NEWS RELEASE
ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
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The Ontario Hockey League today announced the Top OHL Performers of the Month for regular-season games played in March 2023, including Barrie Colts defenceman Brandt Clarke, North Bay Battalion goaltender Domenic DiVincentiis and North Bay Battalion rookie netminder Charlie Robertson.
OHL Player & Defenceman of the Month – Brandt Clarke (Barrie Colts)
Los Angeles Kings prospect Brandt Clarke of the Barrie Colts is both the OHL player and defenceman of the month, recording 11 goals and 11 assists for 22 points in nine games along with a plus/minus rating of plus-16.
Clarke helped the Colts play to a March record of 8-2-0-1, recording points in all nine of his contests, including seven multi-point showings. Clarke recorded his first OHL career hat trick on March 2 as the Colts fell to the Hamilton Bulldogs 7-5.
The six-foot-two, 188-pound blue-liner went on to register a pair of goals and assists including the game-tying goal on March 15 against Mississauga as the Colts came up short in a shootout. Clarke closed out the month scoring another hat trick on top of a pair of helpers in a high-scoring 11-4 win over the Niagara IceDogs on March 18.
This mark’s Clarke’s fourth career OHL defenceman-of-the-month honour after he was previously recognized in February.
A 20-year-old from Nepean, Ont., Clarke knotted a Colts single-season club record with 23 goals from the back end, doing so in just 31 games. He finished the season fifth among OHL blue-liners with 61 points (23-38--61) and has produced career totals that include 40 goals, 118 assists and a franchise record 158 points by a defenceman in 143 regular-season outings.
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 blue-liner was Barrie’s first-round (fourth overall) pick in the 2019 OHL Priority Selection from the Don Mills Flyers U16 program. He was a first-round (eighth 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. He played in nine games with Los Angeles earlier this season, recording two assists in the process, and was a Canadian World Junior gold medallist this past January.
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 the second time this season, playing to a 6-0-0-0 record with a 1.00 goals-against average, a .968 save percentage and three shutout victories.
DiVincentiis made 181 saves last month, winning all six of his outings for the back-to-back Central Division champions. He stopped all 46 shots that came his way on March 3 as the Battalion blanked the Mississauga Steelheads 3-0. He turned aside the 27 shots he faced the following week at home as the Battalion defeated the London Knights by a score of 4-0 on Mar. 12th.
He closed out March with his third shutout of the month and his fifth of the season, blocking all 15 shots he faced as North Bay blanked the Hamilton Bulldogs 4-0 on Mar. 23rd.
An 18-year-old Bolton, Ont. native, DiVincentiis led the OHL's regular season with 36 wins, a 2.33 goals-against average and .919 save percentage over 48 games, all figures that establish new Battalion single season records. His five shutouts were tied for the OHL lead and equal a Battalion club mark.
Helping backstop the Battalion to the Eastern Conference championship series last season, the six-foot-two, 190-pound goaltender has played to a career mark of 50-17-2-1 with a 2.42 goals-against average and .915 save percentage in 75 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 – Charlie Robertson (North Bay Battalion)
Draft-eligible North Bay Battalion netminder Charlie Robertson is the OHL rookie of the month for March, playing to a 5-0-0-0 record with a 1.79 goals-against average and .942 save percentage with two shutouts.
Robertson made 145 saves in March, winning all five of his outings to help the Battalion clinch a second-straight Central Division title. He stopped all 20 shots that came his way on Mar. 5th to earn his second OHL career shutout as the Battalion blanked the Niagara IceDogs 4-0. He returned to the crease on March 10, turning aside all 28 shots in a 3-0 win over the Oshawa Generals to earn his second consecutive shutout.
Robertson closed out March with a 5-2 win over the Mississauga Steelheads on March 26, making 44 saves to earn first star recognition. Robertson is North Bay's first OHL rookie-of-the-month recipient since defenceman Cam Dineen, who last claimed the honour in January 2016.
A 17-year-old from London, Ont., Robertson finished the season with a 12-6-0-1 record, a 3.17 goals-against average, .892 save percentage and three shutouts in his 21 games. The six-foot-three, 167-pound netminder was North Bay's seventh-round (130th overall) pick in the 2021 OHL Priority Selection from the London Jr. Knights U16 program.
He competed in the 2023 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, and was the OHL's top-ranked goaltender on NHL Central Scouting's Midseason Rankings, coming in at 12th in North America.
2022-23 OHL Performers of the Month:
Player of the Month:
March – Brandt Clarke (Barrie Colts)
February – Matthew Maggio (Windsor Spitfires)
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:
March – Brandt Clarke (Barrie Colts)
February – Brandt Clarke (Barrie Colts)
January – Brandt Clarke (Barrie Colts)
December – Pavel Mintyukov (Saginaw Spirit)
November – Pavel Mintyukov (Saginaw Spirit)
October – Pavel Mintyukov (Saginaw Spirit)
Goaltender of the Month:
March – Domenic DiVincentiis (North Bay Battalion)
February – Collin MacKenzie (Ottawa 67’s)
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:
March – Charlie Robertson (North Bay Battalion)
February – Nate Krawchuk (Sudbury Wolves)
January – Liam Greentree (Windsor Spitfires)
December – Zayne Parekh (Saginaw Spirit)
November – Oliver Bonk (London Knights)
October – Michael Misa (Saginaw Spirit)
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