2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup: London Knights preview

Mark Hunter and the London Knights have put a stick in the side of conventional wisdom this spring. It remains to be seen, of course, whether the strange brew of Michael Houser's goaltending, dedicated defence and the quick transition to offence will play at the MasterCard Memorial Cup like it did in the OHL playoffs.

The Knights, led on the back end by imposing Montreal Canadiens first-rounder Jarred Tinordi, are not to be easily stereotyped as a solely defensive-minded club. It's just the system Hunter has instilled across the second half of the season, playing the percentages to keep from getting in any wild west goalfests. (This is based on the amusing theory Houser might actually have a bad night some time.) They have reached the tournament despite having only one overage contributor, defenceman Brett Cook, where most teams rely on three. They also shrugged off having average special teams throughout the playoffs and being outshot by nearly seven per game in the five-game win over the Niagara IceDogs. Now, as much as a franchise such as the London Knights can ever be an underdog, they are one in Shawinigan.

1. Austin Watson will re-acquaint himself with an old friend

There will be a Team USA reunion on Saturday when London and Watson, a top defensive forward, face Saint John and high-scoring Charlie Coyle. It's not hard to imagine the pair will see a lot of each other with Tinordi, another member of the U.S. team which wound up in the world junior championship relegation round, looming close by. Watson will have to tie up some pretty good centres in this event, like he did against Niagara and the Kitchener Rangers one series prior.

2. They do have some scorers

Two Knights — Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Greg McKegg with the Erie Otters last season, undrafted 19-year-old Seth Griffith this campaign — have had a 40-goal season in the OHL. London doesn't lack for forwards who can create on the move. Tampa Bay Lightning first-rounder Vladislav Namestnikov was considered for Russia's national junior team. Rookie Max Domi will usually do something once or twice a game that is very advanced for a player his age. But freelancing and freewheeling is just not the Knights' M.O.

3. Houser is really, really good

It's all reruns at this point but it is an enduring mystery why the OHL's most outstanding player doesn't have a secure future with a NHL organization. Granted, the seven-round draft can make teams wait and see before they spend a choice on a junior netminder. Take one of the Memorial Cup goalies from last season, the Kootenay Ice's Nathan Lieuwen, who didn't get drafted until he was Houser's current age. And he has NHL size at 6-foot-5.

The 6-foot-2 Houser allows London to plays its style — antistyle, some say — since he is so consistent and seldom allows a juicy rebound. How that holds up in a tournament against three teams who each won at least two-thirds of their games is a question mark. It worked against Niagara, which was a Memorial Cup-calibre team.

4. Paging the veterans

McKegg (four goals, 11 points in 15 playoff games) and Boston Bruins second-rounder Jared Knight (four goals, eight points in 15 games) were each limited by injuries during the OHL playoffs. This is a tournament where a team will rise or fall on one or two of its 19-year-old forwards getting a timely goal. London will need that from either McKegg, Watson, Namestnikov or Watson or some combo thereof. Then again, given that most of their goals in the OHL final came from players still on the fresh-faced side of 18 years old, maybe they don't.

5. Right, that defence is really solid

It was not for nothing that Canada's semifinal loss at the world junior came while Harrington was out after injuring a shoulder against Coyle and Team USA on New Year's Eve. The signed Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick is a Webster's-worthy definition of quietly efficient. His soothing presence combined with Tinordi's reach and size and the two-way play of Olli Määttä probably puts London on close footing with Edmonton and Shawinigan in terms of their strength on the back end.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Contact him at neatesager@yahoo.ca and follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.