Rookie of the Year / Emms Family Award Finalists:
No brainer selection here. Perfetti finished the year with 74 points in 63 games and led the Division winning Spirit in scoring. He is the highest scoring 16 year old rookie since Alex Galchenyuk. It will be exciting to see what he has in store for his final season in Saginaw next year.
2) Jamie Drysdale
The only defenceman nominated this year. Drysdale finished the year with 40 points for the Otters breaking Travis Dermott's franchise rookie record of 28. His 15 power play assist led all rookies but what impressed me most was his 116 shots in 63 games which is a very high total for a 16 year old defenceman. Only Ryan Merkley has had more since it has become an officially tracked stat.
3) Quinton Byfield
The Jack Ferguson award winner finished 2nd among rookies with 182 shots. His 2 SHGs and 3 SHPs were most among rookies. He finished 3rd among rookies with 61 points.
4) Marco Rossi
The '01 born import forward made a great impact with the 67s this year finishing with 65 points in 53 games. His 1.23 points per game were tops among rookies but being an '01 born player and being on a loaded Ottawa team has him 4th on my list.
5) Jacob Perrault
The rookie pivot from Sarnia joined Cole Perfetti in the 30 goal club. Those two along are among the only five 16 year old rookies since 09-10 to hit the 30 goal mark joining Matthew Puempel, Alex Galchenyuk and Arthur Kaliyev.
6) Tyler Tullio
Had a very productive season on the Oshawa Generals finished 6th among OHL rookies in scoring.
Overage Player of the Year / Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy Finalists:
Led the OHL with 61 goals and finished 2nd with 113 points and was the only offensive weapon on the North Bay Battalion. Brazeau scored 21.5% of North Bays goals and had points on 49.1% of their goals
2) Mac Hollowell
Fans will point to Frost and Hayton as the stars of the Greyhounds but the most irreplaceable player on the team this year without a doubt was Mac Hollowell. Hollowell led all OHL defencemen in goals with 24 and points with 77 this year.
3) Tye Felhaber
Finished 2nd in the OHL with 59 goals and added 50 assists to place himself 3rd in the league with 109 points.
4) Kevin Hancock
Finished the year with 52 goals and 107 points. Averaged 1.68 points per game while with Owen Sound. His 1.36 per game while with the London Knights was a team high.
5) Brandon Saigeon
Finished the year with 92 points split between Hamilton and Oshawa. Scored 16 power play goals for the 2nd consecutive year. Was a disappointing -3 while with the Generals.
6) Sean Durzi
Only played in 35 games this year but finished with 37 points. Under a point per game in Owen Sound but picked it up with 20 in 17 games with Guelph.
Most Sportsmanlike Player of the Year / William Hanley Trophy Finalists:
Does anyone really spend that much time in picking this winner? Do they just look at PIMs and go from there? McGregor is my choice for sticking it out in Sarnia and breathing in that chemical air for 4 years.
2) Cole Carter
Showed great leadership and class on a young Mississauga team.
3) Nick Suzuki
I made my picks before I pulled up the previous winners and see that Nick has won 2 in a row. He will likely win a 3rd in a row because it seems like the easy thing to do when you try and quantify a qualitative characteristic like sportsmanship.
4) Ryan Suzuki
Not sure how the OHL feels about someone from Barrie being nominated for this award (i kid, i kid)
5) Allan McShane
2 Canadians prospects nominated for this. How about that.
6) Jospeh Garreffa
He finishes last as punishment for the Kitchener media continually whining about 3 stars.
Coach of the Year / Matt Leyden Trophy Finalists:
1) John Dean
Took over the reigning Western Conference champions who fielded the 3rd youngest team in the league this year after a host of graduations from last years squad. The teams best player Barrett Hayton only suited up for 39 games yet the team led the West Division for most of the year before being passed in the final month by Saginaw after they loaded up at the deadline.
2) Andre Tourigny
No teams core has shown more growth from last year to this year than that of Ottawa. A lot of credit has to go to Andre Tourigny as he helped guide the Easts 8th place team from '17-'18 to 1st place by December which allowed the management team to push all in.
3) Chris Lazary
I wouldn't be surprised if Lazary won the award but is he going to win it because of the job he did or because this team grossly underachieved while Troy Smith was the coach?
4) Greg Walters
The Generals did a great job this year of keeping shots to the outside as Kyle Keyser faced more shots from low danger areas then any other OHL starter with over 79% of his shots coming from the outside. The 1st year coach led the Generals to 44 wins and the 3rd seed in the East
5) Dale Hunter
Dale Hunter did a great job managing players with NHL aspirations and young players accumulated at the deadline last year. Finished 1st place in the Western Conference with Joseph Raaynakers as his goalie which is a feat in itself.
6) Cory Stillman
Pros: Took at team that finished last in the league 1 year ago to home ice in the 1st round of the playoffs
Cons: Was it the coach or was it star goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen?
Pros: This team got home ice advantage while having the Pilon brothers play significant minutes.
Cons: This is the 6th oldest team in the OHL so you hope with a veteran team that they would have success
Cons: Worst power play in the OHL. Last 4 coach of the years PP ranks? 3,1,2,3
Goaltender of the Year Award Finalists:
Led the league in save percentage, wins and shutouts. Did not have much in front of him and helped orchestrate a miraculous turn around for the Sudbury Wolves.
2) Kyle Keyser
2nd in the OHL in save percentage and 6th in wins. Constantly making highlight reel saves for the Generals. What keeps him from the top spot in my eyes though is that Oshawa does a better job than anyone and keep shot attempts to the outside. Keyser led all OHL starters with 79% of the shots he faced being from low danger areas while 5vs5
3) Ivan Prosvetov
Highest save percentage in the league 5vs5 on shots from high danger areas in the slot. Finished 3rd in the league with a .910 save percentage
4) Matthew Villalta
Finished his OHL career with a record of 98-20-9 after a 5th place finsihed his season with 33 wins. His save percentage 4vs5 was 2nd in the OHL at .909
5) Cedrick Andree
Isnt even the best goalie on his team ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
6) Joseph Raaymakers
Isnt even the starter on his team for the playoffs ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Defenceman of the Year / Max Kaminsky Trophy Finalists:
1) Mac Hollowell
Led all defencemen in scoring in the OHL with 77 points this year and helped anchor a defense core that lost Noah Carrol, Conner Timmins and Rasmus Sandin from last years squad. Played in all situations for the Hounds this year and excelled in all areas from breakouts to controlled entries. He is great in transition and among the best in the league in breaking up plays at the blueline.
2) Bode Wilde
The Saginaw defender finished 3rd among OHL defenders in points in what I imagine will be his only OHL season. Carries the Saginaw back end at times and plays in all situations for the team.
3) Evan Bouchard
Finished with 53 points in 45 games. His 1.18 points per game were 2nd among OHL defenders behind only Mac Hollowell. Arguably the best defenceman in the league but hard to put him number 1 when he played 19 fewer games then Hollowell.
4) Thomas Harley
58 points in 68 games for a Mississauga team that was not very good. Kept them competitive post deadline and should be a favourite to win this award in one of the next 2 seasons.
5) Noel Hoefenmayer
The 4th year defender set career highs across the board as he finished 4th among OHL defenders in points with 62 this season.
6) Declan Chisholm
His 5 goals were the fewest among those nominated for the award and arguments could be made for other defenders from the East to take this spot. Chisholm though brought a level of consistency to the Petes this year. He led all OHL defencemen with 33 even strength assists.
Most Outstanding Player of the Year / Red Tilson Trophy Finalists:
1) Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Only 2 goalies have won this award in the modern OHL. Michael Houser in 2011-12 and Andrew Raycroft in 99-00. Luukkonen came in and helped take a team that finished in last its previous season to the 4th seed. Led the league with a .920 save percentage and tied for the league lead with 6 shutouts.
2) Justin Brazeau
As I mentioned earlier he carried a North Bay team that sorely lacked talent. He scored 21.5% of their goals and had points on more than 49% of their goals. He led the league in 5vs5 points with 71. What works against him is that he is an OA and it doesn't look like an OA has ever won this award at least not in the 20 team era of the OHL.
3) Morgan Frost
His 1.12 5vs5 points per game were most in the OHL this year. Led the league in assists with 72 and finished 3rd in the league in points with 109.
4) Jason Robertson
OHLs leading scorer, if he were to win he would be the first player to win the award in a year that he was traded since Vincent Trocheck. Did most of his damage on the power play with 17 goals and 36 assists.
5) Kyle Keyser
5th on this list but IMO it is a coin flip between anyone from 2 to 5. Was fantastic for the Generals while they were short handed this year. With him in net their penalty kill was 8% better then when the backup was in net.
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