OHL playoff preview:

The Windsor Spitfires began their defense of the Ontario Hockey League championship on the right note.

The Ontario Hockey League playoffs opened Thursday night, and the Spitfires started with a convincing 6-2 victory over the Erie Otters. The Spits are not only the defending OHL champs, but also the defending Memorial Cup champions, after winning the Canadian Hockey League title last May.

Windsor's Taylor Hall and Cam Fowler, expected to be among the top three players chosen in the June draft, hope to lead their team to a victory in the opening round over the eighth-seeded Otters in the Western Conference. Hall tied for the OHL's scoring lead this season with 40 goals and 106 points, and had three assists in the opening game.

The Otters will rely on veterans like forward Zack Torquato and defenseman Mitch Gaulton (New York Rangers, 2008). Justin Shugg (Windsor) and Greg McKegg (Erie) are also eligible for the June draft.

"Special teams has to be a key," Spitfires coach Bob Boughner told the Windsor Star. "We have to make sure we have composure. Everyone knows they're going to target Taylor Hall and Ryan Ellis and we have to make sure we don't retaliate."

The second-seeded London Knights will face off against the seventh-seeded Guelph Storm in the Western Conference. The Knights were led this season by Toronto Maple Leafs first-round draft pick Nazem Kadri, and will be relying on the budding Maple Leaf to lead the way in the playoffs. Guelph has a balanced attack led by 2009 draft picks Peter Holland (Anaheim) and Michael Latta (Nashville), who combined for 62 points in 19 games over the final month of the season. They also have an offensive threat in Taylor Beck (Nashville, 2009), who quietly finished fourth overall in league scoring.

The third-seeded Kitchener Rangers will face off against the sixth-seeded Saginaw Spirit. The Rangers had a 50-goal scorer in Jeff Skinner, also a top prospect for the June draft. The Spirit will be hoping Ivan Telegin, ranked 26th among draft-eligible North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting, will return to his early-season form. He was named top rookie in October and November, but suffered an injury that sidelined him for much of January. He ended the season with five points in three games for the Spirit.

The final Western Conference series is between the fourth-seeded Plymouth Whalers and the fifth-seeded Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. The  Whalers are led by Tyler Seguin, who is neck-and-neck with Hall in pre-draft rankings and finished tied with Hall for the OHL scoring lead (106 points). The Whalers' roster features several other draft picks, including goaltender Matt Hackett (Minnesota, 2009). The nephew of former NHLer Jeff Hackett enjoyed a breakout season this past year, posting a 38-18-1-2 record, a 2.62 goals against average and a .925 save percentage – second in the OHL. The Greyhounds will rely on a balanced attack that includes Los Angeles Kings prospect Jordan Nolan, the son of former NHL coach Ted Nolan. In net, Robin Lehner (Ottawa, 2009) will look to build on an all-star year in which he won 27 games with the Greyhounds.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

The Barrie Colts finished the regular season as the top OHL team and will be looking to battle their way to a title. Alex Burmistrov, ranked seventh among North American skaters in Central Scouting's midterm rankings, averaged a point a game in the regular season. He logged two goals and two assists in an 11-4 win over the eighth-ranked Sudbury Wolves in the series opener.

Alex Pietrangelo, who played nine games with the St. Louis Blues this season, will also play a leading role for the Colts. In 25 games this season with Barrie, the blueliner had 29 points. He also had a strong opener with three assists. The Wolves will hope that Eric O'Dell (Anaheim, 2008) and draft-eligible forward John McFarland will provide some offensive bite. Jared Staal (Phoenix, 2008) also had 57 points in 59 games in the regular season.

The second-seeded Ottawa 67s will look to avoid a repeat first-round upset to the seventh-seeded Niagara IceDogs. Draft-eligible Tyler Toffoli was one of three 30-plus goal scorers for the 67s, who have a strong tandem in net with Chris Perugini and draft-eligible Petr Mrazek, a Czech-born goaltender. The IceDogs will rely on goaltender Mark Visentin, who had 24 wins this season. Visentin competed in the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game and is one of the top-ranked OHL goaltenders for the June draft. Andrew Agozzino will be looked upon to lead the offense. The 5-foot-9, 185-pound forward, who was overlooked by NHL scouts last season, led the team with 37 goals and 66 points – a point-per-game average.

The third-seeded Mississauga St. Michael's Majors open the playoffs against the sixth-seeded Peterborough Petes. The Majors are led on offense by New York Islanders prospect Casey Cizikas, and draft-eligible Devante Smith-Pelly. The pair tied for the team lead with 62 points each in the regular season. Draft-eligible goalie JP Anderson and Chris Carozzi (Atlanta, 2008) combined to be the top tandem in the OHL this season. The Petes are missing a big hole with draft-eligible forward Ryan Spooner on the shelf due to a season-ending injury. Austin Watson, another draft-eligible player, played in the Top Prospects Game and had 19 points in the final seven games of the season for the Petes.

The fourth-seeded Kingston Frontenacs will face off against the fifth-seeded Brampton Battalion. The major storyline will be the effectiveness of Brampton forward and Vancouver Canucks  prospect Cody Hodgson. After battling back into the lineup from a back injury in February, he was sidelined at the end of the season with a broken toe. He vows, however, to play through the pain.

"Even if there's pain, I'll play on Friday," the 20-year-old told the Toronto Star. "Playoffs are big-time, lots of guys play with injuries, so it's not really a big deal to me. I'm going to give it my best no matter what."

Nathan Moon (Pittsburgh, 2008) and Ethan Werek (New York Rangers, 2009) lead the Kingston attack.

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