Barrie Colts netminder Anson Thornton has been named the Ontario Hockey League's goaltender of the month for December.
The OHL announced its players of the month on Tuesday. In addition to Thornton's honour, Kitchener Rangers forward Francesco Pinelli was tapped as player of the month, while Saginaw Spirit teammates Pavel Mintyukov and Zayne Parekh were named top defenceman and top rookie, respectively.
Thornton, a 19-year-old Oshawa native, turned in a sparkling 5-0-0-1 record in December, with a 2.25 goals-against average (GAA), .945 save percentage (SV%) and one shutout. He made at least 36 saves in all six of those outings.
Thornton stopped 38 of the 40 shots that came his way on Dec. 4 as the Colts defeated his former Sarnia Sting teammates, 3-2, in overtime. He turned aside 45 shots the following week at home as the Colts defeated the Saginaw Spirit, 5-2, on Dec. 8. He registered another 40-plus save showing on Dec. 17 as Barrie defeated the North Bay Battalion, 6-3.
Thornton closed out December with his first shutout of the campaign on New Year's Eve, making 38 saves as the Colts defeated the Guelph Storm, 8-0.
He was acquired this past summer from Sarnia in exchange for a second-round pick (2023 Flint), a third-round selection (2024 Niagara), and a fifth-rounder (2026 Barrie). Thornton, who was originally the Sting's first-round pick (third overall) in the 2020 OHL U18 Priority Selection, won an OHL Cup championship with the Don Mills Flyers U16 program in 2019.
The six-foot-four, 187-pound goaltender has a 10-6-1-2 record with a 3.40 goals-against average (GAA) and .906 save percentage (SV%) through 19 games in his second OHL season.
As a free agent, Thornton signed an entry-level contract with the NHL's Arizona Coyotes after attending the team's training camp in October 2021.
Meanwhile, Pinelli scored eight goals and added 13 assists for 21 points in nine games in December to be named OHL player of the month. The Los Angeles Kings prospect guided his team to a December mark of 6-2-2-0. The Rangers captain's 1.59 points-per-game currently sit fourth in the OHL.
Mintyukov claimed the defenceman honour after leading all blue-liners with 16 points, including two goals and 14 assists, in 10 games. He becomes the league's first defenceman on record to ever receive three consecutive defenceman-of-the-month honours. The 19-year-old was selected 10th overall by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2022 NHL Draft.
Parekh, who also patrols the Saginaw blue-line, was named top rookie after recording 10 points, including six goals and four assists, in 10 games. The 16-year-old Nobleton native recorded points in eight of his 10 December contests. His 11 goals this season lead all OHL rookie blue-liners. Parekh was Saginaw's first-round pick (19th overall) in the 2022 OHL Priority Selection from the Markham Majors U16 program.
