The conclusion to my three part season preview sees me look at potential award candidates for 2023/24.
Red Tilson Trophy - David Goyette (Sudbury Wolves)
The second leading returning scorer to the OHL this year behind Matthew Poitras. The only difference is that I expect Goyette to be surrounded by better talent on a better team. Thus...he's my pick. I think he has an absolutely monster year as part of a dominant first line with Musty and Delic. Poitras is obviously a candidate too. Does he see some time in the NHL? Colby Barlow is going to have a huge year for a great Owen Sound team. He should be right up near the scoring leaders too. How about Michael Misa as an underdog? Let us not forget that other exceptional status players took big steps forward as sophomores. Based on what I saw at the Hlinka/Gretzky, I think Misa has a huge season. Could we see an Import player take it? It doesn't happen often, but it does happen (two of the last four, in fact). Maybe Sale or Haltunnen come in and become immediate impact players?
Jim Rutherford Goaltender of the Year - Dom DiVnicentiis (North Bay Battalion)
We rarely have back to back winners, but it does happen. Mike Murphy was the last to accomplish it in 2008 and 2009. I just believe that DiVincentiis is clearly the best netminder in the league and the safest bet here. We have quite a few platoons heading into the year on good teams and that obviously decreases the odds of those players. One name that really sticks out as a potential winner is Andrew Oke. He wasn't as good last year, but he has proven previously to be a solid netminder and is clearly Saginaw's guy. Even though he has no prior experience in the league, Jakub Vondras in Sudbury has to be candidate given his situation and strength of team. Lastly, Michael Simpson has to be a candidate in London after the recent trade.
Max Kaminski Trophy - Ty Nelson (North Bay Battalion)
Nic Hague is the only other OHL defender to score 30 goals in the new millennium and I think Nelson joins him in accomplishing that feat. Nelson really took a nice step forward last year and returns to the league likely even stronger. The top candidate to stop Nelson is Guelph's Michael Buchinger. Yes, he's the highest returning scoring defender along with Nelson, but he's got the keys to Guelph's offense with Cam Allen out and he is one of the league's most underrated players. I look at Rodwin Dionicio, Hunter Brzustewicz, Beau Akey, and Zayne Parekh as other options.
Emms Family Award - Matthew Schaefer (Erie Otters)
It's a really strong rookie group entering the OHL this year. But for me, the most likely winner is Matthew Schaefer. As we saw in the preseason, he's going to contribute on offense immediately. He's in a great situation to succeed and I actually think he could join a pretty exclusive club among the U17 defenders to score 50 points. My second choice would be Barrie center Riley Patterson, who's an '06. He's incredibly talented and he's going to get a ton of ice time. Don't be surprised if he scores 80+ points this year. Otherwise, guys like Brady Martin, Jake O'Brien, Mattheas Stark, Tyler Hopkins, all had strong preseasons too.
Leo Lalande Trophy - Braeden Bowman (Guelph Storm)
Like any year, lots of good candidates here. But I think Bowman is in a great position to put up some huge numbers in Guelph this season, carrying over from his positive progression last year. Barrie defender Connor Punnett is another candidate that I really like. He's one of the league's most underrated two-way players. Kitchener's Mitchell Martin, Soo's Jack Beck, Owen Sound's Sam Sedley, Peterborough's Connor Lockhart, London's Michael Simpson and Windsor's Oliver Peer are others that I'm really looking at.
Matt Leyden Trophy - Dale Hunter (London Knights)
Despite some pretty good teams, Dale Hunter hasn't won this award in over a decade. I think it's his year. I think really highly of Chris Lazary in Saginaw and he's bound to be in contention. Greg Walters in Owen Sound and Ken MacKenzie in Sudbury are also great potential candidates.
Eddie Powers Trophy - David Goyette (Sudbury Wolves)
Basically, just take all the candidates for the Red Tilson and insert them here. I think Goyette is the top candidate and in fact, I wouldn't be shocked at all of Musty and Delic were in the top 6 or 7 of scoring too. I also mentioned Michael Misa. I think he's a great sleeper for this.
Goal Scoring Leader - Colby Barlow (Owen Sound Attack)
Without question, Barlow has to enter the year as the top candidate to lead the league in goals. As long as he stays healthy, I think he's a lock for at least 50. Other candidates that I like...Kasper Halttunen in London, Michael Misa in Saginaw, David Goyette in Sudbury, Nick Lardis in Brantford, and Gavin Hayes in Flint.
1st Team All Stars
C - Matthew Poitras
LW - Colby Barlow
RW - David Goyette
D - Ty Nelson
D - Michael Buchinger
G - Dom DiVincentiis
Coach - Dale Hunter
2nd Team All Stars
C - Michael Misa
LW - Quentin Musty
RW - Kasper Halttunen
D - Beau Akey
D - Rodwin Dionicio
G - Michael Simpson
Coach - Ken MacKenzie
3rd Team All Stars
C - Martin Misiak
LW - Easton Cowan
RW - Eduard Sale
D - Hunter Brzustewicz
D - Zayne Parekh
G - Jakub Vondras
Coach - Chris Lazary
1st All Rookie Team
C - Riley Patterson
LW - Ryan Roobroeck
RW - Brady Martin
D - Matt Schaefer
D - Jakub Fibigr
G - Jack Ivankovic
2nd All Rookie Team
C - Tyler Hopkins
LW - Mattheas Stark
RW - Sam O'Reilly (although may qualify at center)
D - Cameron Reid
D - Ben Radley
G - David Egorov
Posts
1 comment:
I'm absolutely shocked that Kirill Kudryavtsev isn't on any of the lists. He's a standout defender and is also one of the top returning point getters, despite being more of a defensively focused player. I'm expecting over 70 points from him this season.
Post a Comment