Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that forward Greg Meireles of the Kitchener Rangers is the OHL ‘On the Run’ Player of the Week for the regular season week ending March 10 after recording nine points in three games including two goals and seven assists with a plus-minus rating of plus-2.
Meireles led the league in scoring last week and extended his personal point-streak to 17 straight games while helping the Rangers pick up a pair of wins to clinch a berth in the Western Conference playoffs. On Wednesday night he chipped in two assists despite a 5-3 road loss to the Hamilton Bulldogs, but rebounded Friday night with a goal and three assists to match a season-high earning second star honours in an 8-4 win over the Erie Otters. His week wrapped up Sunday afternoon in Guelph with a goal and two assists and second star recognition as part of the 5-2 victory over the Storm. Six of Meireles’ nine points were produced with the man advantage for the Rangers who own the league’s best power play operating at just over 28% efficiency. Meireles was part of a dangerous unit that filled the game sheets for the blue shirts over the weekend as both Riley Damiani and Joseph Garreffa tallied seven points, while Jonathan Yantsis picked up six points in three games. The Rangers currently occupy fifth place in the standings with a 32-29-3-1 record.
A 20-year-old from Ottawa, Ont., Meireles is playing in his fourth season with the Rangers who chose him in the first round of the 2015 OHL Priority Selection. Not only does Meireles lead the Rangers in scoring, he’s currently ranked tenth overall in the league with career-high offensive figures that include 92 points with 34 goals and 58 assists in 65 games. The alternate captain’s 17-game point-streak is the league’s longest active run and two games shy of the 19-game streaks recorded by Jason Robertson of the Niagara IceDogs and Hugo Leufvenius of the Sarnia Sting. Meireles is the second member of the Rangers to win the award this season following Riley Damiani in February.
Watch video highlights of Meireles and the Rangers against the Bulldogs, Otters, and Storm.
Also considered for the award this week was Arizona Coyotes prospect Liam Kirk of the Peterborough Petes with four goals and three assists for seven points in three games, and Los Angeles Kings prospect Akil Thomas of the Niagara IceDogs who scored three goals and four assists for seven points in three games. In goal, Buffalo Sabres prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen of the Sudbury Wolves went 2-1-0-0 making 91 saves in total for a goals-against-average of 1.01 and save percentage of .968 while establishing a new franchise record with his sixth shutout of the season.
2018-19 OHL ‘On the Run’ Players of the Week – Regular Season:
Mar. 4 – Mar. 10: Greg Meireles (Kitchener Rangers)
Feb. 25 – Mar. 3: Nate Schnarr (Guelph Storm)
Feb. 18 – Feb. 24: Stephen Dhillon (Niagara IceDogs)
Feb. 11 – Feb. 17: Nando Eggenberger (Oshawa Generals)
Feb. 4 – Feb. 10: Jacob Ingham (Mississauga Steelheads)
Jan. 28 – Feb. 3: Riley Damiani (Kitchener Rangers)
Jan. 21 – Jan. 27: Liam Foudy (London Knights)
Jan. 14 – Jan. 20: Morgan Frost (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds)
Jan. 7 – Jan. 13: Isaac Ratcliffe (Guelph Storm)
Dec. 31 – Jan. 6: Arthur Kaliyev (Hamilton Bulldogs)
Dec. 24 – Dec. 30: Kyle Maksimovich (Erie Otters)
Dec. 10 – Dec. 16: Andrew MacLean (Owen Sound Attack)
Dec. 3 – Dec. 9: Brett Neumann (Kingston Frontenacs)
Nov. 26 – Dec. 2: Jason Robertson (Niagara IceDogs)
Nov. 19 – Nov. 25: Morgan Frost (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds)
Nov. 12 – Nov. 18: Owen Tippett (Mississauga Steelheads)
Nov. 5 – Nov. 11: Jason Robertson (Kingston Frontenacs)
Oct. 29 – Nov. 4: Kevin Hancock (Owen Sound Attack)
Oct. 22 – Oct. 28: Stephen Dhillon (Niagara IceDogs)
Oct. 15 – Oct. 21: Justin Brazeau (North Bay Battalion)
Oct. 8 – Oct. 14: Damien Giroux (Saginaw Spirit)
Oct. 1 – Oct. 7: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (Sudbury Wolves)
Sept. 24 – Sept. 30: Lucas Chiodo (Barrie Colts)
Sept. 19 – Sept. 23: Akil Thomas (Niagara IceDogs)
OHL Writers 