COACHES, SUPPORT STAFF NAMED FOR OJHL’S U SPORTS 20-YEAR-OLD SHOWCASE
Mark Jooris will coach in the OJHL’s showcase event featuring two teams of 20-year-old players facing off in front of Canadian university coaches next month.(Photo by Tim Bates / OJHL Images)
Game scheduled for Dec. 8 at the home of the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks in Oshawa
November 21, 2025, Mississauga, ON – The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) is excited to announce the names of the coaches and support staff who will work the league’s showcase event featuring two teams of 20-year-old OJHL players facing off in front of Canadian university coaches next month.
The coaches are Derek Smith (Trenton Golden Hawks), Connor Armour (Pickering Panthers), Mark Jooris (Burlington Cougars) and Rob Ascenzi (Stouffville Spirit).
Athletic therapists: Jen Mark (King Rebellion) and Paige Shannon (Trenton).
Equipment managers: Joey O Callaghan (Stouffville) and Bill McConnell (Pickering Panthers).
The game will be played Monday, Dec. 8, and hosted at the Campus Ice Centre – the home of the OUA Ridgebacks – at Ontario Tech University in Oshawa. Puck drop is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Coaches and scouts from U SPORTS schools across Ontario are being invited to attend. OJHL staff will host a meet-and-greet, make a presentation to the university scouts and coaches in attendance and hold a question-and-answer session. Following the game, a meet-and-greet is also scheduled, giving coaches an opportunity to speak with the OJHL players.
The game is an extension of the OJHL-OUA series launched last season when two teams of 20-year-olds visited Ontario Tech and Toronto Metropolitan University to play the schools’ varsity teams. Nineteen OJHL players who took part in last year’s series are on U SPORTS’ rosters this season.
The agenda for OJHL players, aside from the game, will include a morning skate, U SPORTS seminar, lunch, facility tour, pre-game warm-up hosted by the staff of Ontario Tech and the post-game meet and greet.
Stay tuned for more news on the event including rosters and ticket information.
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 are playing in the NHL at the start of the 2025-26 season.
