March 19, 2024, Mississauga, ON – …. Noah Pak of the Collingwood Blues is the recipient of the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Top Goaltender award for the 2023-24 season, the league announced today.
The award is given annually to the goaltender with the lowest goals-against average across the 24-team league.
Pak recorded a 1.30 GAA. Next best was Brady Spry of the Trenton Golden Hawks at 2.20.
Pak also led the league in save percentage (.945) and shutouts (12).
His record was a sparkling 37-5-0-0.
Pak helped Collingwood go 49-6-0-1 and win the Brant Snow Memorial Trophy as regular season champions of the OJHL.
The Oakville product signed in Collingwood ahead of the COVID-cancelled 2021-22 OJHL season, meaning he’s played three seasons with the Blues.
He has an NCAA Division I commitment to Yale University for this fall.
“It’s been an unreal experience for me and the team,” Pak told the OJHL. “It’s been really great for my development as a hockey player and as a human, as well.”
Pak and the defending OJHL playoff champion Blues swept their first-round 2024 playoff series with the Brantford 99ers. They’ll face the Oakville Blades in Round 2 beginning this weekend.
The Blues are a big hit in Collingwood, averaging a league-high 847 fans per game this regular season. That can lead to recognition in the community, even away from Eddie Bush Memorial Arena.
“There are lots of kids and their families that like to come to our games,” Pak said. “And sometimes you’ll run into them in a store or on the streets.”
That includes the young goaltenders in the stands.
“A few of them have come up to me and said they like to wear No. 31 because they saw me wearing it, so that’s pretty cool,” Pak said. “Parents ask for photos with their kids. And that’s always a cool feeling, too.”
It’s deja vu for Pak who wears the number in honour of his childhood netminding idol, Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens.
“We’ve been fortunate to have Noah part of the Blues organization for the last four years and each year he continued to strive for more,” said Collingwood Head Coach Andrew Campoli. “Not only has he been successful on the ice, but he has been a fan favourite with our fan base and many minor hockey players in Collingwood.”
Noah Pak will be honoured along with the other OJHL award recipients at a ceremony during the OJHL Nutrafarms Championship Series in late April.
The OJHL is announcing its 2023-24 award winners throughout the first three rounds of the playoffs.
TOMORROW: 1st and 2nd All-Prospect Teams
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 Canadian Junior Hockey League 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 has had more than 45 NCAA Division I scholarships already this season.
For more information on the Ontario Junior Hockey League, follow us on Instagram (@OJHLOfficial), Twitter (@OJHLOfficial) and Facebook (OJHLOfficial) and visit www.ojhl.ca
