Kings among GOJHL award winners
League presents pair of trophies to Adam Grein; half of Rookie All-Star team picked from Elmira’s ranks
AS DIRECTOR OF HOCKEY OPERATIONS with the Elmira Sugar Kings, Scott McMillan knew the team was both young and promising. When he moved behind the bench later in the season, he could see firsthand just how the young players were coming along.
That wasn’t a fact known only to him, however, as the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League named three Kings to the six-man Rookie All-Star team. Forwards Luke Della Croce and Madden MacDougall were joined by goaltender Hayden Sabourin. Rounding out the squad were
Tate Vader of the Listowel Cyclones, with Blair Scott (Ayr Centennials) and Tyson Downs (KW Siskins) on the blue line.
Della Croce posted 19 goals and 17 assists, his 36 points putting him fifth in scoring among the Kings during the 2022-23 season. MacDougall was third with 13-26-39 totals. Sabourin, meanwhile, had a record of 17-6-1 in 26 starts for the Kings, posting a 1.71 goals against average and a save percentage of 0.928. He had two shutouts.
“It definitely highlights how good these young guys are. It’s so deserving,” said McMillan.
The GOJHL’s Midwestern Conference awards announced last week also put Sugar Kings captain Adam Grein in the spotlight.
He received both the Joe Veroni Memorial Award as the defensive forward of the year and the Leroy Jamieson Memorial Trophy for outstanding contribution to one team.
“Grein completed an excellent two-way season by winning two Midwestern Conference awards. The 21-year-old forward scored 21 goals and added 21 assists, putting him second in team scoring. He was selected in the second round by the Oshawa Generals in the 2019 OHL Under 18 Draft,” the league noted of his accomplishments.
Along with his numbers, Grein served as a “fantastic” captain who brought leadership on and off the ice, said McMillan of a player now graduating from junior hockey.
“It’s so nice for him to get something like this. There’s so much he does.”
Though not a Sugar King, Elmira’s Reid Oliver of the Stratford Warriors was the recipient of the Cory Stoyko Memorial Tropy as defenceman of the year. He was also named to the 1st all-star team.
“The power-play specialist scored 10 of his 14 goals with the man advantage this season. He added 37 assists for a 51-point season to help the Warriors to a secondplace finish in the conference.”