The annual OHL coaches poll is exactly what it sounds like: they poll the OHL coaches, which gives them an opportunity to recognize players across multiple categories. This allows the OHL to spread praise around the league, rather than just naming a most valuable player or top forward, defenceman, or goaltender, which will come later.
It’s a nice change from the more typical awards you get from other leagues, and includes more unusal categories like Most Underrated Player, Smartest Player, and Best Shootout Goalie.
I’ll let the OHL website explain the process:
The Coaches Poll is tabulated when each team submits one nominee per category, and coaches then vote for the top three players for each category within their conference. Players receive five points for a first place vote, three points for a second place vote, and one point for a third place vote. Clubs are not permitted to vote for players from their own team allowing for a maximum of 45 possible points for each winner.
The Canucks currently have five prospects in the OHL and three of them show up in the OHL coaches poll, all from the 2017 draft: Jonah Gadjovich, Michael DiPietro, and Matthew Brassard.
Jonah Gadjovich was named the Hardest Worker in the Western Conference with 29 points. He finished third last year and second the year before, so apparently he works hard consistently.
He also finished third in votes for Most Dangerous in Goal Area for the second year in a row. Boris Katchouk, who finished first, is 6’3” and had 42 goals in 57 games, so that sounds about right.
Gadjovich scored goals at a lower rate than last season, finishing with 24 goals and 43 points in 40 games. His lesser goal and point totals can be partially explained by his injury troubles this season, however, including a wrist injury that took him out for a month to start the season. He still racked up shots at a prodigious rate, finishing second in the OHL with 5.25 shots per game.
Michael DiPietro was named the best Puckhandling Goaltender in the Western Conference, with 23 points, and finished third for best Shootout Goaltender, with 20 points.
Among goaltenders with at least 20 games played, DiPietro was sixth in the OHL in save percentage at .911 and led the OHL with seven shutouts. It should be noted that the Windsor Spitfires were one of the lowest-scoring teams in the OHL this season, so he didn’t have a lot of goal support all season.
According to Prospect-Stats, DiPietro led the OHL in Adjusted Goals Saved Above Average (Adj.GSAA), saving the Spitfires 40.592 goals more than the average OHL goaltender would facing the same shots. A lot of that comes from his .845 High-Danger Save Percentage (HDSV%), which was second behind Joseph Raaymakers in the OHL. At 5-on-5, DiPietro’s HDSV% of .862 led all OHL goaltenders with at least 20 games played.
That has to be attributed to DiPietro’s athleticism and competitive nature. While the structure of his game needs work, his sheer athletic ability allows him to make saves in tight when it seems like he has no chance to do so.
Finally, there’s Matthew Brassard, who was the Canucks’ seventh round pick in 2017. He was named the second-best Offensive Defenceman in the Western Conference. He received just 12 points, but that’s because Nicolas Hague received 45 points: he got every possible first-place vote.
Brassard had 15 goals and 49 points in 66 games, good for eighth among OHL defencemen in scoring. That doesn’t tell the whole story, however, as his scoring took off in the second half of the season.
Through the first 20 games of the season, Brassard had just six points, all assists. He started heating up over the next dozen games, then became a point-per-game player in the back half of the season. Through the final 34 games, Brassard had 12 goals and 34 points.
Brassard was also fourth among OHL defencemen in shots on goal with 209, the bulk of which came from the right point. Brassard is a right-hand shot, making him a bit of a rarity in the Canucks system. He’s still a longshot for an NHL future, but his solid post-draft season is a promising sign, particularly for a seventh-round pick.
