OHL Writers Draft Eligible Player of the Month for January

Posted on by Dominic Tiano

Draft Eligible Forward of the Month – Colby Barlow – Owen Sound Attack

There is no debating this choice. Barlow went on a tear in the month of January and scored 14 goals and 6 assists in just 12 games to take the honors here and now leads the draft class in goals and points. Actually, he leads the league in goals. You’ll also find him among the leaders in assists and plus/minus.

Barlow had just one game where he didn’t register a goal or a point and that came on January 20 on the road against the London Knights. He had three multi-goal games and 7 multi-point games. For his efforts, the OHL named him Player of the Month for January.

Also considered was Zander Veccia of the Mississauga Steelheads. Veccia appeared in 11 games in January, scoring 7 goals and adding 9 assists. Just how productive was Veccia? Over half his production of 13 goals and 15 assists on the season came in January.

Draft Eligible Defenceman of the Month – Rodwin Dionicio – Windsor Spitfires

If anyone benefited from a trade near trade deadline, it’s Dionicio. He appeared in 11 games for the Spitfires in January and scored twice and assisted on 11 to lead all draft eligible blueliners. He had 4 goals and 3 assists in 17 games prior to the deal. He had two games with 3 helpers. One coming against the Saginaw Spirit on January 12 and the other against the London Knights on January 15.

Also considered was Beau Akey of the Barrie Colts. He appeared in 11 games during the month and scored once and assisted on 9 others. He has 7 goals and 29 assists on the season to lead draft eligible defencemen.

Draft Eligible Goaltender of the Month – Jacob Oster – Oshawa Generals

It was quite the month for Oster after a trade from the Guelph Storm. He appeared in 4 games, going 3-1-0 with a hefty .965 save-percentage and back-to-back shutouts where he stopped 19 of 19 shots he faced against the Kingston Frontenacs and then stopping all 30 he faced against the North Bay Battalion two nights later. Even in his only loss he stopped 35 of 38 shots. He was named Goaltender of the Month by the OHL for the week of January 23-29.

Also considered was Zach Bowen of the London Knights who went 3-0-0 and stopped 80 of 84 shots with one shutout and a save-percentage of .952.

Our previous choices were:

Forwards

Colby Barlow – Owen Sound Attack – January

Quentin Musty – Sudbury Wolves – December

Quentin Musty – Sudbury Wolves – November

Ryan Abraham – Windsor Spitfires – October

Defencemen

Rodwin Dionicio – Windsor Spitfires – January

Beau Akey – Sudbury Wolves – December

Brody Crane – London Knights – November

Hunter Brzustewicz – Kitchener Rangers – October

Goaltenders

Jacob Oster – Oshawa Generals – January

Joey Costanzo – Windsor Spitfires – December

Andrew Oke – Saginaw Spirit – November

Collin MacKenzie – Ottawa 67’s – October

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Beau Akey – Barrie Colts – Player Profile

Posted on by Dominic Tiano
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Beau Akey of the Barrie Colts. Photo by Terry Wilson/OHL Images

Barrie Colts blueliner was drafted with the 19th overall pick at the 2021 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection. NHL Central Scouting ranks him 25th among North American Skaters on their mid-term rankings. He is the second ranked defenceman on their list from the OHL behind London Knights’ Oliver Bonk.

Akey is still on the raw side and there is plenty of development time ahead of him. He’s a gifted skater with great agility, east-west ability, strong edge work, flawless crossovers and his backward skating may just be the best among OHL defenders available for the draft. His 4-way mobility is up there with all of them as well.

Akey may also have the most skill and offensive upside among the defenders available. His ability to break out of his zone by skating or making a very good first pass, his ability and willingness to take on opponents one-on-one with success and his ability to beat the forecheck make him a transition beast.

His reads are very good, knowing when to jump into the play and join the rush. Once in the o-zone, Akey continues his good reads and makes the right pass at the right time. His ability to walk the lane and create lanes are impressive. He also has an uncanny ability to elude the defence unnoticed to get to the open ice.

Akey has all the tools to be an offensive defenceman. But he needs to put in some work on the defensive side of the game to become a two-way defender who can impact the game at both ends. An excellent backward skater, he needs to keep tighter gaps when the opposition is coming his way. He will also need to get stronger defending his blueline. He’s inconsistent in those two areas but not something further coaching and developing can’t fix.

He’s not small at 6-feet but definitely needs to add some strength that will help him fight battles in the dirty areas, which is also in need of some work.

At this point for me, Akey is an early second round pick, which may be just a tad higher than where NHL Central Scouting has him ranked. I have the confidence in Akey’s ability to put in the work where necessary to go along with his ability to improve.

OHL Writers Draft Eligible Player of the Month for December

Posted on by Dominic Tiano

Draft Eligible Forward of the Month – Quentin Musty – Sudbury Wolves

For the second consecutive month, Quentin Musty is our draft eligible forward of the Month. The Sudbury Wolves star netted 3 goals and 17 assists in 10 games during the month of December. He was held pointless in just one game – December 30 against the North Bay Battalion. He had 5 multi point games including a 1 goal, 6 assist effort against the Niagara IceDogs on December 4.

Also considered was Colton Smith of the Windsor Spitfires. Smith appeared in 11 games during December, notching 7 goals to go along with 8 helpers. Smith was kept off the score sheet 3 times and 6 of his 8 other games were multi point games.

Draft Eligible Defenceman of the Month – Beau Akey – Barrie Colts

Among defencemen, Beau Akey got our nod. Akey posted 12 points in 10 games with points in 8 of those 10 games. He had 4 multi-point games including 2-point efforts against the Sarnia Sting on December 4, Oshawa Generals on December 11 and Sudbury Wolves on December 13. He posted a 3-point effort with a goal and 2 assists on December 30 against the Owen Sound Attack.

Also considered was Sudbury Wolves defender Matthew Mania. Mania appeared in 10 games for the Wolves in December scoring twice and assisting on 10 others. It’s his consistency that impressed the most with points in 7 of his 10 games including a 3-point night against the Niagara IceDogs on December 4 and 2-oint nights against the Barrie Colts on December 10 and Oshawa Generals on December 18.

Draft Eligible Goaltender of the Month – Joey Costanzo – Windsor Spitfires

Our choice for draft eligible goaltender of the month is Joey Costanzo of the Windsor Spitfires. Costanzo started 4 games for the Spits in December winning all 4 contests. He also came in relief for one game stopping all 6 shots he faced in a period. Altogether he stopped 132 of 142 shots he faced for a .930 save-percentage while posting a 2.33 goals-against-average.

Our previous choices were:

Forwards

Quentin Musty – Sudbury Wolves – December

Quentin Musty – Sudbury Wolves – November

Ryan Abraham – Windsor Spitfires – October

Defencemen

Beau Akey – Sudbury Wolves – December

Brody Crane – London Knights – November

Hunter Brzustewicz – Kitchener Rangers – October

Goaltenders

Joey Costanzo – Windsor Spitfires – December

Andrew Oke – Saginaw Spirit – November

Collin MacKenzie – Ottawa 67’s – October

24 OHL PLAYERS NAMED TO HOCKEY CANADA UNDER-17 ROSTER FOR INAUGURAL CAPITAL CITY CHALLENGE

Posted on by Dominic Tiano

Toronto, Ont. – The Ontario Hockey League is pleased to congratulate 24 OHL players named by Hockey Canada to the Under-17 roster set to participate at the inaugural Capital City Challenge, a four-team tournament featuring three men’s under-17 teams and Canada’s National Women’s Team to take place November 26 to December 1 at TD Place in Ottawa.

The 66 players named to compete in the event will be divided into three teams – Team Canada Black, Team Canada Red and Team Canada White – and will compete against Canada’s National Women’s Team as part of its centralization schedule. The rosters for Team Canada Black, Team Canada Red and Team Canada White will be unveiled in the coming weeks.

The under-17 roster was selected by Scott Salmond (Creston, B.C.), senior vice-president of hockey operations, Alan Millar (Tottenham, Ont.), director of player personnel, and Byron Bonora (Brooks, Alta.), head scout for the U17 program. U17 Program of Excellence management group lead Philippe Boucher (Saint-Apollinaire, Que./Drummondville, QMJHL) and manager of hockey operations Benoit Roy (Sudbury, Ont.), as well as regional scouts Pierre Cholette (Quebec), Rob Simpson (Ontario), Darren Sutherland (Atlantic) and Darrell Woodley (Ontario), also provided input with support from Hockey Canada’s 13 Members.

“We are excited to unveil the 66 players that will suit up for our three men’s under-17 teams at the Capital City Challenge and have the unique opportunity to compete against Canada’s National Women’s Team in Ottawa,” said Salmond. “Although this has not been a traditional year for our Program of Excellence and the under-17 group, we are excited to introduce these athletes to an event that replicates short-term, international competition.”

In addition to the 24 OHL players selected, a total of nine OHL hockey operations personnel have been named to the staffs of the three Canadian squads including Team Red director of operations Kyle Raftis (Soo Greyhounds), Team White head coach Rob Wilson (Peterborough Petes), assistant Chad Wiseman (Guelph Storm) and Team Black assistant coach Jordan Smith (Soo Greyhounds).

24 OHL Players Named to 2021 Capital City Challenge:

*player committed to Ontario Hockey League club

Goaltenders (3):
Joseph Costanzo (Niagara IceDogs)
Nathaniel Day (Flint Firebirds)
Mason Vaccari (Kingston Frontenacs)*

Defencemen (6):
Beau Akey (Barrie Colts)
Cam Allen (Guelph Storm)
Tristan Bertucci (Flint Firebirds)
Oliver Bonk (London Knights)*
Alexis Daviault (Sarnia Sting)
Olivier Savard (Saginaw Spirit

Forwards (15):
Denver Barkey (London Knights)
Chris Barlas (Ottawa 67’s)
Colby Barlow (Owen Sound Attack)
Easton Cowan (London Knights)*
Nick Lardis (Peterborough Petes)
Luke McNamara (Saginaw Spirit)
Ethan Miedema (Windsor Spitfires)
Luke Misa (Mississauga Steelheads)
Owen Outwater (North Bay Battalion)
Alex Pharand (Hamilton Bulldogs)
Luca Pinelli (Ottawa 67’s)
Carson Rehkopf (Kitchener Rangers)
Calum Ritchie (Oshawa Generals)
Matthew Soto (Kingston Frontenacs)
Carey Terrance (Erie Otters)

Team Staff (Canada Black):
Assistant Coach – Jordan Smith (Soo Greyhounds)
Athletic Therapist – Marie-Pierre Néron (Ottawa 67’s)

Team Staff (Canada Red):
Director of Operations – Kyle Raftis (Soo Greyhounds)
Goaltending Coach – Franky Palazzese (Sarnia Sting)
Video Coach – Nick Biamonte (Guelph Storm)
Equipment Manager – Spencer Stehouwer (Sarnia Sting)
Team Physician – Dr. Wanda Millard (London Knights)

Team Staff (Canada White):
Head Coach – Rob Wilson (Peterborough Petes)
Assistant Coach – Chad Wiseman (Guelph Storm)

The Capital City Challenge opens on Nov. 26 at TD Place Arena, home of the Ottawa 67’s. Canada’s centralization roster will face Team Canada White in the tournament opener at 12 p.m. ET, followed by Team Canada Black taking on Team Canada Red at 7 p.m. ET.

Full-event ticket packages can be purchased for $80 (plus applicable fees) starting Monday, Nov. 8, while single-game tickets will be available starting as low as $5 at HockeyCanada.ca/Tickets.

For more information on Hockey Canada and the Capital City Challenge, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along via social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and by using #OurGameIsBack.


About the Ontario Hockey League
The Ontario Hockey League is a proud member of the Canadian Hockey League which is the world’s largest development hockey league with 60 teams in nine Canadian provinces and four American states. In addition to the OHL, the CHL is made up of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and the Western Hockey League. The CHL supplies more players to the National Hockey League and U SPORTS than any other league.