Subban Brothers Dominating the Shootout in Belleville

Malcolm Subban is currently on a 9-0 streak ion the shootout, dating back to January 1, 2011. Photo by Aaron Bell/OHL Images

Wednesday night in Belleville, a scene took place that’s becoming a semi-regular occurrence for the Bulls.

After three periods against the Guelph Storm that resulted in a 1-1 draw, followed by a scoreless OT (in which the Bulls out shot Guelph 7-2), the shootout was at hand, at which point the Subban brothers took over.

Belleville’s Joseph Cramarossa beat Storm G Garrett Sparks five hole to put the first marker on the board, and Brock McGinn responded with a tally of his own for the Storm, setting the stage for Jordan Subban, who stepped up and also managed to beat Sparks between the legs.

Malcolm Subban then stopped an attempt by Scott Kosmachuk, giving the Bulls their 4th shootout win of the season, and extending Subban’s personal shootout streak to 9 games, dating back to January 1, 2011.

In fact, in the 4 shootout victories earned by the Bulls so far this year, the Subban brothers have teamed up to secure 3 of them. On top of scoring the winning goal last night, Jordan also accomplished that feat on October 10th vs Brampton, and on November 4th vs Windsor.

Malcolm – the Bruins 1st round selection (24th overall) in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft - is currently playing some of the best hockey of his OHL career, as evidenced by how his numbers this season match up to his previous 2 years in the league (via hockeyDB.com).

Season   GP   Min   GA  EN SO   GAA   W   L   T   Svs    Pct
------------------------------------------------------------
2010-11  32  1785   94   4  0  3.16  10  17   2   844  0.900
2011-12  39  2258   94   1  3  2.50  25  14   0  1121  0.923
2012-13  17  1002   36   2  1  2.16   9   4   3   503  0.933

Ranked 2nd in the O at his position and the odds on favourite to earn the starting job for Canada at the upcoming World Junior Championships in Russia, Malcolm only continues to impress, and the Bruins have to be excited about having him in their system.

Jordan is the youngest of the trio of Subban brothers, and currently leads the Bulls in scoring with 15 points (4G, 11A) in 20 games. What makes that feat – and his shootout prowess – all the more impressive is that he plays on the Belleville blue line, and is only 17 years old to boot. As such, Jordan is currently projected to join his brothers among the ranks of NHL draftees in the 2013 Draft.

Season   GP    G    A  Pts  PIM
-------------------------------
2011-12  56    5   15   20   31 
2012-13  20    4   11   15    6

While the Bulls are currently ranked dead last in goals for in the OHL, they sit on top the East Division, one point up on the Oshawa Generals with a record of 11-6-3-0. This early success is due in large part to the Subban Brothers, and those shootout wins have certainly gone a long way in terms of boosting their record despite the team’s offensive woes.

Belleville is counting on this dynamic duo to carry the load, and will need big efforts from them – as well as Brandon Gaunce, Daniil Zharkov and new addition Jake Cardwell – in order to remain competitive.

As long as the Bulls can continue to push games to a shootout, they should be fine.