The Kingston Frontenacs Are Poised to Make Huge Improvements in the 2020-21 OHL Season

 

The Kingston Frontenacs have most of the pieces to succeed in the 2020-21 OHL season. Will they be able to do it and put it all together? Will their flaws end up costing them in the long run? Keep reading to find out!

Shane Wright:

A lot of Kingston’s success and hopes rely on Shane Wright. If you don’t know who this kid is, he’s the hockey phenom who got exceptional status to play in the OHL a year earlier than his peers. Wright had an amazing first season in the OHL. As a 15 year old playing against kids up to 5 years older than him and on a weaker team, he had 39 goals, 27 assists for 66 points in only 58 games! Shane Wright is by far their best player, and is a franchise player for them. With them expected to improve next year due to their supporting cast, there shouldn’t be an excuse for Wright to not hit close to 100 points, if not eclipse it. 

Supporting Cast: 

The Kingston Frontenacs supporting cast around Wright will need to keep on improving for them to keep on improving in the 2020-21 season. Martin Chromiak and Zayde Wisdom will need to keep on improving next year if this team will have a shot to go far, because you can’t rely on Wright for everything. Chromiak was impressive when he came over from Slovakia, and was over a point per game in his draft year. If he plays alongside Wright next year full time, Chromiak should have no excuse to not have at least 90 points. Zayde Wisdom will be an interesting player for the Fronts next season. If you don’t know Zayde’s story you should go look it up because it’s a very inspiring story to listen and look into. Anyway, Wisdom is a hard worker who will do whatever it takes. Look out for this kid when you watch Kingston next year, because he could surprise people. 

First and Second Year Players:

Although you probably don’t wanna put too much pressure on first and second year players in the OHL, this team is ready to win and these 16 and 17 year olds better hold on for the ride and contribute. Some guys that they drafted in the 2019 OHL draft will need to take a huge step in their development. Guys like Arcuri, Callens and Hache will all need to take a huge step in their development and take on bigger roles. First year players like Paul Ludwinski should expect to be in a huge role in the center position behind Shane Wright after being picked 5th overall in the 2020 OHL draft. 

Special Teams: 

This is an area on the Kingston team that I do sort of have concern for. Their powerplay was below average last year and their penalty kill was TERRIBLE. Their powerplay was 14th last year at 20.1%. But their penalty kill was oh boy. Um it was 2nd last in the OHL and they killed penalties only 70.9%. They’re powerplay will improve, but if they wanna step up in every category, the first step is the penalty kill. Guys like Tommy Budnick who will be a first year player, will hopefully get that chance because they won’t go anywhere without that improving. 

Goaltending: 

Kingston did draft 6’2 goalie Richard Szajrk in the 2020 OHL Priority Selection. He will hopefully get the chance to be the starter for them in the near future, but he probably won’t get there for a few years. A guy who could be the starter for them that they could target could be either Mack Guzda or Nick Chenard from the Owen Sound Attack. They can be the starter until someone like Szajek is ready for that position full time. 

Coaching: 

Having Paul McFarland as Kingston’s coach next season will surely help them out. He’ll bring valuable experience to the young guys because he was an assistant coach for the Leafs this season. He’ll help them out because he’ll be able to teach the young kids what it takes to reach the next level and how to be a pro. 

My expectations: 

I expect Kingston to be an absolute force next year. They’ve got the offence, and that’s what you need in a high scoring league like the OHL. They should hopefully be a top 5 team in the Eastern Conference next year and should hopefully win at least one round in the playoffs. They're gonna have to prove that they’re serious about contending next year, or major changes will need to happen. 

By: Luka Tkalcevic (Instagram: luka_tkalcevic, futurehockeystars)