Header image for Interrobang article CREDIT: NHL.COM
Former Knights defenceman Olli Määttä is staying with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

This wasn't supposed to be part of the plan. The London Knights, back-to-back defending OHL champions and 2014 Memorial Cup hosts, were supposed to be near invincible.

A number of OHL teams didn't get that memo.

The Knights have an average 6- 5 record during October; a month that started with five straight wins. “What's going on?” is exactly what Knights fans are wondering.

For starters, it could be the loss of Olli Määttä to the NHL. Much of the Knights' dominance on the blueline was based on seeing Määttä and Nikita Zadorov returning to the London this season.

Now, that hope is around Zadorov.

“We are very proud that Olli has shown himself to be a top six defenseman in the entire Pittsburgh Penguins organization,” said Knights general manager Mark Hunter in a release. “Pittsburgh is a Stanley Cup contending team and this accomplishment is a testament to Olli's character, work ethic and dedication to the game of hockey.”

Määttä was one of the most beloved players on and off the ice during his two years in London. He gave it his all, day in and day out. He put up 23 points, six of those goals in the 2012 playoffs, leading London to the OHL title. He took an absolute beating at times on the ice, but he was always smiling.

But this is junior hockey and Olli Määttä has moved on.

“I think we're overthinking things too much,” defenceman Miles Liberati told the London Free Press. “Olli is not coming back, everyone's saying, ‘Oh, good for him, wish we had him,' but we've got to forget that now. That's done. We've got to start playing like a team. We've got to start coming together as a group.”

By no means is this panic mode for the Knights. Take a look at last season. London was average to start the season, but their 24-game winning streak changed their fortunes and gave the team new hope. London went 6-4 in October 2012, lost the first game in November and then didn't lose until New Year's Day.

But predicting that something similar will happen this season is difficult and next to impossible.

The Knights have already filled the import spot left by Määttä. German defenceman Tim Bender has committed to the Knights. And he does have some Knights' connections. Bender played 11 games this season with Munich ECH of the German Ice Hockey League (DEL), alongside Knights alumni Danny Richmond and Danny Bois.

Is he going to be an immediate fix to the Knights' woes? Not likely.

But then again, the Hunter brothers do have a knack for finding and developing young talent. Maybe Tim Bender will be the answer the Knights have been looking for all season.

Right now though, the only thing for London to do is wait. It's still early days in the season. True, the Knights need to beef up the blueline, now more than ever, but no team in the OHL is going to hand London a freebie. It's going to take time and a little bit of patience.

The Knights will get there eventually. Somewhere down the line, they will click as a team and find their groove. As the 2012 Stanley Cup-winning L.A. Kings showed, you only have to make playoffs.

After that, it's anyone's game.