Bulldogs’ Marek Vanacker named Cogeco OHL Player of the Week

TORONTO – The Ontario Hockey League (OHL) today announced that Chicago Blackhawks prospect Marek Vanacker of the Brantford Bulldogs is the Cogeco OHL Player of the Week, producing three goals, three assists and six points in a pair of victories last week.

Vanacker had the Bulldogs firing on all cylinders Thursday night in Niagara, scoring three goals while adding an assist as Brantford prevailed by a score of 5-0. Vanacker followed-up his third four-point performance of the season with a pair of primary assists at home against Sarnia on Friday as the Bulldogs won by a score of 7-2, improving to 18-0-4-1.

A 19-year-old from Delhi, ON, Vanacker leads the OHL with 21 goals along with 11 assists and 32 points over 21 games. His plus-20 plus/minus rating is tied for second-best in the League. Chosen by the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round (27th overall) of the 2024 NHL Draft, Vanacker owns a career OHL stat-line that includes 85 goals, 87 assists and 172 points over 189 regular season games. The Bulldogs selected him with their first round (23rd overall) pick in 2022. Internationally, Vanacker won gold with Canada at the 2024 IIHF World Under-18 Hockey Championship.

2025-26 Cogeco OHL Player of the Week
Sept. 18-21: Cole Davis (Windsor Spitfires)
Sept. 22-28: Ethan Czata (Niagara IceDogs)
Sept. 29-Oct. 5: Kashawn Aitcheson (Barrie Colts)
Oct. 6-12: Jake O’Brien (Brantford Bulldogs)
Oct. 13-19: Adam Benak (Brantford Bulldogs)
Oct. 20-26: Kieron Walton (Sudbury Wolves)
Oct. 27-Nov. 2: Harry Nansi (Owen Sound Attack)
Nov. 3-9: Alex Kostov (Flint Firebirds)
Nov. 10-16: Nathan Aspinall (Flint Firebirds)
Nov. 17-23: Marek Vanacker (Brantford Bulldogs)