Greg Meireles Named OHL Player of the Month for March

Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced the Top OHL Performers of the Month for regular season games played in March, 2019, including Kitchener Rangers forward Greg Meireles, London Knights defenceman Evan Bouchard and Saginaw Spirit teammates Cole Perfetti and Ivan Prosvetov.

OHL Player of the Month – Greg Meireles (Kitchener Rangers):
Kitchener Rangers forward Greg Meireles has been named the OHL Player of the Month for March, finishing tied for the league lead with 18 points including five goals and 13 assists over eight games. Meireles recorded points in all eight contests as part of an ongoing 20-game point streak, the OHL’s longest of the 2018-19 season. The 5-foot-11, 188Ib centre recorded at least three points three different times including a three-assist showing on Mar. 1st against London, a goal and three assists in an 8-4 win over the Erie Otters on Mar. 8th followed up by a goal and two helpers on Mar. 10th in Guelph. Meireles potted a pair of power play goals to help the Rangers’ top-ranked power play finish the season with a 29% success rate, the league’s highest since the 2016 Memorial Cup champion London Knights. He also had a hand in helping teammate Jonathan Yantsis reach the 50-goal mark, assisting on four of his goals in the month of March.

A 20-year-old native of Ottawa, Ont., Meireles finished the season as Kitchener’s leading scorer, recording 97 points 36-61–97) over 68 games, 43 of which came on the man advantage. Meireles led the Rangers with 249 shots on goal this season and went 54.1% in the faceoff circle. The former first round (12th overall) pick of the 2015 OHL Priority Selection remains without an NHL contract but attended rookie camp with the St. Louis Blues in 2017.

OHL Defenceman of the Month – Evan Bouchard (London Knights):
For the second straight month a London Knights blueliner has been named the OHL’s Defenceman of the Month. Edmonton Oilers prospect Evan Bouchard takes the torch from teammate Adam Boqvist, recording nine points including five goals and four assists over eight games for the Midwest Division champion Knights. The veteran captain started the month with a season-high four point performance, scoring while adding three assists in an 8-6 road win over the Kitchener Rangers on Mar. 1st. Bouchard also found the back of the net in a 3-2 overtime win over the Flint Firebirds on Mar. 8th before recording back-to-back two-point contests to close out the month, helping the Knights lock down first place in the Western Conference. He scored twice in a 6-3 road loss to the Soo Greyhounds on Mar. 15th before scoring a goal and an assist in a 5-2 win over the Saginaw Spirit on Mar. 16th. Bouchard recorded at least five shots on goal on five different occasions in the month of March.

A 19-year-old product of Oakville, Ont., Bouchard recorded 53 points (16-37–53) over 45 games in an abbreviated season after returning from the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers where he played seven games and scored his first goal to start the campaign. Bouchard’s 201 career regular season points (54-147–201) sit second in franchise history for defencemen behind Rick Corriveau (1987-92). Originally London’s first round (17th overall) pick in 2015, Bouchard was chosen by the Oilers with the 10th overall pick of the 2018 NHL Draft.

OHL Rookie of the Month – Cole Perfetti (Saginaw Spirit):
Cole Perfetti‘s tremendous rookie season continued this past month as the Saginaw Spirit winger has been named OHL Rookie of the Month for a second consecutive term. Perfetti led all rookies with seven goals along with four assists for 11 points over eight games along with a plus-10 rating. The 5-foot-10 left-winger helped the Spirit secure its first West Division title since 2011, putting up three different multi-point performances beginning with a goal and an assist in an 8-0 win over the Peterborough Petes on Mar. 3rd. He put up a season-high four goals in a 4-1 road win over the London Knights on Mar. 9th, becoming the OHL’s first 16-year-old rookie to do so since Peterborough’s Ryan Spooner in March 2009. Perfetti followed that sterling performance up with a goal and two assists on Mar. 12th as the Spirit took a 6-2 road win over the Sarnia Sting. In total, Perfetti earned Three Star recognition three different times in the month of March.

A 17-year-old native of Whitby, Ont., Perfetti finished the season tied with Owen Tippett for the Spirit scoring lead, recording a league-leading 74 points (37-37–74) among rookies over 63 games. Perfetti’s 37 goals are a new Spirit franchise record for rookies as he finished with the OHL’s sixth-highest shooting percentage of 22.4% while netting seven game winners. Eligible for the 2020 NHL Draft, Perfetti was Saginaw’s first round (5th overall) pick in the 2018 OHL Priority Selection from the Vaughan Kings Minor Midgets.

Vaughn OHL Goaltender of the Month – Ivan Prosvetov (Saginaw Spirit)
Arizona Coyotes prospect Ivan Prosvetov is the Vaughn OHL Goaltender of the Month for March, backstopping his team to a West Division title. Prosvetov played to a 4-1-0-1 record with a 1.99 goals-against average, .943 save percentage and one shutout over six games, turning aside 197 shots in the process. He started the month with four consecutive wins as part of a larger eight-game trend,  posting his fourth shutout of the season with a 27-save effort against the Peterborough Petes on Mar. 3rd. He earned second star honours, turning aside 47 of 48 shots in a 4-1 road win over the London Knights on Mar. 9th. Prosvetov turned aside 29 shots on Mar. 12th in Sarnia to backstop the Spirit to a franchise record 46th win and a club mark nine consecutive victories. He stopped 25 shots two nights later on Mar. 14th as the Spirit fell 2-1 in overtime to the Soo Greyhounds but locked down their first West Division title since 2011.

A 20-year-old native of Moscow, Russia, Prosvetov played to an overall mark of 36-11-2-1 with a 2.94 goals-against average, .910 save percentage and four shutouts in his first OHL season. The 6-foot-5, 185Ib netminder owns a league-leading .924 save percentage since Jan. 1st, playing to a 19-5-1-1 mark in that span. Chosen with the 13th overall pick of the 2018 CHL Import Draft, Prosvetov was a fourth round (114th overall) pick of the Arizona Coyotes last summer.

2018-19 OHL Performers of the Month:

Player of the Month:
March – Greg Meireles (Kitchener Rangers)
February – Morgan Frost (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds)
January – Ben Jones/Akil Thomas (Niagara IceDogs)
December – Tye Felhaber (Ottawa 67’s)
November – Jason Robertson (Niagara IceDogs)
October – Justin Brazeau (North Bay Battalion)

Defenceman of the Month:
March – Evan Bouchard (London Knights)
February – Adam Boqvist (London Knights)
January – Sean Durzi (Guelph Storm)
December – Bode Wilde (Saginaw Spirit)
November – Noel Hoefenmayer (Ottawa 67’s)
October – Mac Hollowell (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds)

Rookie of the Month:
March – Cole Perfetti (Saginaw Spirit)
February – Cole Perfetti (Saginaw Spirit)
January – Marco Rossi (Ottawa 67’s)
December – Jacob Perreault (Sarnia Sting)
November – Marco Rossi (Ottawa 67’s)
October – Marco Rossi (Ottawa 67’s)

Vaughn Goaltender of the Month:
March – Ivan Prosvetov (Saginaw Spirit)
February – Luke Richardson (Kitchener Rangers)
January – Cedrick Andree (Ottawa 67’s)
December – Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (Sudbury Wolves)
November – Joseph Raaymakers (London Knights)
October – Cedrick Andree (Ottawa 67’s)