NEWS

The OJHL announced today that Georgetown Raiders captain Steve Hladin (photo credit - Shawn Muir/OJHL Images) has been named the Gongshow Gear South-West Conference Player-of-the-Month for January after leading all OJHL scorers with 22 points in 10 games played during the month.  

The OJHL’s leading scorer throughout most of the regular season finally captured the monthly award after being named runner-up twice already this season (September and December).  Hladin’s month included 10 goals and 12 assists in leading the Raiders to a 9-1 record to clinch their first West Division title since 2012.  The centre notched a pair of four point games, a trifecta of three point games and had seven multi-point outings, along with firing three game-winners of which two came during important divisional one goal victories.  This marks the second time Hladin has been named Player-of-the-Month, having also won the award in October of 2013.

"I'd like to thank the OJHL for this award,” said Hladin upon hearing of the honour.  “Winning it a second time throughout my junior career means a lot because of one the things I have focused on is my consistency and I hope this award is a representation of that.  Our season in Georgetown has been great.  We knew we were going to have a strong team going into the season and I think we have done a good job of proving that. Our goal is to win a championship and we believe we have the team to accomplish that. It is an exciting time with playoffs right around the corner, especially with so many teams having great seasons." 

The league’s leading scorer also discussed his time in the OJHL, "This season being my last, I would like to thank the OJHL for four great seasons. The league and Georgetown have given me every opportunity to succeed and I would not be where I am today without either of them."

“Steve has been a tremendous leader on and off the ice all season,” said Raiders General Manager and Head Coach Greg Walters.  “He has been great with our young guys and he leads by example every day.  He has one goal this year and that is to win a championship and has not taken a day off from making sure all our players are as committed as he is to achieve our team’s ultimate goal.”

Georgetown linemate Anthony Marra was runner-up to Hladin as the South-West Conference Player-of-the-Month.  Marra recorded as many assists, 13, as any other player in the conference had points during January, finishing with 19 points in 10 games played.

Born on December 27, 1994 in Mississauga, Ontario, Steve Hladin would play his entire minor hockey career in his hometown with the Mississauga Senators ‘AAA’ organization, as well as playing for his Michael Power-St. Joseph High School Varsity Boys club.  

Often one of the Senators most prolific scorers, Hladin received his first taste of junior hockey with the Georgetown Raiders in 2010-11 as a 16-year old, recording one assist in five games played.

Hladin made the full-time jump to the OJHL in 2011-12 with the Vaughan Vipers and despite being a rookie, was one of the club’s most consistent players all season.  He would finish fifth on the Vipers in scoring with 39 points in 42 games played, while also notching 12 power play points and 3 game-winning goals.

Following the season, with the Vipers suspending operations, Hladin became a free agent and would turn down some offers to join the OHL, opting instead to keep his NCAA eligibility and joined the Nanaimo Clippers of the BCHL to start the year.  Off to a disappointing start with just one assist in six games played, the decision was made to return to his roots, joining the Georgetown Raiders, who were led by Greg Walters, also head coach for Team Canada East.  Hladin would earn a spot on the roster and represent Canada East the 2012 World Junior 'A' Challenge in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.  He would then be named to the OJHL West Division All-Star Team that competed at the 2012 Central Canada Cup All-Star Challenge held in Wellington, Ontario.  After finishing the year with career-highs of 22 goals and 42 points, Hladin notched another eight points in the post-season.

Last season, now one of the Raiders leaders, Hladin took his game to another level, nearly doubling his offensive output to finish second in the OJHL with 38 goals and 83 points.  After earning the OJHL Gongshow Gear South-West Conference Player-of-the-Month Award in October, he would once again be named to the All-Star Team, this time the South-West Conference, but would miss the 2013 Central Canada Cup that was held in Terrebonne due to injury.  After leading the Raiders to the South-West Conference Championship, ultimately falling in four games to the eventual league champion Toronto Lakeshore Patriots, the Sacred Heart University commit would be named an OJHL 1st Team All-Star.

Returning as the club’s captain this season, Hladin has been at the top of the OJHL scoring chart for the majority of the season and for the third consecutive year was named, this time to Team OJHL Oates for the 2013 Central Canada Cup All-Star Challenge that was held in Toronto, Ontario.  He notched three points in five games as Team Oates captured the championship with a 4-0 victory over Team OJHL Nieuwendyk in the final.