DiVincentiis top goaltender
NORTH BAY, Ont. — Dom DiVincentiis of the North Bay Battalion is the 2022-23 winner of the Jim Rutherford Trophy as the Ontario Hockey League’s Goaltender of the Year, it was announced Monday.
DiVincentiis produced the best statistical season by a Battalion goaltender in North Bay, leading the OHL with 36 wins, a 2.33 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage. Tied for the league lead with five shutouts, he didn’t lose consecutive games all season as the Troops posted a won-lost-extended record of 48-17-3 for 99 points and a second straight Central Division title.
“I am truly honoured and humbled to be receiving the Jim Rutherford Trophy today as the top goaltender in the Ontario Hockey League,” said DiVincentiis.
“To share this recognition with some of the best goaltenders in our league’s history is extremely exciting. This award, in my opinion, is a recognition and acknowledgment to the incredible support and encouragement I have received from my teammates, coaches, support staff and fans with the North Bay Battalion.
“Finally, I would like to share this award with my family, billet family and support network that has been with me every step of the way. Your love and support has been my greatest source of strength and motivation, and I am grateful for every moment we have shared together through my career to date on and off the ice.”
DiVincentiis, who will be presented with the trophy at the OHL awards ceremony June 14 at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, is the OHL nominee for the Canadian Hockey League Goaltender of the Year Award, to be announced June 3 during the Memorial Cup tournament hosted by the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League.
A Bolton, Ont., resident who turned 19 on March 4, DiVincentiis was named the OHL’s Goaltender of the Month for both January and March and Goaltender of the Week three times. He finished the season in stellar fashion, recording four of his five shutouts from Feb. 24 to March 23 and winning his last six games.
“This is another very proud day for our organization,” said general manager Adam Dennis, who won the award as a member of the London Knights in 2005-06.
“Dom has given us a chance to win all season with not just his play but also his leadership. Since the day he came into our program he has been a tireless worker who is incredibly dedicated to his craft. This award is well earned. We look forward to watching Dom’s continued growth on the ice as his legacy in the North Bay community continues to grow.”
DiVincentiis, six-foot-two and 190 pounds, is the first goaltender in franchise history to win the award and the first North Bay-based goaltender to do so in the league’s history. He is 50-17-3 with a 2.42 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage in 75 regular-season games.
Having played every game for the Troops, he’s won nine of 15 decisions with a 2.28 GAA and a .928 save percentage in the 2023 playoffs. The Battalion and Peterborough Petes are tied at one win each before Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Championship Series at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday at Peterborough.
The Battalion chose DiVincentiis in the sixth round of the 2020 OHL Priority Selection from the Vaughan Kings minor midgets. The Winnipeg Jets tabbed him in the seventh round of the National Hockey League Draft last year.
The Jim Rutherford Trophy honours the former OHL goaltender, general manager, chairman of the board and two-time Executive of the Year. Now president of hockey operations for the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks, Rutherford played 13 seasons as an NHL goaltender and was the architect of Stanley Cup championship teams for the Carolina Hurricanes in 2005-06 and the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2015-16 and 2016-17. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019.
The Goaltender of the Year Award, first presented for 1987-88 to Rick Tabaracci of the Cornwall Royals, has seen notable winners including Craig Anderson of the Guelph Storm in 2000-01, Jordan Binnington of the Owen Sound Attack in 2012-13, Alex Nedeljkovic of the Plymouth Whalers in 2013-14 and Mackenzie Blackwood of the Barrie Colts in 2015-16.
Finalists in the voting by general managers this year included 2021-22 recipient Brett Brochu of London and Tristan Lennox of the Saginaw Spirit, who tied for second.
