Two Whalers nab OHL monthly honors

The Ontario Hockey League announced their Players of the Month for March today, with Plymouth Whalers stars taking two of the three awards.

Forward Vince Trocheck was named the OHL Player of the Month after leading the league in scoring with 28 points in 11 games during the month of March. Meanwhile, the goaltender watching Trocheck rack up the points, rookie Alex Nedeljkovic, was named Rookie of the Month.

From the OHL:

OHL Player of the Month – Vince Trocheck (Plymouth Whalers):

Vince Trocheck of the Plymouth Whalers led the OHL with 28 points in 11 games played in March scoring 12 goals and 16 assists and recorded an impressive plus-minus rating of plus-17.  He averaged more than two points per game collecting seven goals and nine assists in March regular season action finishing the campaign with a league-high 21-game point-streak to win the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as the OHL’s Top Scorer.  He then averaged three points per game in the first round of the OHL Playoffs with five goals and seven assists for 12 points in the four-game series sweep of the Sarnia Sting that included a hat-trick performance with two assists as second star of the 11-2 Game 1 victory.

Trocheck, a 19-year-old from Pittsburgh, PA, is playing in his fourth OHL season.  The Florida Panthers prospect was selected in the third round of the 2011 NHL Draft and won gold with the United States at the 2013 World Junior Championship.  He scored 50 goals and 59 assists for 109 points in 63 regular season games and finished the first round of playoffs tied for the scoring lead with 12 points in four games.

OHL Defenceman of the Month – Cody Ceci (Owen Sound Attack):

Cody Ceci of the Owen Sound Attack led all OHL defencemen in March scoring with 15 points in 13 games scoring three goals and 12 assists with a plus-minus rating of plus-8.  He matched a career-high with a seven-game point streak that covered the Attack’s regular season schedule in March highlighted by just the second four-point performance of his career March 2 with two goals and two assists as first star of a 6-1 win over the Mississauga Steelheads.  Ceci also recorded five assists in the Attack’s first round playoff series win over the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.

Ceci, a 19-year-old from Orleans, ON, is playing in his fourth OHL season.  Selected by the Ottawa Senators in the first round of the 2012 NHL Draft, Ceci finished the 2012-13 regular season second in scoring among defencemen with a career-best 64 points in 69 games.

OHL Rookie of the Month – Alex Nedeljkovic (Plymouth Whalers):

Alex Nedeljkovic of the Plymouth Whalers earns Rookie of the Month honours for the second straight month in goal posting a perfect 9-0-0-0 record including one shutout victory with a goals-against-average of 2.10 and save percentage of .919.  His five straight wins to finish the regular season schedule helped the Whalers secure their second straight West Division title with 93 points in 68 games.  He then backstopped the club to four straight wins over the Sarnia Sting in first round playoff action allowing just eight goals the entire series.

Nedeljkovic, a 17-year-old from Parma, OH, also earned the F.W. “Dinty” Moore Trophy having produced the best goals-against-average among OHL rookie goaltenders with a mark of 2.28 this season.  Eligible for the 2014 NHL Draft, he finished the season with a 19-2-1-1 record including two shutouts and a save percentage of .923 in 26 appearances.

Vaughn OHL Goaltender of the Month– Jordan Binnington (Owen Sound Attack):

Jordan Binnington of the Owen Sound Attack collects his second Vaughn OHL Goaltender of the Month honour this season after posting an 8-1-1-2 record in March including one shutout victory with a league-best goals-against-average of 1.75 and save percentage of .945.  His four wins in March to close out the regular season schedule helped the Attack lock up third place in the Western Conference before backstopping the club to a first round series win over the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds where he led all playoff goaltenders with 207 saves.

Binnington, a 19-year-old Gravenhurst, ON, native is a St. Louis Blues prospect selected in the third round of the 2011 NHL Draft.  Playing in his fourth OHL season, he helped the Attack earn the Dave Pinkney Trophy for the first time in franchise history presented to the club that allows the fewest goals against during the regular season with 165.

Top OHL Performers of the Month:

Player of the Month:

March – Vince Trocheck (Plymouth Whalers)
February – Eric Locke (Saginaw Spirit)
January – Nick Cousins (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds)
December – Alex Galchenyuk (Sarnia Sting)
November – Ryan Strome (Niagara IceDogs)
October – Zach Hall (Barrie Colts)

Defenceman of the Month:

March – Cody Ceci (Owen Sound Attack)
February – Ryan Sproul (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds)
January – Anthony DeAngelo (Sarnia Sting)
December – Ryan Sproul (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds)
November – Dougie Hamilton (Niagara IceDogs)
October – Frank Corrado (Sudbury Wolves)

Rookie of the Month:

March – Alex Nedeljkovic (Plymouth Whalers)
February – Alex Nedeljkovic (Plymouth Whalers)
January – Justin Bailey (Kitchener Rangers)
December – Blake Clarke (Brampton Battalion)
November – Connor McDavid (Erie Otters)
October – Connor McDavid (Erie Otters)

Vaughn Goaltender of the Month:

March – Jordan Binnington (Owen Sound Attack)
February – Alex Nedeljkovic (Plymouth Whalers)
January – Garret Sparks (Guelph Storm)
December – Mathias Niederberger (Barrie Colts)
November – Franky Palazzese (Kitchener Rangers)
October – Jordan Binnington (Owen Sound Attack)