By: Dante De Caria
Ottawa, Ontario – The Central Canada Hockey League Tier 2 is proud to announce that Ottawa Jr. Canadians ’01 born forward Thomas Freel is the winner of the 2018-19 Rookie of the Year award.
Freel, 17, led all CCHL2 rookies in points (59), assists (35), PPG (1.34) and ranked third in goals (24) while playing in all 44-games this season. The Ottawa, Ontario native recorded 14 multi-point games, with one of the them being a hat-trick in a five point game on November 30th against Renfrew.
Ottawa Jr. Canadians Head Coach Tasso Vasilas said that Freel comes to the rink to work hard, regardless if it’s a practice or a game.
“His work ethic is second to none. He gives you everything he has every shift. Off the ice he is a great teammate who has a positive demeanor. We are truly lucky to have Tommy on our squad. He makes everyone around him better. That is incredible given it’s his first year in junior. He will be a player to watch in the CCHL next year for sure,” smiled Vasilas, proud of Freel’s achievement.
Next year, Thomas will suit up for the Ottawa Jr. Senators of the CCHL Tier 1 – as confirmed by Jr. Senators Head Coach Martin Dagenais who said that Freel was their last cut at this years camp. In 10-games as an affiliate with Ottawa, Freel has three assists while playing on the third and fourth line.
The fans voted yesterday on Twitter, and they’re correct.
The Ottawa Jr. Canadians finished the regular season 39-4-1 and will either face Alexandria or Char-Lan in the Barkley Cup Quarter Finals in two weeks.
