OHL Writers Draft Eligible Players of the Month: November

Posted on by Dominic Tiano

It was a wild and crazy month in the Ontario Hockey League and it’s not always easy to select the best performances among forwards, defencemen and goaltenders. Yet, here we are doing just that among the players eligible for the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.

Forward of the Month: Liam Greentree – Windsor Spitfires

There were a lot of options here but ultimately decided on Greentree because of what he is doing on the League’s last place club. Greentree posted 9 goals and 9 assists in just 10 games in November and is a bright spot on a season Spitfires’ fans would like to forget. He’s creating a lot of chances for himself and his teammates and he’s making them count. Greentree has 17 goals and 18 assists in 22 games on the season and leads the Spits in most offensive categories.

Also considered were: Anthony Romani of the North Bay Battalion who had 9 goals and 6 assists in 11 games; Kocha Delic of the Sudbury Wolves who had 6 goals and 10 assists in 11 games; Trent Swick of the Kitchener Rangers who notched 8 goals and 9 assists in 13 games and Simon Slavicek of the Flint Firebirds who scored 5 goals and 11 assists in 12 games.

Defenceman of the Month: Zayne Parekh – Saginaw Spirit

It was an easier decision on the blueline where Parekh put up 7 goals and 12 assists in 11 games. He was held off the scoresheet just twice and only 2 games were not multi point games. He had a hattrick on November 8 against Flint – the first of his OHL career.

Parekh finished with a minus in just one game in November, a 3-1 win over the Windsor Spitfires. It just happened to be one of the games he went pointless in as well. Parekh now has 9 goals and 22 assists in 23 games on the season.

Also considered was Ottawa 67’s defenceman Henry Mews who had 2 goals and 10 assists in 10 games. Returning after missing 3 games, Mews put up points in 7 of his 10 games with all but two of them being multi-point games. He now has 3 goals and 15 assists in 20 games on the season.

Goaltender of the Month: Jackson Parsons – Kitchener Rangers

Perhaps an even easier decision was selecting Parsons. Yes, he plays on a great Rangers squad but he is one of the reasons they are so good. He made 11 appearances in November and posted a 9-1-0-0 record. As good as Kitchener is as a team, Parsons still faced some rubber stopping 303 of 323 shots he faced for a .937 save-percentage, 2.05 goals-against-average and 2 shutouts.

Parsons faced 30 or more shots in 7 of his 10 complete games in November and is 7th among OHL goalies in shots faced on the season. Parsons is now 14-5-0-0 on the season with a 2.43 goals-against-average and .921 save-percentage. So, he is not just the beneficiary of playing on a good team.

We didn’t really consider anyone else as our nominee.

Our monthly choices:

Forward of the Month

Liam Greentree – Windsor Spitfires – November

Adrian Misaljevic – Kitchener Rangers – October

Defenceman of the Month

Zayne Parekh – Saginaw Spirit – November

Jacob LeBlanc – Sarnia Sting – October

Goaltender of the Month

Jack Parsons – Kitchener Rangers – November

Brayden Gillespie – Guelph Storm – October

OHL ANNOUNCES ACADEMIC PLAYERS OF THE MONTH FOR JANUARY

Posted on by Dominic Tiano

Toronto, Ont. – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that Cooper Way of the Oshawa Generals, Pano Fimis of the Niagara IceDogs, Trent Swick of the Kitchener Rangers and Ryan Mast of the Sarnia Sting have been named Academic Players of the Month for January.

Though the puck has yet to drop on the 2020-21 OHL Regular Season, players are striving for excellence in the classroom through their studies. The League continues to work with government and public health agencies to prepare a safe return to play. Academic players of the month are listed in correspondence with their 2019-20 divisions. Details concerning the structure of 2020-21 team alignment will be made available upon release of the OHL Regular Season schedule.

Here’s a look at the OHL’s Academic Players of the Month for January:

East Division: Cooper Way of the Oshawa Generals is being recognized as January’s East Division Academic Player of the Month. He holds a 92% grade in Biology, 98% in Chemistry, 99% in Calculus and an 86% in English for an overall average of 94% in Grade 12 studies at Maxwell Heights Secondary School and St. David Catholic Secondary School.

“Cooper has shown an incredible focus and work ethic,” noted team academic advisor Tom Buchanan. “Cooper has demonstrated his determination as he strives for goals in both academics and hockey.”

Way suited up for one game with the Generals last season. The 17-year-old Waterloo, Ont. native was a fourth round pick of the Generals in the 2019 OHL Priority Selection out of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Elmira Sugar Kings where he put up 25 points (8-17—25) over 46 games during the 2019-20 campaign.

Central Division: Niagara’s Pano Fimis is January’s Central Division Academic Player of the Month. He boasts a 91% in Chemistry, a 92% in Math and a 90% in Financial Accounting in Grade 11 studies at Governor Simcoe Secondary School.

Fimis is described as a leader among his peers with a commitment to his studies that will serve him well in the future. “Pano exemplifies all that we look for in a student-athlete. He has made the best of this difficult situation we find ourselves in and has worked extremely hard, according to his teachers,” wrote IceDogs academic advisor Tim Tope.

Fimis was chosen second overall in the 2020 OHL Priority Selection by the IceDogs following a 104-point season where he captained the Toronto Jr. Canadiens to a GTHL U16 Championship. The 16-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont. was named GTHL Minor Midget Player of the Year and represented Canada at the 2020 Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he captured bronze.

Midwest Division: Trent Swick of the Kitchener Rangers has been named Midwest Division Academic Player of the Month for January. At St. Francis Catholic Secondary School, he achieved an 87% grade in English, an 87% in Introduction to Anthropology, Psychology and Sociology, and a 94% in Chemistry. He currently holds a 90% mark in Religion as well.

“Trent is to be commended for his consistent academic focus and attention to detail during this very unusual and challenging school year,” wrote academic advisor Dave Tennant. “It takes a great deal of dedication and perseverance to achieve the success he has, and I wish him all the best in continuing his studies.”

Rangers head coach and general manager Mike McKenzie added: “It is great to see Trent has used his time wisely and kept up with his studies over the course of the year. One of the reasons we were excited to draft Trent last year was his work ethic on and off the ice and this award recognizes that off-ice work ethic.”

The 16-year-old Thorold, Ont. native was drafted in the third round of the 2020 OHL Priority Selection after a 55-point season with the Southern Tier Admirals.

West Division: Sarnia Sting defenceman Ryan Mast is the West Division’s Academic Player of the Month for January. Mast carries an impressive 92% average across six Grade 12 courses at Bloomfield Hills High School. His report card includes high standing in Calculus (92%), Advanced Composition – English (90%), Physics (82%), Psychology (94%), Business Ethics (95%) and Accounting (97%).

Mast has been praised for his exemplary time management skills and self-motivation towards his studies as well as his ability to balance his off-ice training routine with his daily school expectations.

The 18-year-old defender put up 11 points (1-10—11) over his 58-game rookie season with the Sting. A native of Bloomfield, Mich., Mast was a ninth round pick in the 2019 OHL Priority Selection out of the Detroit Compuware AAA Program.

2020-21 OHL Academic Players of the Month:

East Division:
January – Cooper Way (Oshawa Generals)
December – Shane Wright (Kingston Frontenacs)
November – Lawson Sherk (Hamilton Bulldogs)

Central Division:
January – Pano Fimis (Niagara IceDogs)
December – Tnias Mathurin (North Bay Battalion)
November – Hunter Haight (Barrie Colts)

Midwest Division:
January – Trent Swick (Kitchener Rangers)
December – Eric Uba (Guelph Storm)
November – Connor Lockhart (Erie Otters)

West Division:
January – Ryan Mast (Sarnia Sting)
December – Davis “T-Bone” Codd (Saginaw Spirit)
November – Gavin Hayes (Flint Firebirds)

A total of 334 graduates utilized their OHL Scholarship at post-secondary institutions across North America during the 2019-20 academic year, with a total contribution by teams of over $3 million.  Over the past 10 seasons, OHL Scholarship payments have totalled more than $25 million.

Click here for more information about ‘OHL Players First’ programs.