LEAVER AND ROBERTSON NAMED OHL TOP PERFORMERS OF THE WEEK

Posted on by Dominic Tiano

Toronto, Ont. – The Ontario Hockey League today announced Top Performers of the Week for the week of regular season games ending Sunday, October 31, 2021

Petes’ Tucker Robertson Named OHL Player of the Week

Tucker Robertson of the Peterborough Petes is the OHL Player of the Week with five points including three goals and two assists in a pair of victories.

Robertson got the Petes going on Thursday, scoring before recording two primary assists in a 4-3 home win over the Hamilton Bulldogs. He earned first star honours, going 21-for-29 in the faceoff circle as the Petes got back in the win column. Robertson was excellent again on Saturday in Niagara, scoring second period goals three-and-a-half minutes apart as the Petes nipped the IceDogs 5-4. Robertson was once again the game’s first star, going 16-for-30 at the dot while recording four shots on goal.

An 18-year-old product of Toronto, Ont., Robertson is second among OHL skaters producing 1.78 points-per-game this season. His 16 points (6-10–16) over nine contests pace the Peterborough offence while his 238 faceoffs are the third-most in the League as he currently boasts a 58.8 percent success rate. Robertson recorded 18 points (8-10–18) over 55 games in 2019-20 after being a fourth round (72nd overall) pick from the Toronto Marlboros U16 program in the 2019 OHL Priority Selection. He attended rookie camp with the Carolina Hurricanes this past September.

Also considered for the award this week was Anaheim Ducks prospect Sasha Pastujov of the Guelph Storm who recorded a league-leading seven points (5-2–7) over three games as the Storm went 2-1. Los Angeles Kings prospect Brandt Clarke of the Barrie Colts was also impressive, posting six points (3-3–6) over three games as the Colts won a pair.

2021-22 OHL Players of the Week – Regular Season:
Oct. 25 – Oct. 31: Tucker Robertson (Peterborough Petes)
Oct. 18 – Oct. 24: Rory Kerins (Soo Greyhounds)
Oct. 11 – Oct. 17: Calum Ritchie (Oshawa Generals)
Oct. 4 – Oct. 10: Jack Thompson (Sudbury Wolves)


Generals’ Patrick Leaver Named OHL Goaltender of the Week

Patrick Leaver of the Oshawa Generals is the OHL Goaltender of the Week with two wins, a 1.00 goals-against average, .976 save percentage and his first career OHL shutout.

Leaver helped the Generals take road wins in North Bay and Sudbury, stopping 82 of the 84 shots he faced. The first-year goaltender carried a shutout into the third period of Thursday’s matchup against the Battalion, turning aside 44 shots in a 3-2 win. Leaver was flawless in Sudbury on Friday, posting a 38-save shutout as the Generals prevailed by a score of 4-0.

An 18-year-old from Perth, Ont., Leaver owns a 5-2-0-1 record with a 2.49 goals-against average, .925 save percentage and one shutout through his first nine games of the season. The 6-foot-1, 180Ib. goaltender was Oshawa’s eighth round (158th overall) pick in the 2019 OHL Priority Selection from the Smiths Falls Bears U18 program. Leaver won a silver medal while representing Team Ontario at the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer, Alta.

Also in the running for this week’s award was undefeated London Knights goaltender Brett Brochu who earned a pair of wins over Owen Sound and Sarnia, posting a 1.50 goals-against average and .950 save percentage to climb to 8-0-0-0.

2021-22 OHL Goaltenders of the Week – Regular Season:
Oct. 25 – Oct. 31: Patrick Leaver (Oshawa Generals)
Oct. 18 – Oct. 24: Jacob Oster (Guelph Storm)
Oct. 11 – Oct. 17: Brett Brochu (London Knights)
Oct. 4 – Oct. 10: Tucker Tynan (Niagara IceDogs)
 

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.

OHL WRITERS’ DRAFT ELIGIBLE PLAYER OF THE MONTH: OCTOBER

Posted on by Dominic Tiano
Brett Brochu of the London Knights. Photo by Luke Durda / OHL Images

This season will be unlike any other for the players eligible for the 2022 NHL Entry Draft that are playing in the Ontario Hockey League.

As you know, the pandemic wiped out the entire 2020-2021 OHL season and NHL scouts didn’t have an opportunity to scout the talent in the OHL with the exception of those that played in Europe or the Under-18 or the showcase tournament in Erie. We are basically combining two drafts into one and there are over 200 players eligible for the draft for the first time or re-entering the draft.

In a normal season here at OHL Writers, we look only at the players eligible for the NHL Entry Draft for the first time, but because of the number of players eligible for 2022 we have decided to include first time eligible players and players entering the draft for the second time which is why you will see some players born after September 15, 2002 throughout the season talked about here.

Also, a little different this season will be our Draft Eligible Player of the Month. Normally, we pick the player who had the best month but again, because of the volume of players available for the draft for this season we are breaking it down by position.

Our draft eligible player of the month for October up front is Tucker Robertson of the Peterborough Petes. To say Robertson had a fantastic month would be an understatement. In 9 games he notched 6 goals and 10 assists to lead all draft eligible players in scoring with 16 points. He was also 140 for 238 on the faceoff dot for a 58.8 winning percentage.

Robertson was kept off the scoresheet just twice in October while also compiling 4 multi point games and two games with 3 assists.

Also considered was North Bay Battalion’s Kyle Jackson who scored 3 goals to go along with 10 helpers in 11 games.

On defence, our choice is Ty Nelson of the North Bay Battalion. Nelson had 2 goals and 8 assists in 11 games and leads all draft eligible defensemen in scoring with 10 points and is fourth among all OHL defensemen in scoring. Nelson was held off the scoresheet just 4 times and had 4 multi-point games. He also finished with a very impressive plus-7.

Also considered was Hamilton Bulldogs defenseman Gavin White. He notched 7 helpers through 10 games and was a steadying influence at both ends of the ice. It took some time for White to find his stride, but he finished the month off with 6 helpers in Hamilton’s final 6 games of the month.

In the net Brett Brochu of the London Knights gets the nod. He’s played in every game and has a perfect 8-0-0 record. He also boasts the leagues best save-percentage if .935 and best goals-against-average of 2.07 (goalies with more than two starts).

Also considered was Oshawa Generals netminder Patrick Leaver, If it wasn’t for Brochu’s outstanding numbers, Leaver would have been the obvious choice with his .925 save-percentage and 2.49 goals-against-average.