Graduation presents for IceDogs over-ager
Sam Miletic, a white knight for the Niagara IceDogs after being acquired from the London Knights at the Ontario Hockey League trade deadline, is hearing more applause as he rides off into the sunset.
The left winger finished third in a poll of OHL general managers in voting for overage player of the year honours after collecting 38 points with the IceDogs and 54 with the Knights to finish sixth overall in scoring in his final season in the league.
The 21-year-old native of Bloomfield, Mich., received 35 of a possible 35 points. Barrie Colts centre Aaron Luchuk, also was moved at the trade deadline, and Kingston Frontenacs goaltender Jeremy Helvig topped the ranked ballot with 89 and 40 points, respectively.
Each team submitted a nominee for the Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy but could not vote for their own player. Each first-place vote was worth five points, second-place votes were worth three points and one for third.
Miletic was averaging more than a point per game in London at the trade deadline, and he maintained that pace in Niagara after before traded for draft picks.
He had 16 goals and 38 assists in 35 games with the Knights and 20 goals and 18 assists in 28 games in an IceDogs uniform.
Miletic, who signed an entry-level NHL contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins as a free agent, added four goals and eight assists in 10 playoff games for the IceDogs.
Miletic, who remains in the running for the outstanding player of the year honours, was one of three IceDogs who made the short list for the league-wide honours.
Stephen Dhillon and Billy Burke are among the six finalists for goaltending and coaching honours, respectively.
Luchuk followed up a Memorial Cup championship he won with the Windsor Spitfires last year with the league scoring title in his graduation season.
He had 22 goals and 42 assists in Barrie — and 50 goals and 65 assists overall — helping the Colts capture their third Central Division title in four years.
The Ottawa Senators prospect, also signing as a free agent, is the fourth OHL player to win both the Lalonde Trophy and Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as league scoring leader and the first since Kevin Labanc, also with Barrie.
Helvig, picked in the fifth round of the 2016 NHL Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes with the 134th overall selection, backstopped the Frontenacs to a 31-16-6-3 record in his fourth season in Kingston. He compiled a 2.68 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage in 56 games during the regular season.
Donated by OHL trainders and first presented in 1984, the Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy honours the memory of the one-time chief scout of Ontario Hockey League Central Scouting. Lalonde also served as chief scout of the former Belleville Bulls and was a scout for the Peterborough Petes.
Formal presentation of the trophy takes place Wednesday, June 6, at the OHL Awards Ceremony at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.