Andreas Mikrogiannakis of the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Aurora Tigers has confirmed his commitment to join the NCAA Division I RIT Tigers in Rochester, NY as early as the 2025-26 season.
Mikrogiannakis, 17, is an OJHL rookie playing for his hometown Tigers. The 17-year old has two goals and six assists for the 3-5-0-1 Tigers.
He was a highly coveted recruit from the Markham Waxers U18 team where he played for ex-NHLer and former OJHL (North York Rangers) coach Dan Daoust last season, Aurora Head Coach Thomas Milne told the OJHL. The Waxers finished fourth at the 2024 Telus Cup national championships.
Milne had a leg up, having coached Mikrogiannakis in the York Simcoe Express organization and his brother Dimitri with the Newmarket Hurricanes (now Milton Menace) in the OJHL.
Dimitri is the captain at RIT this year, in his final season of NCAA eligibility.
“But RIT didn’t take Andreas because of his brother,” Milne said. “They took him because he is from a good family. And he’s just dynamic, the way he skates. He just has to mature.”
“Andreas has been a catalyst for us, all over the ice,” said Aurora General Manager and Assistant Coach James Thomson, “not just offensively. He’s consistently one of the hard workers in our games and someone who definitely cares about winning, not just getting individual points. We’re super excited for Andreas, his family and this organization for him to reach this milestone.”
Andreas knows the RIT campus and rink, having watched his big brother play in Rochester. He also took an official visit of his own to the school in late September.
“I know they’re a good hockey school,” he told the OJHL. “My brother likes the whole environment, the coaching staff and just how close the team is together. He says it’s the closest a team has been together that he’s been on.”
How has the transition from U18 to the OJHL been?
“It’s been fun and tough, just seeing how competitive it is,” Andreas told the OJHL. “We’ve faced some of the top teams and playing against that competition is good. I feel it will really develop me and push me to get a lot better.”
Congratulations to Andreas and best of luck in the OJHL and NCAA!
The OJHL had more than 45 NCAA Division I scholarship commitments last season.
Check out all our current commitments here: https://www.ojhl.ca/committments/
