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OHL notes: Dale Hunter named coach of the year

NEWS RELEASES ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE ************************ Dale Hunter Named OHL Coach of the Year Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that Dale Hunter of the London Knights is the 2009-10 winner of the Matt Leyden Trophy awarde
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NEWS RELEASES

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE

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Dale Hunter Named OHL Coach of the Year

Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that Dale Hunter of the London Knights is the 2009-10 winner of the Matt Leyden Trophy awarded to the OHL’s Coach of the Year.

Hunter led the Knights to a 49-16-1-2 record for 101 points to capture his third Matt Leyden Trophy. He previously won the award in two straight seasons including 2003-04 and 2004-05 following an OHL Championship and MasterCard Memorial Cup title. The 2009-10 campaign marked his second straight Midwest Division title and the sixth time in seven seasons where he coached the Knights to a 100-point finish.

“This is a very special honour for me to receive this award” said Hunter. “When the GM’s vote for you it is not just a reflection of your season but of your entire coaching staff and the organization. I enjoy coaching, and watching the kids get better and better throughout the year is something to be proud of.”

Hunter, a 49-year-old native of Petrolia, ON, just completed his ninth season behind the Knights bench surpassing Bill Long as the longest serving coach in Knights history. Long spent eight seasons as Head Coach from 1972-73 to 1979-80. Prior to coaching, Hunter played 19 seasons in the NHL with the Quebec Nordiques, Washington Capitals, and Colorado Avalanche up until the 1998-99 season. In 1407 career NHL games he recorded 1020 points with 323 goals and 697 assists. An OHL graduate, he played his junior hockey with the Kitchener Rangers and the Sudbury Wolves.

Hunter is just the second OHL coach to win the Matt Leyden Trophy three times behind five-time winner Brian Kilrea of the Ottawa 67’s. Bert Templeton (Hamilton and North Bay), Terry Crisp (Sault Ste. Marie), George Burnett (Niagara Falls), Gary Agnew (London), Craig Hartsburg (Guelph and Sault Ste. Marie), Peter DeBoer (Plymouth), and Bob Boughner (Windsor) have each won the award twice.

The Matt Leyden Trophy is voted on by the member teams of the Ontario Hockey League. In a first round of balloting, teams vote for the top coaches, within their own conference. The top three nominees from both the Eastern and Western conferences are declared as finalists. A second round of voting is then conducted on a league wide basis where teams vote for any of the six finalists. At no time during the voting can a team vote for their own candidate. Coaches receive five points for a first place vote, three points for a second place vote and one point for a third place vote.

Hunter received 47 points in the voting process ahead of Dave Cameron of the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors who received 39 points, and Marty Williamson of the Barrie Colts who received 36 points.

The Matt Leyden Trophy has been awarded annually since 1972 in recognition of the contributions of Matt Leyden, past President of the Ontario Hockey Association from 1965-1967. The Oshawa native was honored as a lifetime member of the OHA in 1972.

Hunter will be formally presented with the award at the 2009-10 OHL Awards Ceremony taking place Wednesday June 9 at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, and will also be the OHL’s nominee for the Canadian Hockey League Coach of the Year.

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2011 MasterCard Memorial Cup Bid Presentations

Wednesday morning in Toronto four OHL teams bidded for the right to host the 2011 MasterCard Memorial Cup!

The Barrie Colts, Kingston Frontenacs, Mississauga St. Michael's Majors, and Windsor Spitfires made formal bid presentations to the 2011 MasterCard Memorial Cup Site Selection Committee.

The Site Selection Committee includes President of the Toronto Blue Jays and former CEO of Major League Baseball Paul Beeston, former NHL Executive Frank Bonello, Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations for the NHL Jim Gregory, and NHL Director of Central Scouting EJ McGuire.

The successful host centre for the 2011 MasterCard Memorial Cup will be announced during the week of May 3, 2010, to provide the delegates of the successful host committee the opportunity to travel to Brandon, Manitoba, in time for the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup which takes place May 14-23.

The 2011 MasterCard Memorial Cup will be the 93rd edition of the prestigious national championship taking place May 20-29 featuring the league champions from the Ontario Hockey League, the Western Hockey League, and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, along with a host team from the OHL.

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Colts’ Bryan Cameron named OHL Overage Player of the Year

Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that Barrie Colts forward Bryan Cameron is the recipient of the Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy as the OHL’s Overage Player of the Year for the 2009-10 season.

Cameron led the OHL with 53 goals in 62 games and added 25 assists for 78 points to help the Colts capture their first Hamilton Spectator Trophy for first place overall in the regular season. He registered a plus-minus rating of plus-38 which was 10th best in the league. He was one of only two players to score 50 goals this season and recorded three hat-tricks and 23 multi-point games. He was also among the league-leaders in power play goals with 18 and game-winning goals with seven. His 53 goals set a new Colts record for goals in a season surpassing Sheldon Keefe who scored 48 goals in the 1999-2000 season where he captured the league’s scoring title with 121 points. Cameron becomes the first member of the Colts to win this award since it was first introduced following the 1983-84 season.

"It’s a great honour for me” said Cameron. “We had great overage players here in Barrie including another great one on my line so I feel pretty lucky to win this award. Luke (Pither) and I both had really good years and there are a lot of quality overage players around the league so it feels really nice to win this award and I am definitely grateful."

A 21-year-old from Brampton, ON, Cameron began his OHL career with the Belleville Bulls where he spent four seasons. He was selected with the eighth overall pick in the 2005 OHL Priority Selection in a season where he captured an OHL Cup Championship title with the Toronto Marlboros. He played in 318 career OHL games over five seasons producing 324 points including 184 goals and 140 assists. His 81 points last season marked his best offensive year and earned him the Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy as the Top Scoring Right Winger and a spot on the OHL’s First All-Star Team. He was selected in the third round, 82nd overall by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

The Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the top overage player of the year as selected by all 20 OHL General Managers. Teams were not permitted to vote for players from their own hockey club. Players received five points for a first place vote, three points for a second place vote and one point for a third place vote.

Cameron received 59 points in the voting process just narrowly edging defenceman Jacob Muzzin of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds who received 58 points. Zack Torquato of the Erie Otters finished third with 35 points.

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