Saturday, December 3, 2011

OHL Top Performers of November

Press Release

Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced the top OHL Performers of the Month for November, 2011, including forward Tanner Pearson of the Barrie Colts, defenceman Dougie Hamilton of the Niagara IceDogs, rookie Radek Faksa of the Kitchener Rangers, and goaltender Malcolm Subban of the Belleville Bulls.

OHL Player of the Month – Tanner Pearson, Barrie Colts
Tanner Pearson led the OHL in scoring in November with 24 points in 12 games scoring eight goals and a league-high 16 assists for the Barrie Colts.  He recorded a point in all 12 games and is currently on a 13-game point streak which is one game shy of matching teammate Colin Behenna for the longest streak recorded so far this season.  During the streak he produced seven multi-point games in total including a career-best six-point game on November 18.  In that contest he picked up his second hat-trick of the season netting the game-winner and added three assists as first star of a 6-5 overtime win against the Ottawa 67’s.  Then on November 20 he tallied three assists as third star of a 3-1 win over the Kingston Frontenacs to become the first two-time OHL Player of the Week recipient of the season.  In addition to his efforts with the Colts, Pearson competed with Team OHL in both games of the 2011 SUBWAY Super Series and scored a goal in each contest.

Pearson, a 19-year-old from Kitchener, ON, is playing in his second OHL season with the Colts.  He currently leads the league in scoring with a career-high 20 goals and league-high 37 assists for 57 points in 26 games.  Recently ranked 22 among OHL skaters eligible for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by NHL Central Scouting, Pearson was one of 15 OHL players that received an invitation to Canada’s National Junior Team Selection Camp which opens December 10 in Calgary, AB.

OHL Defenceman of the Month – Dougie Hamilton, Niagara IceDogs
For the second straight month Dougie Hamilton of the Niagara IceDogs is the league’s top defender with 15 points in 11 November games scoring four goals and 11 assists along with a plus-minus rating of plus-4.  He recorded a point in 10 of his 11 games played including nine straight games to close out the month, and has already extended his streak into December establishing a new career-high of 10 straight games.  Hamilton was recognized as a star of the game five times in November receiving first star honours on November 25 in a two-point effort with the game-winning goal plus an assist in a 6-3 victory over the Windsor Spitfires.  Hamilton also recorded four assists in two games of the 2011 SUBWAY Super Series serving as captain for the game November 14 in Sault Ste. Marie which resulted in a 6-3 win for Team OHL to extend their undefeated streak to 18 straight games against Team Russia in this event.

Hamilton, an 18-year-old from Toronto, ON, is playing in his third OHL season with the IceDogs.  Last season Hamilton finished third in voting for the OHL Defenceman of the Year Award but claimed both OHL and CHL Scholastic Player of the Year honours.  Selected ninth overall by the Boston Bruins in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Hamilton leads all defencemen and is currently ranked fifth in overall league scoring with 41 points in 26 games.  Hamilton was one of 15 OHL players invited to Canada’s National Junior Team Selection Camp which opens December 10 in Calgary, AB.

Kal Tire OHL Rookie of the Month – Radek Faksa, Kitchener Rangers
Radek Faksa led all OHL rookies in scoring with 16 points in 10 games scoring eight goals and eight assists with a plus-minus rating of plus-10 to help the Kitchener Rangers win nine games in November.  He recorded points in nine of his 10 games played including a career-high seven straight games to end the month.  He also recorded five multi-point games and received first star honours in three of those contests including a 4-3 win over the Niagara IceDogs to begin the month November 4 where he scored two goals including the game-winner.  He also scored the game-winner and added two assists as first star of a 4-3 win over the Sudbury Wolves November 11, and scored two goals and an assist as first star of a 7-3 win over the Erie Otters November 25.

Faksa, a 17-year-old native of the Czech Republic was selected by the Rangers 22nd overall in the 2011 CHL Import Draft.  Eligible for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Faksa was recently ranked fourth among OHL skaters by NHL Central Scouting and currently leads all rookies in scoring with a league-high 14 goals along with 13 assists for 27 points in 25 games.

Vaughn OHL Goaltender of the Month – Malcolm Subban, Belleville Bulls
Malcom Subban led the OHL with a 9-1-0-0 record in November which included two shutout victories and a league-low goals-against-average of 1.48 along with a .942 save percentage to help the Belleville Bulls climb to the top of the OHL’s Eastern Conference Standings.  He set a new career-high with five straight wins and also became the first CHL netminder to collect two Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week awards this season, earning both in the same month.  Subban also led the OHL in three star selections with six including an impressive five first star selections.  He earned two of those first star honours with his shutout victories that included a 25-save performance November 6 in a 1-0 win over the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors, and November 25 when he made 34 saves in a 6-0 win over the Guelph Storm.

 Subban, a 17-year-old from Rexdale, ON, is playing in his second full season with the Bulls and is currently the OHL’s top netminder with a league-best goals-against-average of 1.90 and save percentage of .939 in 13 starts this season.  He was also recently ranked the top 2012 NHL Entry Draft eligible goaltender in the OHL by NHL Central Scouting in their Preliminary Rankings.

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

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