April 7, 2025, Mississauga, ON – …. Riley Pope of the Stouffville Spirit has been voted the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Most Improved Player for 2024-25, the league announced today.
The third-year forward saw his point total grow from 23 (9 goals/14 assists) in 2023-24 to 72 (32 goals/40 assists) this past season. He tied Luke Johnston of Milton for seventh in the OJHL scoring race. Five of Pope’s goals were game-winners.
With Pope wearing an ‘A’, the Spirit had its best winning percentage in 10 years (0.625), going 33-19-0-4 and finishing in fourth place in the 12-team OJHL East. In the playoffs, they swept the Wellington Dukes in the first round before being eliminated in five games by Trenton.
“Riley is the toughest kid, pound for pound, to ever wear the Spirit jersey,” said Spirit General Manager Kenny Burrows, who has been with the organization since 1997.
The Bolton resident had 32 points in his rookie (2022-23) season. The product of the Toronto Jr. Canadiens U18 program played nine games with the OJHL’s St. Michael’s Buzzers in 2021-22.
Pope credits the power of positive thinking for his massive jump in production.
“It was a big mental thing, just staying positive,” he told the OJHL. “Focusing on the little things that made a big difference in my game and sticking to my strengths. And from there, let the chips fall where they may.”
Pope heaped praise on his teammates, particularly linemates Lachlan Wells and Josh Bonnyman.
Spirit Head Coach TJ Hill calls Pope “the heart and soul of this year’s team”.
“I’m really happy for Riley for the year he had,” Hill said. “He’s very deserving of this award. It’s been a pleasure coaching him over the past three years. His work ethic and the way he goes about his business and the way he has achieved his success is through pure hard work, grit, determination and toughness.
“Riley’s no-quit attitude has been a pleasure to watch, plus to see him have the success he had offensively this year, I’m really proud of what he accomplished. He deserves all of the recognition he has received.”
“I didn’t have the most skill growing up,” Pope said earlier this season. “But work ethic is something you have full control over. And it’s something not everyone puts 100 percent into.
“I just try to be the player no one wants to play against, right? Be hard to play against, win my battles, just leave it all out there and try my best.”
“I like to be hard on the forecheck because I know what it’s like to be on the other end of that when someone comes in like that; It’s frustrating when you can’t break out,” Pope said. “I like to cause havoc in the other end.”
A student in the arborist program at Humber College, Pope was selected to play in the inaugural OJHL vs OUA series of games. He joined Wells and Spirit Captain David Paglia on one team of OJHL 20-year-olds that faced the Toronto Metropolitan University varsity team.
Pope was OJHL East Player of the Month for January. He ended the month with a flourish, scoring seven goals in the Spirit’s final two games – including game-winners in double overtime both nights.
Pope is the fourth person from the Spirit honoured with a league award this spring. The others were:
- David Paglia, Humanitarian of the Year
- Kenny Burrows, Executive of the Year
- TJ Hill, Coach of the Year
All four will be honoured along with the other OJHL award recipients at a ceremony during the OJHL Championship Series later this month.
The OJHL is announcing its 2024-25 award winners throughout the first three rounds of the playoffs.
TOMORROW: Most Gentlemanly Player
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 – including the 2024 national champion Collingwood Blues. 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 the CHL, U SPORTS, the NCAA, minor pro ranks and the NHL, the OJHL has had more than 100 commitments already this season.
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