Ontario Hockey League schedule released; save the dates

A fresh start. A clean slate. No matter where you finished last season. So take heart, Erie Otters and Kingston Frontenacs.

(Sorry, but the script leaves two blank spaces for the teams which finished in the cellar of each Ontario Hockey League conference. Take pride in knowing someone else will be there next season.)

The OHL released its schedule on Thursday and it's always fun to look ahead and imagine what games might be big. There is no way of knowing with certainty n a league where rosters turn over quickly and teams make reinforcements or rebuild in mid-season. That happens organically. However, with the season fewer than three months away, there are a few games which look like fill-the-fridge appointment viewing for aficionados with a good cable package.

Erie Otters at Niagara IceDogs, Sept. 20; Erie at London Knights, Sept. 21 — Heavily hyped 15-year-old phenom Connor McDavid, the most ballyhooed boy to come to the OHL since John Tavares seven years ago, will start his junior tenure in two of the toughest places to play in the OHL. Who knows what the lineups of last season's finalists will look like if players are off at NHL camps, but McDavid will have to try to find space in Niagara's cozy confines in his debut, then face a likely 9,500-strong sellout in London in the Knights' home opener. The second game offers a matchup between Connor McDavid and another creative forward, London's Max Domi.

Think this big for Erie? The Otters, whose home opener is not until Oct. 5, have already announced they're chartering fan buses to St. Catharines.

McDavid and Barrie Colts defenceman Aaron Ekblad, who also received early admission to the OHL, might not go head-to-head. The Otters and Colts play a home-and-home series on Dec. 29 and Jan. 4, which might conflict with the world U17 tournament.

Barrie Colts at Ottawa 67's, Sept. 20 — The Colts' 2012 playoff run ended with an overtime loss at the Ottawa Civic Centre, which is now a construction zone. It's fitting, then, that Barrie is Ottawa's home-opener opponent at Scotiabank Place. Each team will look vastly different due to graduations and NHL camp absences, but scouts will want an early-season eyeful of two potential top 10 NHL picks, 67's centre Sean Monahan and Barrie's Ekblad, who's up for the draft in 2014.

Mississauga Steelheads at Belleville Bulls, Oct. 24 — The first two goalies taken in the NHL draft could go head-to-head on an Olympic-size sheet in a possible prelude to a world junior tournament showdown. Russian goalie Andrei Vasilevski, who appears headed to the Steelheads after being taken in the first round by the Tampa Bay Lightning, will match up against Canadian net hopeful and Boston Bruins first-rounder Malcolm Subban in the Bulls' goal. Given how great Vasilevski was for Russia in Calgary last winter prior to the semifinal, it's a measuring stick for Subban.

Peterborough Petes at Oshawa Generals, Sept. 28 — The second meeting between the long-time division rivals will likely be a grudge match. With former 17-year Petes GM Jeff Twohey now running the Gens, there's bound to be a little extra animosity between the two organizations and their fans.

Kitchener Rangers at Plymouth Whalers, Oct. 27; Plymouth at Kitchener, Oct. 28 — After squaring off seven-game series each of the last two springs, the Rangers and Whalers renew their cross-border rivalry with a home-and-home series. It also comes far enough into the season that both coach-GMs, Kitchener's Steve Spott and Plymouth's Mike Vellucci, should each have a fully stocked lineup. With the Whalers' Tom Wilson (Washington Capitals) and Rangers' Radek Faska (Dallas Stars) going early in the NHL draft last Friday, seven first-round NHL picks could be on the ice this night.

London at Kitchener, Nov. 18 — The Hwy. 401 rivals will have played once already by this point, but this Sunday matinee will be the first where Dale Hunter's Knights and Spott's Rangers should have their full lineups. The teams also have another game at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium nine days later, meaning there could be some added nastiness. The Ryan Murphy-led Rangers could feel ready to prove something to London, which swept them 4-0 in the conference final last season.

Windsor Spitfires vs. Saginaw Spirit; London vs. Plymouth, Dec. 29 at Comerica Park, Detroit — The Ontario League finally gets on the outdoor game bandwagon with a Michigan-Ontario doubleheader at the home stadium of baseball's Detroit Tigers. There is the spectre of a NHL labour stoppage, but no way commissioner Gary Bettman lets it affect his baby, the NHL Winter Classic.

Kitchener at Peterborough, Jan. 10 — Did the schedulemakers have a sense of humour? Ottawa Senators first-rounder Matt Puempel, whom the Rangers picked up from the Petes this week, is scheduled to make his return to the Peterborugh Memorial Centre on OHL trade deadline day.

Beyond the trade deadline, who knows? You can always bet on junior hockey being full of surprises.

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