COACHES, TRAINERS ANNOUNCED FOR OJHL ALL-STAR DAY
November 28, 2019, Mississauga, ON – The Ontario Junior Hockey League today announced the coaches and trainers that will be on team benches during the All-Star Celebration in the OJHL November 30, 2019 in Oakville.
The festival, held at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex, promises to be a day-long celebration of the game, including games, clinics, presentations and a free public skate.
The event’s centerpiece is the OJHL All-Star Game at 3 p.m. The game will feature the best players from across the 22-team OJHL as selected by the league’s competition committee. The teams are named for OJHL grads and Norris Trophy winners Brent Burns (Couchiching) and Mark Giordano (Brampton, North York).
Jamie Storr (Oakville) and Mike Galati (Markham) will coach Team Giordano. Trainers are Bill McConnell and Amanda Gilroy of the Pickering Panthers. Mark Joslin (Toronto Patriots) and Derek Smith (Wellington) will coach Team Burns. Trainers are Craig Clayton (Oakville) and Brittney Boot (Georgetown).
The OJHL Prospects Game, consisting of the league’s young guns, closes out activities beginning at 7:30 p.m. The prospect squads are named for former OJHLers and current NHLers Drake Caggiula (Stouffville) and Devin Shore (Whitby).
Scott McCrory (Georgetown) and Dan Fitzgerald (Brantford) will coach Team Caggiula. Trainers are Adam Bendall and Sasha Kulesh of the Mississauga Chargers. Vince Bellissimo (Toronto Jr. Canadiens) and Geoff Schomogyi (North York) will coach Team Shore. Trainers are Mike Aloe (Burlington) and Ryan Topping (North York).
The All-Star game for OJHL Affiliate Players begins at 12 noon. The teams are named after Toronto Maple Leafs John Tavares (Milton) and Mitch Marner (St. Michael’s) who both played in the OJHL as affiliates.
Team Tavares will be coached by Josh Hardiman (Trenton) and Brett McCully (Mississauga). Topping and Aloe are the team trainers. Team Marner will be coached by Andrew Campoli (Stouffville) and Rob Bentivegna (Oakville). Bendall and Kulesh will serve as trainers.
All-day admission is $5 with all proceeds going to the OJHL Foundation. The All-Star game will be broadcast live across the country on CHCH-TV. It’s the first of nine OJHL on CHCH telecasts shown on Saturdays during the 2019-20 season.
Festivities begin at 9:30 a.m. with a one-hour initiation program clinic for Oakville minor hockey players with the ice donated by Goodlife Fitness.
OJHL graduates will play in the alumni game at 10:30 a.m. Alumni will learn how the league’s Foundation assists players during a postgame presentation.
The free public skate is on from 1:30-2:15 p.m with the ice sponsored by Goodlife Fitness.
A one-hour, on-ice skill development clinic is scheduled for 5:45 p.m. The clinics are being conducted by the Ontario Junior Hockey League and sponsored by Goodlife Fitness.
Sixteen Mile Sports Complex is the home arena of the defending OJHL champion Oakville Blades. The fully-accessible complex features: an Olympic-sized ice pad with seating for 1,500 spectators, three NHL-sized ice pads, 20 change rooms, two community rooms, two shooter pads and a pro shop.
Founded as a Jr. C team in 1966, the Oakville Blades joined the Jr. B ranks in 1970 and became a Jr. A team in the mid-1990s. The Blades won the OJHL (Buckland Cup) and Central Canadian (Dudley-Hewitt Cup) championships in 2008, 2010 and 2019.
About the OJHL Foundation
The OJHL Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation based in Mississauga. The proceeds raised are invested directly into the core mandates of the organization. The OJHL Foundation is designed to provide support to financially disadvantaged junior hockey players, create and provide education bursaries and scholarships, raise health and concussion awareness and develop and implement programs on mental health and wellness, life skill development, substance abuse, depression and bullying for all the players of the OJHL.
About the OJHL – “League of Choice”
The Ontario Junior Hockey League is the largest Junior ‘A’ league operating under the auspices of the Canadian Junior Hockey League with 22 member clubs. A proud member of the CJHL and Ontario Hockey Association, the OJHL was originally named the Ontario Provincial Junior ‘A’ Hockey League and it was formed out of the Central Junior ‘B’ Hockey League in 1993-94. With a long and storied history of developing players for the next level, including U Sports, the NCAA, CHL, minor pro ranks and the NHL, the OJHL had more than 125 commitments in 2018-19 – including more than 65 NCAA Division I scholarships.
