Forwards
Aidan Gonzalez, Toledo Cherokee
Gonzalez (‘05/Dearborn, Mich.) was very busy with not just 11 games played by Toledo last month, but also two productive All-Star Games. In his regular season contests, he put up five goals and added 13 assists for 18 points in 11 games for 1.64 points per game. In Foxboro, Mass., on Jan. 27-28, he added a goal and two assists in front of more than 50 college scouts. For his two-year career, he has 53 goals and 124 points in 75 games.
Giovanni Valentine, Columbus Mavericks
Valentine (‘06/Newcastle, Pa.) more than doubled up his points per game for the Mavericks, who went 6-0-0-0 during the month of January. He registered eight goals and added eight assists for 16 points. He scored points in each game played, including multiple points in five of the six contests. He finished January with a hat trick as well as two game-winners in a row. He improved his season total to 23 goals and 44 points in 26 games.
Cameron Coogan, Cincinnati Jr. Cyclones
Coogan (‘04/Buffalo, N.Y.) is a fourth-year Premier veteran who has been a top scorer this year for Cincinnati. Coogan registered points in seven of the nine games he played in January, and six of those were multi-point performances. He totaled five goals and 10 assists for 15 points, good for 1.67 points per game. He has a career best 42 points in 39 games and 88 points in his 141-game Premier career.
Forward Honorable Mention: Dominic Nuanes, Cincinnati Jr. Cyclones
Defense:
Tyler Hilliker, Cincinnati Jr. Cyclones
The second-year Jr. Cyclone and third-year Premier veteran Hilliker (‘04/Muskegon, Mich.) had a very strong offensive January by putting up two goals and adding 10 assists for 12 points in nine games (1.33 points per game). He enjoyed five multi-point games during January, all of which allowed him to improve on his 2023-24 points totals five times over. He has 25 points in 39 games this season.
Jake Taylor, Metro Jets
Taylor (‘05/Macomb, Mich.) registered an impressive 3-10-13 line in the Jets’ 11 games of January. He also made his way east to play in the USPHL Premier All-Star games, where he was able to add an assist. Taylor is in his fourth year with the Jets organization, and he has nearly matched last year’s points total. He has 39 points currently after putting up 40 last year with the MJDP. He has 88 points in 114 career games going back to 2022-23.
Honorable Mention: Jack Rivera, Metro Jets
Goaltender:
Caleb Kril, Toledo Cherokee
Kril (‘04/Dexter, Mich.) won four games in January and only took one loss in a shootout. The wins gave him his career high of 15 wins this year. He made 129 saves on 136 shots over 302 minutes of net work for the Cherokee. He earned an 18-save shutout during the month, his sixth this season. His .949 save percentage for the month is close to his season mark of .945. He is now 26-7-2-1 for his two-year career with a .925 save percentage.
Honorable Mention: Austin Nowak, Toledo Cherokee
Selection Process: The division’s coaches are presented with a ballot form with statistical leaders (ranked by points per game average for skaters and save percentage for goaltenders) and vote on that form. The league takes the results of that vote and presents the coaches with the finalists, who are able to vote on further changes if desired.
Summaries by Joshua Boyd
