OMG PLAYER OF THE MONTH - JANUARY
Thrashers ’ Dawson McKenzie :
PLAYER OF THE MONTH
He ’ s looking forward to getting a shot with a Western Hockey League franchise next fall and like most elite players , he dreams of one day playing in the National Hockey
League . For Winnipeg Thrashers ’ forward Dawson McKenzie , it ’ s all about hockey . And for good reason .
McKenzie not only leads the Thrashers in scoring this season but he ’ s also the No . 2 scorer Manitoba Midget Triple A Hockey League with 19 goals and 48 points in his first 31 games .
As a result of his superb start , McKenzie has been named the first OMG Player of the Month for 2017 .
McKenzie started skating at four-years old and his first organized team , at the age of six , was the AW Wildcats . He fell in love with hockey because he and his dad went skating together and watched Hockey Night in Canada together .
“ My favorite team was the Leafs and I watched them every Saturday ,” he said with a wide smile . “ I just fell in love with the game .”
His dad played some hockey and his sister is a track athlete , but clearly Dawson in the hockey star in the family . His coach , Jim Berezowsky believes he has a solid future in the game if he wants it badly enough .
“ He ’ s one of the leaders on our hockey club and he wears a letter , an assistant captain ,” said the coach . “ Dawson brings an acute awareness to the offensive side of the game . He ’ s one of those individuals who reads the offensive side of hockey better than most kids . And definitely , the results of his offensive skills are directly apparent in his scoring totals . On our hockey club , he has twice as many points as the next player on the list .
“ For Dawson , the biggest thing is his conditioning . If he can improve his foot speed and his body strength , the skills are definitely there . For him , he has to continue to improve his conditioning and speed . If he does that , he ’ ll have a chance to make it at the next level .”
For McKenzie , it ’ s clear that his favorite part of the game is scoring goals .
“ Finishing off those plays is the best part of the game , by far ,” he said . “ There ’ s no better feeling that scoring goals .”
McKenzie played for the Assiniboine Wildcats , the St . James Canadians ( 11 and 12 ) and the Bantam Hawks at 13 and 14 and Triple A Hawks at 15 and now two years with the Thrashers .
“ My No . 1 goal is to play in the WHL next year ,” McKenzie said bluntly . “ I wasn ’ t drafted but I went to camp this year with Prince George and Moose Jaw . I really liked being around those guys , just seeing their work ethic and what it takes to play at that level . One day , I want to play in the NHL .” n
Larry Finnson and OMG Candy of Winnipeg are outstanding supporters of amateur hockey throughout our province . Game On Magazine is proud to partner with OMG to select the Manitoba Player of the Month . Our Player of the Month will appear in every issue of Game On , Manitoba ’ s Hockey Magazine , in 2017 .
2016 - 17 ROSTER DEADLINE EDITION GAME ON 5