PAOLINI NAMED SW PLAYER OF MONTH
The OJHL announced today that St. Michael’s Buzzers alternate captain Mark Paolini (photo credit - Brian Watts/OJHL Images) has been named the Bardown South-West Conference Player-of-the-Month for November after leading the conference with 12 assists and 2 game-winning goals during the month.
The defenceman, who currently is second among all OJHL rearguards with 36 points, has been a pillar on the Buzzers’ blueline throughout the season and was exceptional during the month of November, recording 4 goals, 12 assists and 16 points in 10 games played. Paolini added two game-winning goals during month that helped the club to a 7-3-0 record and has them sitting in first place in the South Division standings. Quarterbacking the Buzzers power play unit, he led all OJHL scorers during the month with nine power play points, including seven assists with the man advantage. Paolini recorded points in all but one of St. Michael’s November contests and he posted four multiple point outings, including a three point effort in a victory over Orangeville and his second, four point game of the season, in their win over Pickering.
The 18-year old, Toronto, Ontario native played for various GTHL ‘AAA’ organizations, ultimately closing out his minor hockey career as a member of the successful Don Mills Flyers Minor Midget ‘AAA’ squad in 2013-14. Following a season playing high school hockey at St. Michael’s College School, Paolini joined the on-campus Buzzers program, while earning an early commitment during the 2015-16 season to join the Princeton University Tigers during the 2018-19 ECAC season. The 17-year old rookie would play 50 games for St. Mike’s and lead the club’s defensive corps in scoring with 25 points to also rank top 30 in the entire OJHL. His efforts throughout the season did not go unnoticed as he received the most votes in 2016 OJHL Fan Favourite Award balloting for the Buzzers. Entering this season as one of the Buzzers leaders on-and-off the ice, Paolini has not disappointed, currently sitting fourth on the club in scoring with 36 points in 31 games played. He was selected as a member of Team OJHL Hawerchuk, registering two points in six games at the 2016 Eastern Canada Cup All-Star Challenge and was then invited to Team Canada East’s Final Selection Camp that was held recently at the MasterCard Centre in Etobicoke.
Cameron Searles of the St. Michael’s Buzzers was runner-up to teammate Paolini as the South-West Conference Player-of-the-Month. One of the club’s other alternate captains, Searles led the league in scoring during November with 19 points in 10 games played.
