Community event kicks off day-long festivities in Milton on Jan. 18
January 9, 2026, Mississauga, ON – The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) is excited to announce the coaching and support staff that will work the 2026 OJHL All-Star Celebration on Sunday, Jan. 18, at Milton Memorial Arena.
The East Conference all-stars will be coached by reigning OJHL Coach of the Year TJ Hill of the conference-leading Stouffville Spirit and Derek Smith, coach of the defending league champion Trenton Golden Hawks.
The West Conference team will be coached by Vince Bellissimo of the first-place Toronto Patriots and Dan Del Monte of the nationally-ranked and host Milton Menace.
Athletic therapists picked to work the game are Paige Shannon of Trenton and Tara Gilliland-Smith of Milton.
Equipment managers selected for the event are Joey O’Callaghan of Stouffville and Mike Aloe of Milton, the OJHL’s 2025 Equipment Manager of the Year.
The East and West rosters will be announced Monday.
The marquee event, featuring the best talent – East vs West all-conference teams – from across the 24-team circuit, promises to deliver an exciting showcase of skill and speed when puck drops shortly after 2:30 p.m.
All tickets are priced at $10. Children 10 and under will be admitted free of charge.
To buy tickets, click this link: https://square.link/u/CVw7HU9m
The All-Star Celebration extends beyond the on-ice action, with the day’s festivities beginning with a community event at 1 p.m.
The OJHL All-Star event hopes to tap into the community of Milton and offer an event prior to the big game as well as other support.
The main event gets underway at 2 p.m. when the league’s all-stars take the ice for warm-ups, giving fans an up-close look at the pre-game routines of junior hockey’s rising stars.
Between periods, the celebration will feature the next generation of local hockey talent. During the first intermission, minor hockey Initiation Program Timbits players will hit the ice for a five-minute game, while the second intermission will feature a Minor Hockey Showdown.
The All-Star Game rosters will feature players who have distinguished themselves through the first half of the 2024-25 season, representing the scoring leaders, defensive stalwarts and goaltending standouts from across the league’s two conferences.
EVENT DETAILS
Date: Sunday, January 18, 2026
Location: Milton Memorial Arena, Milton, ON
Tickets: https://square.link/u/CVw7HU9m
Schedule:
- 1:00 p.m. – Community Event
- 2:00 p.m. – All-Star Warm-ups Begin
- 2:30 p.m. – Opening Ceremonies, Puck Drop
About the OJHL – “League of Choice”
The Ontario Junior Hockey League is the largest Junior ‘A’ league operating under the auspices of the Canadian Junior Hockey League with 24 member clubs. A proud member of the CJHL and Ontario Hockey Association, the OJHL was originally named the Ontario Provincial Junior ‘A’ Hockey League and it was formed out of the Central Junior ‘B’ Hockey League in 1993-94. With a long and storied history of developing players for the next level, including U SPORTS, the NCAA, CHL, minor pro ranks and the NHL, the OJHL had more than 135 commitments in 2024-25, including 54 to NCAA Division 1 and 29 to the Ontario Hockey League. In addition, the OJHL had 39 OHL Affiliate Players who played 152 OHL games. Thirty OJHL alumni were playing in the NHL at the start of the 2025-26 season.
