CHL Round 1 Recap | Leenders, Bedkowski sweep series; Mrtka helps force Game 5 with Seattle

The CHL Playoffs are in full swing with first-round matchups in the Ontario Hockey League, Western Hockey League and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League having been played this week.

All six Sabres prospects scattered across the three leagues qualified for the playoffs: goaltenders Ryerson Leenders (Brantford Bulldogs, OHL) and Samuel Meloche (Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, QMJHL) along with defensemen David Bedkowski (Ottawa 67’s, OHL), Simon-Pier Brunet (Victoriaville Tigres), Noah Laberge (Newfoundland Regiment, QMJHL), and Radim Mrtka (Seattle Thunderbirds, WHL),

Each of the three leagues follows a format that mirrors the NHL playoffs with best-of-seven series throughout. The winners of each league will match up in the 2026 Memorial Cup, which will be hosted by the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets from May 22 to 31.

• OHL bracket
• WHL bracket
• QMJHL bracket

Here’s a full breakdown of where each prospect’s opening-round series stands:

Ryerson Leenders – Brantford Bulldogs (OHL)

Leenders (seventh round, 2024) and the Bulldogs – led by head coach and former Sabres defenseman Jay McKee – finished in first place in the Eastern Conference with a 48-10-8-2 record and 106 points.

Brantford won the Hamilton Spectator Trophy as the OHL regular season champions and had just one regulation home loss during the regular season.

The Bulldogs have one of the most talented CHL teams with five first-round picks including Jake O’Brien, Marek Vanacker, Adam Jiricek, Ben Danford and Jett Luchanko. They have 12 total NHL draft choices and two potential 2026 first rounders in Caleb Malhotra and Vladimir Dravecky.

Leenders complemented that group with a career-best 2.69 goals-against average (ninth best in the OHL) and a .910 save percentage that ranked eighth in the league. The Nanticoke, Ontario, product went 27-5-6 in 39 games with two shutouts.

The Bulldogs swept the No. 8 seed Sudbury Wolves as Leenders posted a 2.47 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage in four games. Leenders was named first star of Game 2 with 26 saves in a 4-2 win and made 20 stops in a 2-1 win in Game 4.

The Bulldogs will face the lowest remaining seed following the conclusion of the first round.

Samuel Meloche – Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL)

The Huskies finished first in the Western Conference with 40 wins, 33 of which came from Meloche (fourth round, 2025) who had the second most wins by any QMJHL goaltender

Meloche played 50 of 64 games with a career-best 2.75 goals-against average, which was ninth in the league, and an .897 save percentage.

Meloche didn’t give up a goal for the first 66:16 of the first round against the No. 8 seed Gatineau Olympiques. The Huskies won 8-0 in Game 1 after a four-point effort from Jayden Pominville – the son of former Sabre Jason Pominville – and a 23-save shutout from Meloche.

Meloche had a 29-save shutout in Game 2 and 25 stops in a 6-5 overtime win in Game 3. The Olympiques took Game 4 to set up a Game 5 on Friday night at 7 p.m.

David Bedkowski – Ottawa 67’s (OHL)

Bedkowski (third round, 2025) had an interesting third season in the OHL after being traded from the Owen Sound Attack to the Ottawa 67’s, who finished third in the Eastern Conference.

The 6-foot-6, 220-pound defenseman had a career-high 29 points (5+24) in 68 regular-season games between the two teams and had a plus-19 rating in 30 games with the 67’s.

Ottawa drew the six-seed Kingston Frontenacs and swept them 4-0.

Bedkowski had two points in four games and scored the game-winning goal late in the second period of Game 1, which ended 7-4. Bedkowski tallied an assist in a 4-3 Game 2 win.

Simon-Pier Brunet – Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL)

Despite his previous success in the QMJHL playoffs, Brunet’s season came to a quick close as the No. 7 seed Tigres were swept by the No. 2 seed Blainville-Boisbriand Armada.

The Tigres were leading 3-2 in the second period of Game 1, tied 2-2 in Game 2, and dropped Game 3 in overtime before falling 4-1 in Game 4.

Brunet (fourth round, 2024) was traded from Drummondville to Victoriaville in the offseason prior to the 2025-26 campaign. He had 26 points (2+24) in 54 games during the regular season and could be taking his talents to the NCAA level for next year as the defenseman is a Merrimack College commit.

Noah Laberge – Newfoundland Regiment (QMJHL)

Laberge (fifth round, 2025) finished the regular season with the third most assists by a defenseman in the league (49) and the fourth most points by a blueliner (56).

Laberge’s 28 power-play assists were third best by any player in the QMJHL, and he helped power the Regiment to third in the Eastern Conference.

Newfoundland drew the No. 6 seed Cape Breton Eagles in the first round. After dropping Game 1, they’ve won the last three games to lead the series 3-1. Laberge had two assists in Game 2 and one in Game 4 to set up Game 5 slated for Friday at 7 p.m. EDT.

Read more on Laberge here.

Radim Mrtka – Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)

The Thunderbirds snuck into the WHL Playoffs as the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference with a 7-1-1-1 finish in their last 10 regular-season games.

Mrtka (first round, 2025) had 34 points (1+33) in 43 games in a season that included an injury and time spent with Czechia at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship.

The Thunderbirds matched up against the No. 2 seed Penticton Vees and currently trail the series 3-1 after losing the first three games. Seattle lost two of those three contests by just one goal including Game 1, in which Mrtka had an assist on the tying goal.

Mrtka helped the Thunderbirds salvage Game 4 with Game 5 set for Friday at 10:05 p.m. EDT.

Prospect Spotlight

Maxim Strbak, D – Rochester Americans (AHL)

The Sabres announced the signing of defenseman and 2023 draft choice Maxim Strbak on Wednesday.

Strbak recently had his junior season at Michigan State conclude in the NCAA Tournament. He tallied 46 points with a plus-33 rating in 102 collegiate games.

Strbak will report to the Rochester Americans on an amateur tryout for the rest of the season before his three-year, entry-level contract begins during the 2026-27 season.

Find more details on Strbak’s signing here

Luke Osburn, D & Vasily Zelenov, F – University of Wisconsin (NCAA)

Osburn (fourth round, 2024) and Zelenov (seventh round, 2024) were two of the Badgers that knocked Strbak out of the NCAA Tournament.

As a result, the two Wisconsin freshmen are off to the Frozen Four in Las Vegas where they’ll match up against No. 2 overall seed North Dakota in the semifinals on Thursday, April 9 at 5 p.m. EDT.

Osburn was a catalyst for a frantic comeback as he scored the first of two Wisconsin goals in 34 seconds to tie the Worcester Regional Final against Michigan State 3-3 in the final five minutes. Wisconsin won 24 seconds into overtime to go to its first Frozen Four since 2010.

Konsta Helenius, F – Rochester Americans (AHL)

Helenius (first round, 2024) has continued his monster second season in North America with 55 points (19+36) in 54 games with the Amerks.

Helenius recorded his second career AHL hat trick against the Hartford Wolf Pack on March 22 and the 19-year-old has 10 points in his last five games with four goals and six assists in that span.

He is tied for 14th in the AHL in assists (36) and tied for 16th in points (55) with 14 multi-point games this season.