For Immediate Release
Friday March 14, 2014
Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced the
seven recipients of Minor Hockey Player of the Year Awards for players
representing the four Ontario Hockey Federation Member Partners including the
ALLIANCE, Greater Toronto Hockey League, Northern Ontario Hockey Association,
and both the Ontario Minor Hockey Association’s ETA and SCTA regions, along
with Hockey Northwestern Ontario and the Ontario East Minor Hockey League.
Four of the seven award winners are currently competing at the 2014 OHL Cup and include Adam Mascherin of the Vaughan Kings named GTHL Player of the Year, Brad Belisle of the Thunder Bay Kings named HNO Player of the Year, Zach Dorval of the Soo Thunder named NOHA Player of the Year, and William Bitten of the Ottawa Jr. 67’s named OEMHL Player of the Year. Additional award recipients include Anthony Salinitri of the Windsor Jr. Spitfires named ALLIANCE Player of the Year, Chris Paquette of the Greater Kingston Jr. Frontenacs named OMHA ETA Player of the Year, and Rylee St Onge of the Niagara North Stars named OMHA SCTA Player of the Year.
“Congratulations to all seven award winners and to their families, coaches, and teammates for a tremendous hockey season,” said OHL Director of Recruitment, Education Services, and Player Development Kyle Raftis who presented the awards on Thursday night. “This is a very exciting time for players at the minor midget level as they prepare for the next step in their hockey and academic careers and we are proud to recognize the achievements of these great players.”
All seven players are forwards including several high scorers led by Mascherin who scored 64 goals and 51 assists for 105 points in 54 games played for the Kings. Thunder Bay’s Belisle had 91 points in 51 games scoring 38 goals and 53 assists. The 67’s’ Bitten set an OEMHL record with 78 points in just 29 games played including 36 goals and 42 assists. Dorval picked up 76 points in 66 games scoring 46 goals and 30 assists, and Salinitri collected 40 points in 32 games including 23 goals and 17 assists. In the OMHA, Paquette had 52 points in 36 games with 23 goals and 29 assists, while St Onge had 35 points in 36 games including 25 goals and 10 assists.
The awards were presented Thursday night at the OHL Cup Showcase Tournament Banquet for the fourth straight year recognizing the achievements of the top minor midget aged players from across Ontario. The awards are presented annually to honour the minor midget players who best exemplify outstanding ability and the qualities of sportsmanship and leadership as voted by the minor hockey coaches, managers and organizations of each respective league.
The 2014 OHL Cup Showcase Tournament Banquet was officially sponsored by Team Snap, with Player of the Year awards sponsored by Graduor.
Past Award Winners:
ALLIANCE Player of the Year:
2014 – Anthony Salinitri, Windsor Jr. Spitfires
2013 - Travis Konecny, Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs
2012 – Jared McCann, London Jr. Knights Gold
2011 – Bo Horvat, Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs
GTHL Player of the Year:
2014 – Adam Mascherin, Vaughan Kings
2013 – Dylan Strome, Toronto Marlboros
2012 – Connor McDavid, Toronto Marlboros
2011 – Nick Ritchie, Toronto Marlboros
HNO Player of the Year:
2014 – Brad Belisle, Thunder Bay Kings
2013 - Zach Grzelewski, Thunder Bay Kings
2012 – Bryce Martyn, Thunder Bay Kings
2011 – Nolan Nicholas, Thunder Bay Kings
NOHA Player of the Year:
2014 – Zach Dorval, Soo Thunder
2013 – Blake Speers, Soo Thunder
2012 – Michael Amadio, Sault Ste. Marie North Stars
2011 – Ryan Kujawinski, Sudbury Minor Midget Wolves
OEMHL Player of the Year:
2014 – William Bitten, Ottawa Jr. 67’s
2013 – Andrew Peski, Ottawa Jr. 67’s
2012 – Andrew Abou-Assaly, Ottawa Jr. 67’s
2011 – Nicholas Baptiste, Ottawa Senators
OMHA Players of the Year:
2014 – Chris Paquette, Greater Kingston Jr Frontenacs (ETA) and Rylee St Onge, Niagara North Stars (SCTA)
2013 – Matt Spencer, Oakville Rangers*
2012 – Nik Coric, York Simcoe Express*
2011 – Alex Yuill, Quinte Red Devils*
*prior to 2014 there was a single OMHA Player of the Year award recipient
For more information please visit www.ohlcup.ca