In 1985-86, the OHL consisted of 15 teams, divided between the Emms and Leyden Divisions. The Peterborough Petes finished first overall with 92 points and won the Hamilton Spectator Trophy. The North Bay Centennials led the Emms Division with 86 points. However, when the Robertson Cup playoffs were reached, neither team met. Guelph Platers-trained Jacques Martin ousted the Belleville Bulls for the championship.
The top three scorers that year made for an interesting and well-known trio. The leader may even have come close to the OHL record for most goals in a single season, had he played all 66 games for his team instead of 63. The second-place player went on to a career in the National League of Hockey, but his role was far from that of a goalscorer. The third played a long career and sadly passed away in August 2013 after a battle with leukemia.
Ray Sheppard – Cornish Royals – 81 goals
In 63 games, Sheppard has scored 81 and assisted 61 for 142 points. He not only led the league in goals, but also led the OHL in points, winning the Eddie Powers Trophy. Ray also received the Red Tilson Trophy as league MVP in what was his third of three years with Cornwall.
The Buffalo Sabers selected Sheppard in the third round of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, 60th overall, after only his first year as a junior. Ray’s first professional action camera in 1986-87 with the Rochester Americans of the AHL. After that, he had a decent NHL career, but never reached that 80-goal plateau again.
In 817 NHL regular season games, Ray has scored 357 and assisted on 300 for 657 points while playing for the Sabers, New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, San Jose Sharks, Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes. He reached the 50-goal plateau once during his career with 52 goals as a Red Wing in 1993-94. He tied for fifth in the NHL that season with Brendan Shanahan of the St. Louis Blues and Adam Graves of the New York Rangers.
Nick Kypreos – North Bay Centennials – 62 goals
That’s right, Nick Kypreos. Best known for his bully play in the National Hockey League, in the Ontario Hockey League, Kypreos was a goalscorer. In 1985-86, he assisted on 35 to go with his 62 goals for 97 points in 64 games. It was his third of four years in the OHL. All of his time in the league he spent with the Centennials, except for four games in 1983-84 with the Kitchener Rangers.
In his final season, Nick was on course for a 70-plus goal season, but he appeared in just 46 games for North Bay and scored just 49. Definitely not a sign of things to come, Kypreos at his worst spent 112 minutes in the penalty area. . That was done in 1985-86 during his 64th game.
Nick’s first professional action came in 1986-87 when he appeared in ten games with the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League. He was not selected in the NHL draft, but he played 442 regular season games in the league between 1989-90 and 1996-97 with the Washington Capitals, Hartford Whalers, New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs.
During his time in the NHL, Kypreos scored just 46 goals and assisted on 44 for 90 points. He spent 1,210 minutes on penalties. In connection with OHL, in 1992 he was traded from the Capitals to the Whalers in exchange for Mark Hunter, co-owner of the London Knights.
Shawn Burr – Kitchener Rangers – 60 goals
In just 59 games with the Rangers, Burr scored 60 and assisted 67 for 127 points. It was his third of three seasons with Kitchener. He also appeared in five games with the Detroit Red Wings that season, along with three regular-season games and 17 playoff games with the AHL’s Adirondack Red Wings. The Adirondacks were crowned Calder Cup champions in 1985-86.
After his first year in the Ontario Hockey League, Burr was selected seventh overall by the Red Wings in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft. He played his first professional hockey in 1984-85 with four games with the AHL. Red Wings and nine games with the NHL Red Wings.
After playing his last NHL hockey game in 1999-00, Shawn appeared in 878 NHL regular season games with the Red Wings, Tampa Bay Lightning, and San Jose Sharks. He scored 181 goals and assisted on 259 for 440 points.