CHL Team of the Month presented by CCM: January 2025
The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) announced today the January edition of the CHL Team of the Month presented by CCM for the 2024-25 regular season.
F – Ben Kindel (Calgary Hitmen / WHL)
8G-20A, 28 PTS, +20 in 14 GP in January
Having led all skaters in the Western Hockey League (WHL) and CHL in scoring over the last month with 28 points (8G-20A), 2025 NHL Draft prospect Ben Kindel of the No. 9-ranked Calgary Hitmen (WHL) is making his first appearance of the 2024-25 season in the CHL Team of the Month. Held off the scoresheet on just two occasions through January, the 17-year-old from Coquitlam, B.C., recorded eight multi-point outings, including a career-high five points (2G-3A) against the Moose Jaw Warriors on January 22. Between November 8 to January 12, Kindel recorded a point in 23 straight games, setting a new franchise record for the longest point streak by a Calgary Hitmen player – besting the previous mark of 20 consecutive games set by Pavel Brendl in 1999. Kindel’s strong play in January was no doubt also important to his team’s success. Since New Year’s Day, Calgary has won 12 of 15 games (12-2-0-1) and they moved into the CHL Top-10 Rankings for the first time this season in January. Kindel’s offensive outburst has helped him climb up to fourth in CHL scoring in 2024-25. His 81 points rank as the second-most by a 2025 NHL Draft prospect in the CHL, as he sits behind Saginaw Spirit forward Michael Misa (88 points) among that group. Kindel also ranks third in the WHL in scoring, trailing only Spokane Chiefs forward Andrew Cristall (89 points) and Medicine Hat Tigers forward Gavin McKenna (88 points). Identified by NHL Central Scouting as the 20th-ranked skater in North America ahead of the 2025 NHL Draft, Kindel was one of 17 CHL players ranked by NHL Central Scouting among the top 20 North American skaters in their Midterm Rankings. Earlier this season, the 5-foot-10, 175-pound forward was one of 13 CHL forwards to help Team CHL defeat the U.S. National Under-18 Team last November in the inaugural 2024 CHL USA Prospects Challenge presented by Kubota Canada. Selected 43rd overall (2nd Round) by the Calgary Hitmen at the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft, Kindel won a gold medal playing for Team Canada at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup last summer.
F – Gavin McKenna (Medicine Hat Tigers / WHL)
7G-19A, 26 PTS, +17 in 11 GP in January
Fresh off his experience at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship with Team Canada, 2026 NHL Draft prospect Gavin McKenna of the No.7-ranked Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) is making his third appearance of the 2024-25 campaign in the CHL Team of the Month. Not only is he the lone player in the CHL to be featured on the CHL Team of the Month for a third time this season, McKenna is also the only one to have made more than one appearance in 2024-25. In January, averaging 2.36 points per game, McKenna tallied seven goals and 19 assists for 26 points in 11 contests. His 26 points ranked second in both CHL and WHL scoring for January, trailing only Calgary Hitmen forward Ben Kindel (28 points). Over the last month, McKenna recorded nine games with two points or more, which included tallying his fourth career WHL hat-trick in a 7-3 Tigers’ victory over the No.4-ranked Everett Silvertips on January 29. The 17-year-old from Whitehorse, Yukon, is currently in the midst of a 26-game point streak, having registered 59 points (18G-41A) in 26 straight WHL contests dating back to November 4. McKenna’s current 26-game point streak is the second longest in the CHL this season, behind only London Knights forward Easton Cowan (29 straight games). McKenna also hit a major milestone on January 31 against the Portland Winterhawks when he reached 200 career points in his 118th career regular season game. The latter made him the third-fastest skater in the WHL to hit the mark since 1996, trailing only reigning NHL Rookie of the Year and Regina Pats alumnus Connor Bedard (107 games) and Calgary Hitmen alum Pavel Brendl (96 games). McKenna’s performances have played a big part in the Tigers’ current 13-game point streak (12-0-0-1), which saw the team string together 12 victories in a row and climb to second in the WHL’s overall standings. Last month, Medicine Hat also made its return to the CHL Top-10 Rankings for the first time since October 22. As of February 5, with 87 points in 42 games, McKenna sits tied for second in scoring in the CHL, just one point shy of the leader Spokane Chiefs forward Andrew Cristall. Taken first overall in the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft, the reigning WHL and CHL Rookie of the Year captured gold for Team Canada at both the 2024 IIHF World U18 Championship and the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Most recently, at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, McKenna became the eighth youngest player to ever suit up for Team Canada at a World Juniors. Following the 2023-24 season, McKenna was named a member of both the CHL’s Third All-Star and All-Rookie Teams after he registered 97 points in 61 games as a 16-year-old.
F – Rémi Gélinas (Rouyn-Noranda Huskies / QMJHL)
14G-6A, 20 PTS, +6 in 12 GP in January
Having led both the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) and the CHL with 14 goals during January, Rémi Gélinas of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL) is making his first career appearance in the CHL Team of the Month. The 19-year-old from St-Eustache, Que., didn’t fail to register a point in all 12 of his contests last month. Specifically, Gélinas lit the lamp in 10 games in January and he also registered four multi-goal outings during that time. By tallying a point in his dozen appearances last month, Gélinas has now scored a point in all 14 games he has played in since coming back from the holiday break on December 29. His current 14-game point streak is the longest active point streak in the QMJHL. Over the month of January, Gélinas also recorded six multi-point games, including a pair of consecutive three-point contests against the Sherbrooke Phoenix and the No.2-ranked Moncton Wildcats on January 9 and 11 respectively. Gélinas has only played 16 career games in the QMJHL. He made his way to the QMJHL from the Hawkesbury Hawks of the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL) and made his debut with the Huskies on December 13. After failing to register a point in his first two career games in the QMJHL, Gélinas has since found the scoresheet in each of his last 14 appearances. Currently averaging 1.63 points per game, Gélinas ranks as the second-most productive player in the QMJHL behind only that league’s scoring leader Jonathan Fauchon of the Rimouski Océanic (1.64 points per game). Looking ahead to his future Gélinas has committed to play NCAA Division I hockey for Clarkson University and join that program for the start of the 2026-27 hockey and academic year.
D – Zayne Parekh (Saginaw Spirit / OHL)
11G-10A, 21 PTS, +14 in 10 GP in January
Having led all CHL and OHL defencemen with 11 goals and 21 points in January, Calgary Flames prospect Zayne Parekh of the Saginaw Spirit (OHL) is making his first appearance of the 2024-25 season in the CHL Team of the Month. In 10 games in January, the 2024 Memorial Cup Champion produced a point in all but one contest, which included matching a career-best five points (3G-2A) against the Guelph Storm on January 18. Impressively, over the last month, the 18-year-old from Nobleton, Ont., also scored a goal in six different contests and registered a pair of hat tricks. Thanks to his offensive output in January, let alone his current nine-game point streak, Parekh leads all CHL defencemen with 24 goals and 67 points this season. If Parekh were to reach 30 goals in 2024-25, he would join a small company of defenceman in CHL history to have repeated as a 30-goal scorer (QMJHL: David Ezard & Jonathan Gauthier; OHL: Bobby Orr; WHL: Greg Hawgood). Additionally, in January, Parekh officially became the Spirit’s all-time leading scorer among defencemen, as he now has recorded 78 goals and 122 assists for 200 career points in 158 OHL regular-season games. Last season, in addition to helping the Saginaw Spirit to their first-ever Memorial Cup title, Parekh became the first Spirit player to ever be named the CHL Defenceman of the Year. Having been chosen to the CHL’s First All-Star Team after amassing 96 points in 66 games in 2023-24, Parekh is one just two CHL blueliners over the last 20 years to have topped 95 points in a single season. By going ninth overall to the Calgary Flames at the 2024 NHL Draft, Parekh became the highest-drafted player in Saginaw Spirit history. The 18-year-old was originally taken by Saginaw with the 19th overall pick of the 2022 OHL Priority Selection. He has previously helped Canada to gold at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and he competed for Team Red at the 2024 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Moncton, N.B.
D – Chase Reid (Soo Greyhounds / OHL)
1G-18A, 19 PTS, +10 in 12 GP in January
After registering one goal and 18 assists in 12 games in January, 2026 NHL Draft prospect Chase Reid of the Soo Greyhounds is making his first-ever appearance on the CHL Team of the Month. Playing in his first full month in the OHL, the 17-year-old from Chesterfield, Michigan, led all CHL rearguards with 18 assists in January, and he trailed only Saginaw Spirit blueliner Zayne Parekh (21 points) in terms of scoring by a defenceman. No rookie defenceman in the CHL, let alone any first-year skater in the OHL, had more points in January than Chase Reid. In total, the Greyhounds blueliner recorded six multi-point outings, including a trio of three-point efforts (vs. PBO on Jan. 3; @ PBO on Jan. 16; vs. KIT on Jan. 29). Thanks to his strong play in January, Reid is currently averaging 1.20 points per game during the 2024-25 campaign, which ranks first among CHL rookie blueliners and sixth among all defencemen in the OHL. For his efforts over the last month, Reid was recognized as the OHL’s Rookie of the Month for January – making him the first defenceman to earn this award since Zayne Parekh achieved the feat in December 2022. Reid joined the Greyhounds from the Bismarck Bobcats of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) in December. Since making his debut on December 11, the 17-year-old has collected 24 points (2G-22A) over 20 games in his first season in the OHL. The former seventh-round (125th overall) pick by the Greyhounds in 2023 is a December 30, 2007 birthday, and he won’t be eligible for the NHL Draft until 2026.
G – Alexis Cournoyer (Cape Breton Eagles / QMJHL)
5-2-0-1 record, 1.61 GAA, .946 SV% & 2 SO in 8 GP in January
Having led the CHL with a .946 save percentage and two shutouts in January, goaltender Alexis Cournoyer of the Cape Breton Eagles (QMJHL) is making his first career appearance in the CHL Team of the Month. Over his eight starts, the 19-year-old from Trois-Rivières, Que., allowed one goal or fewer on six occasions during the last month. The latter included a pair of shutouts: the first of which saw Cournoyer turn aside all 28 shots he faced against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on January 3, before he later registered a 21-save shutout against the Chicoutimi Saguenéens on January 26. Cournoyer also made a career-high 34 saves in an important 5-1 victory over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on January 4. Over the last month, Cournoyer also recorded a 1.61 goals-against average, which ranked third among goalies in the CHL in January. His performance last month no doubt was a big part of the Eagles’ 7-2-1-1 record in January, as Cape Breton seeks to climb the QMJHL standings ahead of the playoffs. Having only joined the Eagles in December, Cournoyer has had an immediate impact. His 1.62 goals-against average and .946 save percentage are the best of any QMJHL goaltender in 2024-25 who has played more than 500 minutes this season. Before his time in Cape Breton, the 19-year-old had previously only played in two career QMJHL regular-season games with the Shawinigan Cataractes. Specifically, Cournoyer was acquired from the Baie-Comeau Drakkar in exchange for a 9th-round draft pick in 2026 on December 19 to provide goaltending support in the absence of Nashville Predators prospect Jakub Milota who spent his holidays representing Czechia at the 2025 World Juniors. Prior to joining the Eagles this season, Cournoyer was playing with the Truro Bearcats of the Maritime Junior Hockey League (MHL), where he had a .927 save percentage and a 2.83 goals-against average in 21 starts in 2024-25.
