has it felt like they’ve faced major adversity, but at the same time, they’ve failed to put it all together and make the semifinals or better at a tournament this year. With that said, they still finished the year number one in the OMHA West with a 29-4-1 record, and a nice 8-1-1 record down the stretch in their final 10 games. Despite the lack of high-end tournament success, the smothering, possession-heavy style the Capitals play with make them a tough out in any competition, and a favourite to advance out of Group 2.
Evan Bannister, who wears the “C” for Credit River, has been the driving force on this team all season long. He was the leading scorer on his side in the regular season with 38 goals and 26 assists in 33 games, and added a whopping nine goals and eight helpers in six round robin games. His heady, smart, 200-foot game sees him rarely in the wrong position to pick up pucks, and his game seems to take off in the playoff environments, where time and space are limited. I expect him to be a driving force this weekend, and lead the Capitals into a semifinal berth and qualify for the OHL Cup. Another name to keep an eye on up front is Landon Bellchamber. The 5-foot-11 power forward is a consistent physical presence, using his frame to angle opponents and win battles. He’s shown the hunger to get and win at the net, where his finishing ability has popped as well. He scored four goals in the six round robin games, adding to his 17 that he scored in the regular season. An x-factor for Credit River this weekend could be Gavin Henry. The slighter 5-foot-10 offensive defenceman displays incredible hockey sense, and has the awareness shift out of checks and coverages. If the Capitals can get consistent offensive production from those three, their team system and smart puck management should lend them to success.
Barrie Colts (2nd East)
An overtime loss instead of a tie was the difference between Barrie finishing first or second in the OMHA East, with both them and Quinte finishing with identical point totals of 55. As for seemingly many of the OMHA teams, things started to look better after Christmas. Barrie gave the London Jr. Knights everything they could handle in the quarter-finals of the Marlies Holiday Classic, dropping that one 2-1 in overtime before playing well in a loaded Oakville Winter Classic field, and finishing strong down the stretch in the regular season.
Barrie enters the championship weekend as a favourite to advance out of Group 2, and will need to continue relying on the top of their roster to drive the bus. Everything starts on the backend with captain Lucas Matheson. The smooth skating, right shot defenceman logs a ton of minutes in all situations and can single handedly transport pucks out of danger while simultaneously creating offensive opportunities. As far as finishers up front in the OMHA, there may not be anyone more deadly in space than Colts forward Jack Lee. He can muck it up and score in tight, or beat goalies from distance with his lightning quick release.
Oakville Rangers (3rd West)
Given the weaker nature of the depth in the OMHA West this year, the Rangers’ record stands out as a team that had a great season, but their struggles in-season and in tournaments against stronger competition left a lot to be desired. With the weaker competition drowned out for the Championship weekend, It will be interesting to see if they’ve got the fire power to compete.
The Rangers’ success will start and end with goaltender Nathan Croskery. If he can keep them in games, they may have the opportunity to “steal” a game, or change a result with a late goal. In such a short tournament, one surprise result can totally flip the table. On the backend, Jamal Havusic has shown the ability to be a difference maker, so the Rangers will look for him to be at the top of his game this weekend. When playing at his height, he can shut down the opposition's transition game, and move the puck effortlessly into the hands of his forwards. If Oakville fails to qualify for the semifinals, it feels like they may be on the outside looking in for an OHL Cup committee wild card bid.
York-Simcoe Express (4th East)
This 2010 Express team is a great example of the infamous line “the whole is greater than the sum of the parts”. Only a couple of these guys are likely even OHL Priority Selection picks, but the team has seen some great success all year. They went to the quarter-finals in London at the Wendy Dufton Memorial Tournament, and followed that up with a well-fought round-of-16 loss (2-1) to Barrie at the Marlies Holiday Classic. In Peterborough at the Steve Richey, they went all the way to the finals to wrap up what was a strong tournament year for the group. Down the stretch, in their final 10 games of the OMHA schedule, they went a very respectable 8-1-1, and followed that up with a first-place finish in their round robin group to secure a spot in the OMHA Championship.
It will be tough sledding finishing inside the top-two in Group 2, with the depth that both Credit River and Barrie possess, but if there is a team that has shown they can galvanize one another and get up for a big game, it’s this Express team. Similarly to Oakville, It starts in net with Lukas Butler. He has had some spectacular performances this year, and they will lean on him for another couple this weekend while they look to punch their ticket to the OHL Cup at the end of March. But unlike Oakville, I do think that if York-Simcoe fails to qualify for an automatic OHL Cup berth, that they have done enough throughout the year to earn a chance in a one-game wildcard matchup.
Predictions
With four spots up for grabs in the semifinals, here how I see the final standings looking after group play:
Group 1
1. Quinte Red Devils (3-0-0)
2. Ajax-Pickering Raiders (1-1-1)
3. Niagara North Stars (1-1-1)
4. Southern Tier Admirals (0-0-3)
Group 2
1. Barrie Colts (3-0-0)
2. Credit River Capitals (2-1-0)
3. York-Simcoe Express (1-2-0)
4. Oakville Rangers (0-0-3)
While Group 2 appears to be a little bit more clear cut, my matchup of the weekend in the group play stage will be Niagara vs. Ajax-Pickering. I anticipate the winner of that game grabbing the second seed in Group 1. In my predictions, I have them tying the game. I think it is that close between the two, but I gave the edge to Ajax-Pickering on goal differential, with slightly more confidence in the Raiders' high-end scoring ability compared to the North Stars. The deciding factor may end up being “who can beat up on Southern Tier the worst”.
If these predictions hold up, it would set up a Quinte vs. Credit River and Barrie vs. Ajax-Pickering semifinal slate. While I think both games will be close and very tightly contested, I do believe that the wire-to-wire two best teams in Quinte and Barrie are destined to meet each other in the gold medal game and battle for the ever-sacred “Red Hats”. Of the four remaining teams that didn’t make it out of my group stage, I expect York-Simcoe and Niagara to both be named as wildcard entries for the OHL Cup wildcard qualification games.
