Forward of the Month: Ethan Czata – Niagara IceDogs
Czata led all draft eligible players with 9 goals and 8 assists 11 games during the month of December. When he was on, he was on. All 17 points came in games where he registered multi-point games. Of his 9 goals, 5 came in back-to-back games where he notched two against the Soo Greyhounds and followed that up with a hattrick the following night against the Sudbury Wolves. The bad news: in all but one game he did not register a point, Czata was a minus player.
Also considered was Jake O’Brien of the Brantford Bulldogs who had 8 goals and 8 assists in 10 games. Charlie Paquette of the Guelph Storm with 7 goals and 8 assists in 11 games was also considered.
Defenceman of the Month: Martin Matejicek – Peterborough Petes
The overage import had arguably his best offensive performance in December with 3 goals and 6 assists in the month. He has 3 goals and 10 assists on the season. Matejicek had a two-goal performance against the Guelph Storm on December 8 as well as a 2-assist effort against the Niagara IceDogs on December first. He finished the month on a 3-game assist streak and was a plus-5 on the month.
Also considered were a pair of Kitchener Rangers defencemen. Cameron Reid had 2 goals and 6 assists in 10 games while his teammate Carson Campbell had 8 assists in 10 games.
Goaltender of the Month: Ben Hrebik – Barrie Colts
Hrebik put on what was perhaps one of the best, if not the best goaltending performances by a draft eligible goaltender in recent memory. It certainly was one of the easiest choices we’ve had to make here.
Hrebik went 6-1-1-0 in 8 appearances in December. He stopped 282 of 299 shots he faced for a whopping .943 save percentage and had a 2.14 GAA. He had a 45 save shutout on December 18 against the Owen Sound Attack and averages 37 shots against per game. He was named the OHL Goaltender of the Week for the week ending December 19.
Also considered was November’s goaltender of the month Aleksei Medvedev of the London Knights. He appeared in 5 games in December with a 3-2-0-0 record and stopped 153 of 166 shots for a .922 save percentage while posting a 2.68 GAA.
Previous choices
Forward of the Month
October: Michael Misa – Saginaw Spirit
November: Michael Misa – Saginaw Spirit
December: Ethan Czata – Niagara IceDogs
Defenceman of the Month
October: Cameron Reid – Kitchener Rangers
November: Matthew Schaefer – Erie Otters
December: Martin Matejicek – Peterborough Petes
Goaltender of the Month
October: Joey Costanzo – Windsor Spitfires
November: Aleksei Medvedev – London Knights
December: Ben Hrebik – Barrie Colts
OHL Writers 