Cam Dineen is my first back to back winner as the draft eligible player of the month. The North Bay Battalion defender is coming off a very strong December in which he was named the Ontario Hockey League’s Rookie of the Month and Defenceman of the Month and has carried it into January.
Earlier this month, Dineen appeared on NHL Central Scouting’s mid-term rank at 117th among North American skaters. Many are realizing that ranking is just too low.
Dineen appeared in 13 games for the Battalion in the month of January. He scored 6 goals and added 7 assists in those 13 games. He was held off the score sheet just 3 times and closed out the month with a five game point scoring streak.
It wasn’t all just about the points for Dineen, but when he contributed those points. He has been “clutch” during the month, a “money player”. Consider this when you look at his six goals: 3 game tying goals to force overtime, 1 overtime game winner, and 2 game winners in regulation. It doesn’t get more clutch than that.
Dineen is now second among defencemen and rookies in the scoring race with 11 goals and 33 assists in 47 games.
Also considered were Adam Mascherin of the Kitchener Rangers and Mikhail Sergachev of the Windsor Spitfires. Mascherin scored 7 goals and 10 assists in 17 games while Sergachev scored 3 goals and added 9 assists in 12 games.
In goal, Evan Cormier of the Saginaw Spirit appeared in all but one game for the Spirit. He had a record of 4-6-0-1 with a goals against average of 3.03 and a save percentage of .908.
Previous winners
December – Cam Dineen
November – Matthew Tkachuk
October – Alex DeBrincat
September – Matthew Tkachuk
