GEORGETOWN’S DUKESHIRE IS OJHL GENERAL MANAGER OF THE YEAR
April 4, 2023, Mississauga, ON – …. Mike Dukeshire of the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Georgetown Raiders has been named the OJHL’s General Manager of the Year for 2022-23, the league announced today.
Dukeshire, 34, was named general manager in Georgetown April 29, 2023 after serving as assistant GM with the Raiders and before that the Jr. B Hamilton Kilty B’s. He’s in his fifth year scouting the GTHL for the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League.
In his rookie year as a GM in junior hockey, Dukeshire helped lead the Raiders to a 39-10-2-3 record, good for second place in the OJHL’s North-West Conference and third overall. The year previous, the Raiders finished ninth in the 21-team league after going 27-21-2-4.
The entire coaching staff was also in its first year at the Jr. A level.
“I don’t know how many people predicted us to have the year we did,” Dukeshire said. “It’s really a credit to the entire staff.”
There was a turning point.
“I had a conversation with (head coach) Shawn Snider after the (OJHL Governors Showcase in October) to try and figure out which direction this team was going," Dukeshire told the OJHL. “We were able to bring some pieces in to really turn this season around.
“I’ve got to give a lot of credit to Shawn in the way that he got the boys to play, especially when you’ve got such a new group. For him to bring all the players together and play the way that they did, a lot of credit goes to Shawn.”
Snider was hired last June after coaching the Mississauga Reps to the championship game of the 2022 Telus Cup, the U18 national championships.
As for Dukeshire, he says “a lot of time in the rinks” coaching the U18 Burlington Eagles and scouting for the OHL Colts paid off this season, Dukeshire said.
“I’ve watched these players (in this age group) for a number of years,” he said. “It was just identifying players I knew from the past and seeing if they were available. “It’s basically just my scouting background that has helped me transition into the general manager job. As for recruiting, I just learned through building the midget teams in Burlington and the Kilty B’s teams.”
By day, Dukeshire is a senior construction inspector with Halton Region.
“Thanks to the entire coaching staff, players and game operations staff of the Georgetown Raiders,” Dukeshire said, “especially owner Ted Puccini for giving me the opportunity this year. It's an honour to be recognized by the OJHL.”
Dukeshire will be honoured along with the other OJHL award recipients at a ceremony before Game 1 of the OJHL Nutrafarms Championship Series in late April. The OJHL is announcing its 2022-23 award winners throughout the first three rounds of the playoffs.
TOMORROW: Most Improved Player and Most Gentlemanly Player
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 Canadian Junior Hockey League 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 90 NCAA, U SPORTS, CHL and professional commitments in 2021-22 – including more than 25 NCAA Division I scholarships.
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