Players of the Month - Sept. 2015

The Greater Metro Junior 'A' Hockey League has announced the 'Players of the Month' for September of the 2015-2016 hockey season.

The 'Players of the Month' honours is a distinction awarded to the player who is adjudged the best at his position & rookie through each month of the season.

Forward - Viacheslav Chegrintcev, Alliston Coyotes
Star forward of the Alliston Coyotes, Viacheslav Chegrintcev , has returned to the Coyotes after a 96 point 2014-2015 campaign and just wrapped up a dominating month of September. Chegrintcev is leading the GMHL in scoring (as of October 6th, 2015) with an impressive 25 points (10g, 15a) in only 7 games. The '96 born elite forward hails from  Russia and is known league-wide as one of the most dangerous offensive players in the GMHL. Last season, Chegrintcev came second in the GMHL scoring race with 57 goals in 41 games.

Honorable mention to teammate Nils Niklasson, in his first season with the Coyotes. Nils is sitting sixth in GMHL scoring with 20 points (11g, 9a) in 7 games. Niklasson is in his first season with the Coyotes -- last season he was the Captain of Skelleftea AIK in the Swedish SuperElite league.

Defenceman - Alfred Panelin-Borg, South Muskoka Shield
The top defenceman from the surging South Muskoka Shield, Alfred Panelin-Borg has returned for a second season in the GMHL. Alfred was named Captain of the Shield and is off to a tremendous start, leading the Shield to a 6-0-1 record thus far. Alfred has scored 8 points (2g, 6a) in the first 7 games -- coming off a 72 point season last year. Borg is a 6'2" powerful defencemen coming from Angelholm, Sweden.

Goaltender - Jan Pechek, Kingsville Kings
Starting goaltender for the Kingsville Kings, Jan Pechek, has returned to the GMHL for a second season, after leading the Seguin Huskies to a Russell Cup Finals appearance last season. The high profile Czech prospect has hit the ground running, contending for the league lead in all goaltending statistics. With 6 wins (1st), 2 shutouts (T-1st), 1.74 GAA (2nd), and .984 save% (2nd), Jan has been the backbone of Kingsville impressive 9-0-0 start to lead the South Division. Pechek was traded to Kingsville this off-season, coming to North America with the Huskies late last season. Pechek has been the starting goaltender in Czech Major Junior & Czech international teams before coming to the GMHL.

Rookie - Egor Kurbatov, Bradford Rattlers
Young Russian forward Egor Kurbatov has been a dominating force for the Bradford Rattlers this season. Kurbatov is a '99 born skilled forward registering over a point-per-game in his first GMHL season. Through 4 games, Egor has notched 6 points (4g, 2a) helping to lead the Rattlers to a 4-0-1 record through the first month. Egor is a product of the Krylia Sovetov Moska Russian minor hockey system.

Congratulations to all of these players on their accomplishments