Mark Visentin Voted Best Goaltender in IceDogs History
The Niagara IceDogs are proud to announce former OHL Goaltender of the Year Mark Visentin has been voted by fans as the best netminder in IceDogs history after collecting the most combined votes between the @OHLIceDogs Twitter poll and the NiagaraIceDogs.net fan poll!
A native of Waterdown, ON, Visentin spent the entirety of his OHL career with the IceDogs. Having selected Visentin with the 55th overall pick in the 3rd round of the 2008 OHL Priority Selection, IceDogs management was confident in his potential to become a cornerstone of the franchise for the next four seasons.
Over the course of his illustrious career with the IceDogs, Visentin managed to win 89 regular season games and 23 playoff games, both franchise records. If that wasn’t impressive enough, Visentin posted 15 shutouts in one of the highest scoring major junior hockey leagues in the world. Simply put, Visentin was absolutely dominant between the pipes.
Known as a polite, soft-spoken human being, Visentin was extremely generous with his time off the ice. He could be seen regularly posing for pictures or signing autographs for young fans who aspired to be like him when they grew up.
In typical fashion, Visentin was quick to deflect the attention when acknowledging the honour: “I am very thankful for the four years I spent with the IceDogs. I had an amazing time with great players, coaches and front office personnel. The Burke’s always found a way to make each season better. I had a ton of fun going to the rink every day and those memories will last forever. One thing I won’t forget is playing in front of the sellout crowd every night at The Jack. It was so loud and energetic, I loved every second of being out on the ice with the support of the best fans in the league. The entire Niagara community was fantastic when it came to supporting us. Thank you everyone for being part of some of the best memories of my life!”
IceDogs Director of Player Personnel Joey Burke believes Visentin was the best possible choice for fans: “No surprise, and once again a fantastic choice by the fans, and beat out some tough competition in the process! As the holder of the majority of goaltending records in Niagara, and a multi-time World Junior, Viz is the definition of an elite goalie. He spent his entire junior career in Niagara and contributed to some of the strongest teams we have ever iced, including winning league awards and setting shutout records. He was a true pro on and off the ice, and always handled himself like a true IceDog. Congratulations to Viz on yet another great achievement!”
The entire IceDogs organization would like to congratulate Mark on being named the best goaltender in franchise history and wish him nothing but success in the future!
