2016-17 OHL Season

This is the 2016-17 Ontario Hockey League season. This is the league's 47th season dating back to its' founding as the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League.

There are currently 20 teams in the OHL; 16 are based in the Canadian province of Ontario,three teams in the American state of Michigan and one team in the American state of Pennsylvania. Out of the 18 teams based in Ontario, 15 teams are in Southern Ontario, and 3 teams are in Northern Ontario.

The 20 OHL clubs play a 68 game unbalanced schedule, which starts in the third full week of September, running until the third week of March. Ninety per cent (90%) of OHL games are scheduled between Thursday and Sunday to minimize the number of school days missed for its players. Ninety-five per cent (95%) of the players in the league are attending high school or college.

Rule changes
The league adopted a Blindside Hit Rule whereby there will be a penalty assessed for those players who check an opponent from the blindside. Based on the discretion of the referee, a minor, major and game misconduct or match penalty may be assessed. Such infraction would also be subject to review and possible supplementary discipline by the league.

In addition, the league took further steps to address fighting in the game by lowering the threshold prior to automatic disciplinary action being assessed from 10 fights per player per season to three fights per player per season. Players exceeding such threshold will be subject to an automatic two game suspension, for each fight exceeding the threshold. If a player is instigated upon, the fighting major is not included in the player’s total number of fights.

The league has also made an adjustment to its icing rule in adopting the current NHL hybrid icing.

Franchise changes
none

Format
The J. Ross Robertson Cup playoffs consist of 16 teams,the top 8 from each conference. The teams play a best-of-seven game series, and the winner of each series advances to the next round. The Eastern Conference champion is awarded the Bobby Orr Trophy and the Western Conference champion is awarded the Wayne Gretzky Trophy. The two conference champions compete for the J. Ross Robertson Cup and a berth in the 2017 Memorial Cup being held at the WFCU Centre in Windsor, Ontario from May 19 to 28, 2017. If the Windsor Spitfires win the league playoffs the other finalist will qualify as the league's representative for the Memorial Cup tournament.

East Quarterfinals

 * Peterborough Petes defeated Niagara IceDogs 4 games to none
 * Mississauga Steelheads defeated Ottawa 67's 4 games to 2
 * Oshawa Generals defeated Sudbury Wolves 4 games to 2
 * Kingston Frontenacs defeated Hamilton Bulldogs 4 games to 3

West Quarterfinals

 * Erie Otters defeated Sarnia Sting 4 games to none
 * Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds defeated Flint Firebirds 4 games to 1
 * Owen Sound Attack defeated Kitchener Rangers 4 games to 1
 * London Knights defeated Windsor Spitfires 4 games to 3

East Semifinals

 * Peterborough Petes defeated Kingston Frontenacs 4 games to none
 * Mississauga Steelheads defeated Oshawa Generals 4 games to 1

West Semifinals

 * Erie Otters defeated London Knights 4 games to 3
 * Owen Sound Attack defeated Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds  4 games to 2

East Final

 * Mississauga Steelheads defeated Peterborough Petes 4 games to none

West Final

 * Erie Otters defeated Owen Sound Attack 4 games to 2

J. Ross Robertson Cup Final

 * Erie Otters defeated Mississauga Steelheads 4 games to 1