OHL Top Performers of the Month for October

Toronto, Ont. – The Ontario Hockey League today announced the Top OHL Performers of the Month for regular season games played in October 2019, including Hamilton Bulldogs forward Arthur Kaliyev, Ottawa 67’s defenceman Noel Hoefenmayer and Peterborough Petes teammates Mason McTavish and Hunter Jones.

OHL Player of the Month – Arthur Kaliyev (Hamilton Bulldogs):
Los Angeles Kings prospect Arthur Kaliyev of the Hamilton Bulldogs is the OHL Player of the Month for October after leading the league with 25 points, putting up 14 goals and 11 assists over 12 games to go with a plus/minus rating of plus-4. The 6-foot-2, 190Ib. winger recorded points in 11 of his 12 October outings including eight different multi-point performances. Kaliyev’s month was headlined by back-to-back four point performances on October 11th and 14th as he scored a career-high four goals in a 4-1 road win over the Erie Otters followed by two goals and two assists in a 7-5 win over visiting Barrie. He recorded two goals and an assist in a 4-2 road win over the Kingston Frontenacs on October 18th and ended the month with another three-point performance in Wednesday’s 5-4 win over Barrie that included a goal and two helpers. Kaliyev earned star of the game recognition on six different occasions, being named first star three times. Kaliyev becomes the first Bulldogs player to ever earn OHL Player of the Month honours.

An 18-year-old native of Staten Island, NY, Kaliyev sits tied for the OHL lead in goals with 16, tacking on 15 assists for 31 points over 16 games. After finishing second in OHL shots on goal last season, Kaliyev is on top of the league with 88 to his credit thus far. Now in his third season, Kaliyev comes off a 102-point campaign in 2018-19 and has amassed 181 points (98-83–181) over 151 career regular season games, all spent in a Bulldogs uniform. He helped Hamilton hoist the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL Champions in 2017-18, becoming the first rookie in Bulldogs all-time franchise history to score over 30 goals in a season. Kaliyev was a second round (33rd overall) pick of the Los Angeles Kings this past summer after originally being Hamilton’s second round (26th overall) pick in the 2017 OHL Priority Selection. He attended USA Hockey’s World Junior Summer Showcase this past August.

OHL Defenceman of the Month – Noel Hoefenmayer (Ottawa 67’s):
Ottawa 67’s overage defenceman Noel Hoefenmayer is the OHL Defenceman of the Month for October after leading all rearguards with 16 points including five goals and 11 assists along with a plus/minus rating of plus-12 over nine contests. Hoefenmayer recorded at least one point in eight of his nine October appearances, finishing the month strong with two game winning goals in his last three contests. The 6-foot-1, 196Ib. blueliner recorded a goal and an assist to help the 67’s charge back to defeat the Kingston Frontenacs 8-7 on October 14th. He potted his first career OHL hat-trick, capping it off with the overtime winner in a 5-4 win over visiting Hamilton on October 20th. Hoefenmayer followed that impressive performance with another three-point showing, recording a goal and two assists with the third period game winner in a 4-3 win over the Kitchener Rangers on October 25th. His latest outing yielded a season-high four points as he picked up four helpers in a 7-2 win over the Sarnia Sting on October 27th.

A 20-year-old native of North York, Ont., Hoefenmayer leads OHL defencemen with 21 points (6-15–21) over 13 games this season. His 253 career regular season games are fifth-most in 67’s franchise history as he’s collected 161 points (45-116–161) along the way. The fifth-year defender who helped the 67’s win an Eastern Conference title last spring was a fourth round (108th overall) pick of the Arizona Coyotes in the 2017 NHL Draft before going unsigned. Hoefenmayer attended rookie camp with the Carolina Hurricanes this past September. He was Ottawa’s second round (36th overall) pick in the 2015 OHL Priority Selection.

OHL Rookie of the Month – Mason McTavish (Peterborough Petes):
Peterborough Petes forward Mason McTavish is the OHL Rookie of the Month for October after leading all rookies with eight goals along with a pair of assists for 10 points in 11 games. The 6-foot, 198Ib. centreman bookended the month with a pair of two-goal performances, helping the Petes take a 5-2 win in North Bay on October 3rd before recently lighting the lamp twice in a 10-3 win over the Mississauga Steelheads on October 26th. McTavish also scored the game winner in Peterborough’s 6-3 road win over the Sarnia Sting on October 11th and was an impressive 67.8% (38/56) in the faceoff circle over the course of the month.

A 16-year-old native of Pembroke, Ont., McTavish leads OHL rookies with 10 goals along with four assists for 14 points in as many games this season. He’s currently second among rookies in shots on goal with 39 and has helped the Petes to a 10-4-0-0 record on the season including an 8-3-0-0 away from home. The Pembroke Lumber Kings Midget AAA graduate was the fifth overall pick of the 2019 OHL Priority Selection. His father, Dale McTavish played four seasons in Peterborough from 1989-93, helping the Petes hoist the Robertson Cup in 1993.

OHL Goaltender of the Month – Hunter Jones (Peterborough Petes):
Minnesota Wild prospect Hunter Jones of the Peterborough Petes is the Vaughn OHL Goaltender of the Month for October after playing to an 8-1-0-0 record with a 2.34 goals-against average, .923 save percentage and one shutout over nine contests. The 6-foot-4, 198Ib. netminder ends the month on a four-game winning streak and provided 25 saves or more in six of his eight October victories. Jones locked down his first shutout of the season on October 9th in Saginaw, making 23 saves as the Petes blanked the Spirit 4-0. He turned in another first star performance on Oct. 18th in Ottawa, turning side 32 of 33 shots in a 3-1 win over the 67’s. Jones backstopped the Petes past the CHL’s top-ranked Oshawa Generals 2-1 on October 20th, turning side 28 of 29 shots.

A 19-year-old native of Brantford, Ont., Jones sits tied for the OHL lead with 10 wins accompanied by a 2.46 goals-against average and .920 save percentage over 11 games. The third-year veteran owns a career regular season record of 41-34-2-2 with a 3.54 goals-against average and .897 save percentage with four shutouts over 83 games. Jones was a second round (59th overall) pick of the Minnesota Wild this past summer and was originally Peterborough’s fifth round (89th overall) pick in the 2016 OHL Priority Selection. He attended Hockey Canada’s National Junior Team Summer Development Camp in August and will represent Team OHL in the upcoming 2019 CIBC Canada Russia Series.

2019-20 OHL Performers of the Month:

Player of the Month:
October – Arthur Kaliyev (Hamilton Bulldogs)

Defenceman of the Month:
October – Noel Hoefenmayer (Ottawa 67’s)

Rookie of the Month:
October – Mason McTavish (Peterborough Petes)

Goaltender of the Month:
October – Hunter Jones (Peterborough Petes)