Local flavour to Red Tilson nominee list
Thu Mar 27, 2008

OSHAWA -- The Ontario Hockey League will have a new Red Tilson Trophy winner this season.

A year ago, Oshawa Generals phenom John Tavares took home the honour after posting impressive 72-62-134 totals.

This year, it is teammate Brett MacLean who has a shot at the award, as he was named the Generals nominee for the prestigious trophy after compiling career highs in goals (61), assists (58) and points (119).

Despite missing the final two games of the regular season with the flu, MacLean finished second in league scoring behind Kitchener's Justin Azevedo and just ahead of Tavares.

Elsewhere around the league, the list of nominees features a couple of local players who had impressive campaigns with their respective clubs.

Bowmanville's Josh Bailey of the Windsor Spitfires and Whitby's John Hughes of the Brampton Battalion were selected to represent their teams in the process.

Bailey, touted to go in the first round of this summer's National Hockey League Entry Draft, just missed out on the 100-point plateau, finishing the season with 29-67-96 totals.

Hughes, meanwhile, is hoping to garner some interest from professional teams this summer after going undrafted a year ago.

His season of 28-63-91 totals will go a long way in aiding that cause.

Other nominees include: Alex Hutchins (Barrie), Mike Murphy (Belleville), Jaroslav Janus (Erie), Drew Doughty (Guelph), Nathan Moon (Kingston), Justin Azevedo (Kitchener), Patrick Maroon (London), Kaspars Daugavins (Mississauga), Luca Caputi (Niagara), Thomas Kiriakou (Ottawa), Tyler Beskorowany (Owen Sound), Zach Bogosian (Peterborough), Chris Terry (Plymouth), Ryan McDonough (Saginaw), Steven Stamkos (Sarnia), Dustin Jeffery (Sault Ste. Marie) and Jared Staal (Sudbury).