NEWS

March 26, 2020, Mississauga, ON – …. The Ontario Junior Hockey League announced today that Matteo Pecchia of the Mississauga Chargers is the OJHL’s Most Improved Player for the 2019-20 season.

The forward from Nobleton improved all the way from six points in 38 games in 2018-19 to 50 (21G/29A) this past season.

The OJHL is announcing the winners of its annual awards this spring. The recipients were selected by OJHL general managers and a panel of media representatives.

Pecchia recently committed to the NCAA Division 1 University of Western Michigan Broncos in Kalamazoo.

The 19-year-old joined the Chargers from the North York Rangers midway through the 2018-19 season. The nationally-ranked Rangers would add star player Brandon Yeamans from the Chargers in the deal.

Pecchia broke a wrist in September of 2018 and missed two months of the season in North York.

“I never got my step back,” he said.

Enter the Mississauga Chargers.

“It’s a story for everyone in our league and hockey in general,” said Mississauga head coach Joe Washkurak, “that you just never quit because you just never know.”

“I’m sure that when we traded for him he never dreamt that this would happen. I just gave him an opportunity. We opened the door and he just bashed it down. He’s a hard-working kid, who does a lot of community stuff for us. A good kid who comes from a great family. And good things happen to good people that work hard.”

Pecchia received the Chargers’ Clif Bar OJHL hero award for his off-ice work this past season.

On the ice, Pecchia says a summer of training at S.P.E.E.D. Hockey Development paid immediate dividends last fall. So did video work during the season at the facility located in Canlan Ice Sports Etobicoke.

“Bigger, stronger, faster, the usual,” said Pecchia, who was an affiliate player with the OJHL’s Toronto Jr. Canadiens during his midget AAA season. “I bulked up and got quicker. And it really helped my game.”

“And Joe gave me an opportunity. That helped my confidence and I just built on that all year.”

With the 15 pounds of added muscle, Pecchia got off to a quick start last September. NCAA schools noticed. Western Michigan was in touch early in 2020. Their offer was made and accepted earlier this month.

Pecchia, who will study finance with a minor in sports management at the Kalamazoo school, liked what he heard from Broncos’ head coach Andy Murray, whose resume includes 20 years in the NHL.

“One season can make a big difference,” Pecchia said. “A lot of players give up before their 19- or 20-year-old year. My advice is to stick it through. You never know what can happen.”

 

Ayrton Martino of the St. Michael’s Buzzers was voted runner-up for the most-improved award. The 17-year-old from Toronto is committed to NCAA Division 1 Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY for this fall.

Martino improved from a 42-point (10G/32A) rookie season in 2018-19 to 79 points (29G/50A) in 2019-20. The left winger finished third highest in points and assists in the 22-team OJHL.

He helped Team Canada East win silver at the World Junior A Challenge last December with five points in five games.

Martino was a member of Team Devin Shore in the OJHL Prospects Game during the league’s inaugural All-Star Celebration in Oakville Nov. 30.

A graduate of the Toronto Titans minor midget and De La Salle College programs, Martino was a 12th-round selection of the Guelph Storm in the 2018 Ontario Hockey League draft.

Photo by Shawn Muir of OJHL Images