Ontario Junior Hockey League resident writer Ron Valentine is profiling the 2024-25 team captains across The OJ.
BY RON VALENTINE
Hometown kid GRAEME MACAULEY is the fourth captain in Milton Menace franchise history.
MacAuley has a game-winning goal and six assists already this season for the 3-1-0-0 Menace. They’re home to the Cobourg Cougars tonight.
Graeme ended his minor hockey career with the Halton Hurricanes and the Burlington Eagles before playing a couple of games for the OJHL’s Burlington Cougars in the 2021-22 season. He played with the OJ’s Wellington Dukes the following year. Last season he broke through with the Menace finishing eighth amongst all OJHL defencemen in points with 44, including 10 goals. Graeme played at the Eastern Canada Challenge and the OJHL All-Star Celebration last season.
The Menace finished second in the Western Conference with 85 points then bowed out in the second round of the playoffs in five games to the Leamington Flyers.
Graeme knows the importance of the playoffs: “We were able to get past Burlington in five by playing our games but against the Flyers, although we lost in five, we did not always get good bounces and it could well have been a different outcome.”
“Our coach (Dan DelMonte) let me know after the season ended that I would be wearing the ‘C’ and it’s a real honour to do that on a team that is so involved with the community in Milton. I came from a team (Wellington) that was also very much into community involvement.”
“It’s my first time with the ‘C’ although I wore an ‘A’ during my minor hockey days. I’m a lead-by-example kind of guy but I have several teammates who are more than capable of speaking up when the need arises. We have a good mix on the team with a strong core of veteran returnees helping out the new guys. Last season we played our normal physical style but we were able to cut down on our penalty minutes.”
Graeme was a first-round pick of the Barrie Colts in the Ontario Hockey League’s 2022 U18 draft.
“I went to their camp and after weighing my options I decided it was better for me to go the Junior A route with an eye to an NCAA scholarship,” he told the OJHL.
“I like to think of myself as a tough opponent to play against, a 200-foot player who can provide offense when needed. Coach Dan makes sure we follow his plan and gives us the opportunity to win every night.”
Coach DelMonte said naming Graeme was an easy decision: “In his first year with us he established himself as one of our best players and a leader for our team. He’s a local guy and he carries himself on and off the ice with professionalism and maturity. He’s definitely someone that I want to see our younger players try to emulate.”
Follow Ron Valentine on X @ronandlynda
