After being eliminated in the OHL Final, the Barrie Colts' season is over. Let's go over the events that brought them to the final and what to expect for next season.
The Barrie Colts had an amazing run during the 2026 OHL Playoffs, but they weren’t able to go all the way as they were swept in the OHL Championship Series by the Kitchener Rangers.
Despite falling four wins short of the J. Ross Robertson Cup, this is a season that Colts players and fans will be able to look back on fondly once the sting of elimination wears off.
The Colts recovered from losing 10 of their first 13 games to start the season, finishing the regular season first in the Central Division and second in the Eastern Conference.
Barrie’s 11-game win streak in the middle of the season aided in the team finishing with 99 points, the third most in franchise history.
With home ice advantage in the first and second round, the Colts defeated the Niagara IceDogs and Ottawa 67’s in five games, rarely trailing in either series.
Then Barrie faced the Brantford Bulldogs in what was the best series of the post-season.
Despite the Colts putting up a good fight in the first four games, the Bulldogs had a 3-1 series lead heading back to Brantford.
The comeback ensues, starting with an overtime win in Game 5. Then in Game 6, it’s another overtime win after Barrie was down 3-1 in the game.
Game 7, the Colts shutout the Bulldogs in Brantford to complete the upset of the regular season championships, winning the Bobby Or Trophy.
All that being said, the team won’t be able to reminisce for too long as they will have to address the holes in the roster left by players that have played their last OHL game.
The most notable among those are co-captains Cole Beaudoin, prospect of the Utah Mammoth, and Kashawn Aitcheson, prospect of the New York Islanders.
Between the leadership they bring to the locker room and the offense they provide to the score sheet, it will be a challenge to replace what the two provide.
However, that doesn’t mean the Colts can’t be good again next season. There is plenty of depth on this team that can help keep this team competitive.
Along with that, head coach Dylan Smoskowitz will be back behind the bench next season so the team can just pick up where they left off in September with the same strong identity that brought Barrie to the finals.
There are no guarantees on how the 2026/27 season will go for the Colts but they have the opportunity to have another good season. They just have to keep working hard.