Monday, March 21, 2011

OHL Announces Four Annual Award Winners

Press Release

Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced the recipients of four of the league’s annual awards following the conclusion of the 2010-11 regular season.

The individual awards include the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy presented to the Top Scorer in the OHL, the Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy presented to the Top Scoring Right Winger, the Dave Pinkney Trophy for the goaltending tandem of the team with the Lowest Goals Against, and the F.W “Dinty” Moore Trophy for the Rookie Goalie with the Best Goals-Against-Average.

Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy (Scoring Champion): Tyler Toffoli, Ottawa 67’s and Jason Akeson, Kitchener Rangers

For the second year in a row and fourth time in league history the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy will be shared between two players as Tyler Toffoli of the Ottawa 67’s and Jason Akeson of the Kitchener Rangers tied for the OHL scoring lead with 108 points each. Last season Taylor Hall of the Windsor Spitfires and Tyler Seguin of the Plymouth Whalers each recorded 106 points to win the award. The Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy was donated by the Toronto Marlboro Athletic Club in memory of Eddie Powers and was first awarded in 1945-46 to Tod Sloan of St. Michael’s who scored 79 points in 25 games.

Toffoli led the OHL with 57 goals and added 51 assists in 68 games for his 108 points. He produced an impressive 33 multi-point games with two five-point games which included four goals and one assist on Sunday to wrap up the season in a first star performance as part of a 7-3 win over the Sudbury Wolves. The 18-year-old from Scarborough, ON, also had a league-high 25-game point streak from November 7 to January 15. Selected in the second round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by the Los Angeles Kings, Toffoli becomes the seventh member of the 67’s to win this award and first since Corey Locke in 2003-04. His 57 goals were also the most by a 67’s’ player since Locke scored 63 in 2002-03.

Akeson led the OHL with 84 assists and scored 24 times to reach the 108-point mark in 67 games. His 84 assists set a new Rangers record which was previously held by Dwight Foster, the franchise’s all-time points leader who recorded 83 assists as part of a 143-point season to win this award in 1976-77. Akeson had 30 multi-point games including two six-point games. The 20-year-old from Orleans, ON, becomes just the fourth member of the Rangers to win this award and the first since Justin Azevedo produced 124 points in the 2007-08 season. Akeson recently signed a three-year entry-level contract signing as a Free Agent with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy (Top Scoring Right Winger): Tyler Toffoli, Ottawa 67’s and Jason Akeson, Kitchener Rangers

In addition to sharing the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy, Tyler Toffoli and Jason Akeson will each have their names on the Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy in recognition of their 108-point seasons as the Top Scoring Right Wingers in the OHL for 2010-11.

The Jim Mahon Trophy was first presented following the 1971-72 season by the players and management of the Peterborough Petes in memory of their right winger Jim Mahon who was accidentally killed that summer. Toffoli becomes the fourth member of the 67’s to win this award following Matt Foy who had 132 points in 2002-03, while Akeson becomes the third member of the Rangers to win the award following Ron Goodall who had 105 points in 1986-87. This year marks the first time the Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy will be awarded to co-recipients. Last season, Taylor Beck of the Guelph Storm had 93 points in 61 games to win the award.

Dave Pinkney Trophy (Lowest Team Goals Against): JP Anderson and Mikael Audette, Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors

For the second straight season the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors allowed the fewest goals in the OHL allowing just 170 in 2010-11. JP Anderson, an 18-year-old from Toronto, ON, led all OHL goaltenders with a goals-against-average of 2.36. The San Jose Sharks prospect appeared in 51 games for the Majors producing a 38-10-0-1 record and a league-high six shutouts for the OHL’s top team. Mikael Audette, a 20-year-old from Granby, Quebec, joined the club in January and held a 2.75 goals-against-average in eight games. Also contributing to the Majors’ success between the pipes this season was Anthony Peters who played 15 games and Taylor Edwards who played one.

The Dave Pinkney Trophy is awarded annually to the goaltending tandem from the team that allows the fewest goals against during the regular season. Last season, the Majors earned their first Dave Pinkney Trophy allowing just 175 goals against with Anderson and OHL Goaltender of the Year Chris Carrozzi. 170 goals-against is the lowest in the OHL since the 2004-05 season when the London Knights allowed just 125.

F.W. “Dinty” Moore Trophy (Best Rookie GAA): Matej Machovsky, Brampton Battalion

Matej Machovsky of the Brampton Battalion led all rookie goaltenders with a goals-against-average of 2.90 which ranked as the seventh best mark in the entire OHL. He finished the season with a 7-13-0-2 record including one shutout splitting time with the Guelph Storm where he began the season and played five games. His first career OHL shutout was earned on January 7 where he made 32 saves as second star of an 8-0 win over the London Knights. The 17-year-old from Opava, Czech Republic, is eligible for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft and was listed third among North American goaltenders by NHL Central Scouting in their midterm rankings.



The trophy is named after F.W. “Dinty” Moore of Port Colborne, ON, who served as OHA President from 1942-45. Machovsky becomes the first member of the Battalion to ever win the award. Last season, Petr Mrazek of the Ottawa 67’s captured the award with a goals-against-average of 3.00.

Regular Season and Division Trophies:

In addition to the four individual awards that were confirmed at the end of regular season play, the league would like to recognize the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors as the Hamilton Spectator Trophy winners for 2010-11. The trophy was first presented to the Ontario Hockey Association by the Hamilton Spectator in the 1957-58 season recognizing the team that finishes the regular season first overall. The Majors earned a 53-13-0-2 record for 108 points to earn the franchise’s first Hamilton Spectator Trophy. The winner of this trophy has gone on to win the OHL Championship 15 times, and the Memorial Cup seven times.

The Majors also captured the Emms Trophy as Central Division winners which marks the first time since the 2003-04 season as the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors. The Ottawa 67’s posted a 44-19-3-2 record for 93 points to earn their 14th and second straight Leyden Trophy as East Division winners. The Emms and Leyden Trophies were first presented in the 1975-76 season when the OHL was split into divisions with the expansion of the league to 12 teams. The awards originated in recognition of Matt Leyden and Leighton “Hap” Emms for their contributions to junior hockey in Ontario.

In the Western Conference, both the Owen Sound Attack and the Saginaw Spirit earned their first Division Trophies. The Spirit led the West Division with a 40-22-4-2 record and 86 points to win the Bumbacco Trophy. The award was inaugurated in 1994-95 when the league realigned into three divisions and is named after former Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds General Manager Angelo Bumbacco. Attack earned a 46-17-1-4 record for 97 points to capture the Midwest Division title and the Holody Trophy. The award is in recognition of the contributions to the OHL by former Guelph and Owen Sound Platers Governor Joe Holody and was presented for the first time following the 1998-99 season with the realignment of the league into four divisions.

(Nathan can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)

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