20-year-olds from the OJ to get student-athlete experience during visits to TMU, Ontario Tech this weekend
December 30, 2024, Mississauga, ON – …. Staff appointments – including coaches – for the two teams of 20-year-old players from the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) that will face Ontario University Athletics\U SPORTS teams in a new two-game series have been announced by the OJHL.
The series will see the OJHL teams, made up of the top graduating players in the 24-team league, play the host OUA teams at:
- Toronto Metropolitan University (Mattamy Athletic Centre, Toronto), January 4, 2025, at 6:15 p.m.
- Ontario Tech University (Campus Ice Centre, Oshawa), January 5, 2025, at 4 p.m.
Mark Joslin and Patrick Piacentini, both of the King Rebellion, will coach the OJHL team in the game at Toronto Metropolitan. Joslin was Coach of the Year in the OJHL last season.
Dana Flatts of the Georgetown Raiders is the team’s athletic therapist. Joseph O’Callaghan of the Stouffville Spirit is equipment manager.
At Ontario Tech, Ryan Ramsay (Haliburton County Huskies) and Derek Smith (Trenton Golden Hawks) will share coaching duties. They led an OJHL squad to the championship of the CCHL-OJHL Battle of Ontario in Smiths Falls last month.
Jenn Vaicunas of the Aurora Tigers is the team’s athletic therapist. John Posch of the Buffalo Jr. Sabres is equipment manager.
The goal of the two-game series is to expose the OJHL’s top 20-year-olds to U SPORTS hockey scouts to facilitate their advancement and to give OJHL players the student-athlete experience.
Aside from the game, the day will also include a:
- Morning skate
- Pre-game meal
- Seminar
- Facility tour
- Postgame meet-and-greet
Both university teams are coached by OJHL grads.
TMU Head Coach Johnny Duco played for the Stouffville Spirit, North York Rangers, Wexford Raiders and Thornhill Major Islanders in the OJHL from 2000-04.
Ontario Tech Head Coach Curtis Hodgins coached in the OJ at Cobourg, Bowmanville and Whitby from 2000-15. Assistant Coach Rob Powers won OJHL championships playing with Stouffville and the Toronto Patriots. Austin Eastman, another assistant coach, played for Aurora and Lindsay in the OJHL. He played at Ontario Tech for three seasons.
Both OUA/U SPORTS teams feature OJHL grads.
The TMU roster includes: Mitch Lafay and Jaden Raad (Trenton Golden Hawks), Aleks Dimovski and Evan Tanos (Toronto Patriots), Jaden Condotta (Georgetown Raiders, North York Rangers), Ian Martin (Pickering Panthers), Ryan Dugas (Milton Menace), Sergei Litvinov (Toronto Jr. Canadiens) and Riley Pitt (Cobourg Cougars).
The Ontario Tech roster includes: James White (Wellington Dukes), Marko Jakovljevic (Trenton), Dustin Hutton (Pickering, Georgetown Raiders, Toronto Jr. Canadiens) and Andrew Suriyuth (Collingwood Blues, Trenton, Kingston Voyageurs).
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 24 member clubs. The OJHL is the home of the 2024 Centennial Cup champion Collingwood Blues. A proud member of the CJHL 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 has had more than 65 commitments already this season.
For more information on the Ontario Junior Hockey League, please visit www.ojhl.ca
