OHL Announces Top Performers of the Month for January

Toronto, Ont. – The Ontario Hockey League today announced the Top OHL Performers of the Month for regular season games played in January 2023 including Owen Sound Attack forward Colby Barlow, Barrie Colts blueliner Brandt Clarke, Windsor Spitfires rookie Liam Greentree and North Bay Battalion netminder Domenic DiVincentiis.

OHL Player of the Month – Colby Barlow (Owen Sound Attack):
2023 NHL Draft prospect Colby Barlow of the Owen Sound Attack is the OHL Player of the Month for January, producing 14 goals, six assists and 20 points in 12 games along with a plus/minus rating of plus-6. The Attack captain guided his team to a January mark of 8-3-1-0, registering points in 11 of his 12 outings, seven of those yielding multiple points. The 6-foot-1, 187 Ib. forward logged a goal and two helpers on Jan. 12th as the Attack defeated the Erie Otters 6-5 in overtime. Barlow’s scoring ways continued on Jan. 14th with another three-point showing, recording an assist and a pair of goals including the game winner in a 6-4 win over the Guelph Storm. He posted another two-goal night on Jan. 21st as the Attack defeated the Peterborough Petes 7-4 before closing out the month with another game-winning goal (2-0–2) in a 4-3 win over the Sudbury Wolves on Jan. 28th. Barlow becomes the first Attack player to earn OHL Player of the Month honours since Petrus Palmu, who was recognized in March 2017.

A 17-year-old from Orillia, Ont., Barlow leads the OHL with 36 goals on the season, including a League-leading 10 game winners. Listed as the OHL’s top-ranked skater on NHL’s Central Scouting Midseason Rankings, Barlow currently leads the Attack with 63 points (36-27–63) in 42 games. Now in his second season with Owen Sound, the left-winger has produced career totals that include 66 goals, 44 assists and 110 points in 101 regular season games. He was voted to the League’s first all-rookie team last season, setting an Attack franchise record for goals by a 16-year-old forward with 30. Barlow was Owen Sound’s first round (8th overall) pick in the 2021 OHL Priority Selection from the Toronto Marlboros U16 program. He returns to the Bayshore after captaining Team White to a 4-2 victory in the 2023 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects game held in Langley, BC last week.

OHL Defenceman of the Month – Brandt Clarke (Barrie Colts):
Los Angeles Kings prospect Brandt Clarke of the Barrie Colts is the OHL Defenceman of the Month for January, recording 20 points including 10 goals and 10 assists in nine games along with a plus/minus rating of plus-12 since returning from the Kings on Jan. 12th. Clarke’s offensive dominance on the blue line helped the Colts play to a January record of 6-3-0-0 upon his return, finishing the month with consecutive victories. His month included points in eight of his nine contests, including six multi-point showings. Clarke recorded a pair of goals and assists (2-2-4) on Jan. 15th to earn first star honours as the Colts defeated the Mississauga Steelheads 6-2. The 6-foot-2, 188lb. blueliner went on to register two goals and an assist on Jan. 17th against Owen Sound, assisting on the overtime winner as the Colts defeated the Attack 6-5. Continuing to lead the Colts to victory, Clarke recorded another three points on Jan. 28th with a pair of goals and a helper as Barrie defeated the Flint Firebirds 6-4. He rounded-out January with his first career OHL hat trick the following night, tacking on an assist as the Colts took a 4-1 win over the Saginaw Spirit. This mark’s Clarke’s second career OHL Defenceman of the Month honour after he was previously recognized in January 2022.

A 19-year-old from Nepean, Ont., Clarke has produced career totals that include 27 goals, 90 assists and 117 points in 121 regular season games. Now in his third season with the Colts, Clarke was voted to the League’s second all-star team in 2021-22, recording 59 points (11-48–59) in 55 games. The blueliner was Barrie’s first round (4th overall) pick in the 2019 OHL Priority Selection from the Don Mills Flyers U16 program. He was a first round (8th overall) pick of the Los Angeles Kings in the 2021 NHL Draft, and signed a three-year entry level NHL contract with the club on Aug. 10, 2021. Clarke returned to the Colts after winning a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship last month. He played in nine games with Los Angeles earlier this season, recording two assists in the process.

OHL Goaltender of the Month – Domenic DiVincentiis (North Bay Battalion):
Winnipeg Jets prospect Domenic DiVincentiis of the North Bay Battalion is the OHL Goaltender of the Month for January, playing to a 7-0-0-1 record with a 2.23 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage. DiVincentiis made 216 saves last month, winning seven of his eight outings for the Central Division-leading Battalion. He stopped 26 of the 27 shots that came his way on top of four shootout attempts on Jan. 11th as the Battalion defeated the Sudbury Wolves 2-1. He turned aside 47 of the 50 shots he faced the following week at home as the Battalion defeated the Flint Firebirds by a score of 7-3 on Jan. 15th. He closed out January blocking 30 of the 32 shots he faced on Jan. 28th as the Battalion defeated the Niagara IceDogs 8-2.

An 18-year-old Bolton, Ont. native, DiVincentiis leads the OHL with 25 wins to go with a 2.51 goals-against average and .911 save percentage through 32 games in his second OHL season. Helping backstop the Battalion to the Eastern Conference Championship Series last season, the 6-foot-2, 190lb. goaltender has played to a career mark of 39-14-1-1 with a 2.54 goals-against average and .909 save percentage in 59 regular season games with North Bay. He was the OHL’s F.W. ‘Dinty’ Moore Trophy winner in 2021-22, posting a 2.59 goals-against average while also being voted to the League’s second all-rookie team. DiVincentiis was selected by the Winnipeg Jets in the seventh round (207th overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft. He was originally North Bay’s sixth round (116th overall) pick in the 2020 OHL Priority Selection from the Vaughan Kings U16 program.

OHL Rookie of the Month – Liam Greentree (Windsor Spitfires):
Windsor Spitfires forward Liam Greentree is the OHL Rookie of the Month for January, recording 16 points including 10 goals and six assists in 12 games along with a plus/minus rating of plus-6. Greentree recorded points in nine of his 12 January contests, finishing the month with points in four consecutive showings. He had a two-point night on Jan. 14th, recording a goal and a game-winning assist to earn first star honours as the Spitfires defeated the Saginaw Spirit 5-3. He continued his scoring ways with a hat trick on Jan. 22nd, including a pair of goals less than a minute apart as the Spitfires fell to the Oshawa Generals in a high-scoring 9-5 contest. Greentree finished the month with another pair of goals on Jan. 29th as the Spitfires took a 9-4 win over the Soo Greyhounds. Greentree is the first Spitfires player to earn OHL Rookie of the Month honours since Logan Brown, who was recognized in February 2015.

A 2006-born right-winger from Oshawa, Ont., the 6-foot-2, 198lb. Greentree recently joined Will Cuylle as just the second Spitfires 16-year-old rookie in the past 10 years to reach the 20-goal mark. Greentree was Windsor’s second round (34th overall) pick in the 2022 OHL Priority Selection from the Markham Majors U16 program. He wont be eligible for the NHL Draft until 2024.

2022-23 OHL Performers of the Month:

Player of the Month:
January – Colby Barlow (Owen Sound Attack)
December – Francesco Pinelli (Kitchener Rangers)
November – Sean McGurn (London Knights)
October – Brennan Othmann (Flint Firebirds)

Defenceman of the Month:
January – Brandt Clarke (Barrie Colts)
December – Pavel Mintyukov (Saginaw Spirit)
November – Pavel Mintyukov (Saginaw Spirit)
October – Pavel Mintyukov (Saginaw Spirit)

Goaltender of the Month:
January – Domenic DiVincentiis (North Bay Battalion)
December – Anson Thornton (Barrie Colts)
November – Tristan Lennox (Saginaw Spirit)
October – Michael Simpson (Peterborough Petes)

Rookie of the Month:
January – Liam Greentree (Windsor Spitfires)
December – Zayne Parekh (Saginaw Spirit)
November – Oliver Bonk (London Knights)
October – Michael Misa (Saginaw Spirit)