CHL announces Player of the Week, Player of the Month for December

  The Canadian Hockey League's Player of the Month for December, 2001 is forward Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau of the Chicoutimi Sagueneens of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The CHL Player of the Week for the week ending Jan. 6, 2002 is forward Ryley Layden of the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western Hockey League.

 Parenteau becomes the second Chicoutimi player in as many months to win the CHL Player of the Month honours. The November winner was his teammate, forward Pierre-Marc Bouchard.

 Parenteau was outstanding during December, appearing in 11 games and picking up 10 goals and 15 assists for 25 points. He had at least one point in all 11 games he appeared in during December and his goal totals included six power play goals. Parenteau also won the QMJHL Offensive Player of the Month Award for December, while goalie Corey Crawford of the Moncton Wildcats was the QMJHL Defensive Player of the Month and Rookie of the Month as well (see below for details).

 The WHL Player of the Month candidates for December, 2001 were forward Jonathan Tootoo of the Brandon Wheat Kings (Eastern Conference) and forward Joe Balej of the Portland Winter Hawks (Western Conference). The OHL nominees were Molson OHL Player of the Month Kevin Dallman of the Guelph Storm, OHL Rookie of the Month Petr Taticek of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and OHL Goaltender of the Month David Chant of the Barrie Colts.

 The CHL Player of the Month is selected from among all the league nominees and announced early in the following month. The January, 2002 winner will be announced on February 6.

 The CHL Player of the Week for the Week ending Jan. 6, 2002 is Layden, who picked up five goals and six assists for 11 points in four games last week.

 Layden's totals included three power play goals and a four-point game (one goal and three assists) in a 6-2 win over Prince Albert Jan. 5.

 Layden edged out the OHL nominee, goalie Robert Gherson of the Sarnia Sting, and the QMJHL nominees, forward Eric Betournay of the Chicoutimi Sagueneens (Offensive) and Crawford (Defensive). See below for the details on those players.

 The CHL Player of the Week is selected from among the three leagues' nominees and announced in Tuesday's editions of the CHL Daily News.

 CHL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

 Jan. 8 - Ryley Layden, Lethbridge Hurricanes, WHL
 Dec. 17 - Andre Martineau, Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, QMJHL
 Dec. 10 - Shawn Roed, Portland Winter Hawks, WHL
 Dec. 3 - Andy Chiodo, Toronto St. Michael's Majors, OHL
 Nov. 27 - Philippe Lacasse, Hull Olympiques, QMJHL
 Nov. 20 - Yanick Lehoux, Baie-Comeau Drakkar, QMJHL
 Nov. 13 - Marek Svatos, Kootenay Ice, WHL
 Nov. 6 - Ales Hemsky, Hull Olympiques, QMJHL
 Oct. 29 - Tomas Plihal, Kootenay Ice, WHL
 Oct. 22 - Brad Boyes, Erie Otters, OHL
 Oct. 15 - Jason King, Halifax Mooseheads, QMJHL

 2001-2002 CHL PLAYERS OF THE MONTH

 DECEMBER, 2001 - Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau, Chicoutimi Sagueneens, QMJHL
 NOVEMBER, 2001 - Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Chicoutimi Sagueneens, QMJHL
 OCTOBER, 2001 - Nathan Robinson, Belleville Bulls, OHL

 WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE

 There are two games in the WHL Tuesday night as Prince Albert travels to Medicine Hat and Portland plays at Vancouver.

 There were no games in the WHL on Monday night.

 The WHL Players of the Month for December were forward Jonathan Tootoo of the Brandon Wheat Kings (Eastern Conference) and forward Joe Balej of the Portland Winter Hawks (Western Conference).

 Tootoo, 18, scored 10 goals and added eight assists for 18 points in 10 games during the month of December. His totals included three power play goals and two game-winning goals as he helped his team to a record of 8-1-1. Tootoo is a native of Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, and was drafted by the Nashville Predators in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

 Balej, 19, scored 14 goals and added nine assists for 23 points in 14 games during December. The Myjava, Slovakia native's totals included a remarkable 10 power play goals, a short-handed goal and one game-winning goal. Balej was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft.

 The Husky WHL Player of the Week for the week ending Jan. 6 is Layden, who is also the CHL Player of the Week for that time period.

 Layden had five goals and six assists for 11 points in four games during the week. His totals included three power play goals and a four-point night (one goal and three assists), against Prince Albert on Jan. 5 during a 6-2 Lethbridge Hurricanes victory.

 The 19-year-old native of Rocky Mountain House, Alberta is a free agent who is eligible for this June's NHL Entry Draft.

 ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE

 There is just one game on the OHL schedule for Tuesday night as the London Knights travel to Kitchener to face the Rangers.

 There were no games in the OHL on Monday night.

 The OHL Players of the Month for December were defenceman Kevin Dallman of the Guelph Storm (Molson Player of the Month), centre Petr Taticek of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL Rookie of the Month) and David Chant of the Barrie Colts (OHL Goalie of the Month).

 Dallman had seven goals and eight assists for 15 points in 11 December games, helping the Storm to a 4-2-3-1 record last month. The Storm's captain recorded at least one point in 10 of the 11 games and had a hat trick against Ottawa Dec. 9. He leads all OHL defenceman in scoring.

 Taticek, an 18-year-old native of the Czech Republic, had six goals and nine assists for 15 points in nine games during December. His totals included a two-goal performance against London Dec. 30. Taticek was the Greyhounds first pick in the 2001 CHL Import Draft and is a highly rated prospect for the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.

 Chant sparkled in the Barrie net for six games in December, posting a save percentage of .954, along with a goals against average of 1.48 and a 4-2-0 record.

 The 20-year-old Toronto native also had three shutouts while helping Barrie to post a 6-3-0 record for the month. He currently leads the OHL in GAA and in save percentage.

 The OHL Player of the Week for the week ending Jan. 6 is goaltender Robert Gherson of the Sarnia Sting.

 Gherson allowed just one goal in two games last week, posting a sparkling 0.50 goals against average and a .984 save percentage while winning both games. Gherson made 22 saves in a shutout win over London and followed that up with a 41-save performance in a 6-1 win over the Guelph Storm Jan. 6.

 The 17-year-old Toronto native has appeared in 34 games already this season.

 QUEBEC MAJOR JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE

 There are five games in the QMJHL Tuesday night. Rouyn-Noranda is at Drummondville, Rimouski is at Victoriaville, Hull plays at Acadie-Bathurst (1), Sherbrooke is in Cape Breton and Chicoutimi plays at Quebec.

 There were no games in the QMJHL Monday night.

 The QMJHL Players of the Month for December include forward Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau of the Chicoutimi Sagueneens (Offensive), who is also the CHL's Player of the Month.

 Parenteau scored 10 goals and added 15 assists for 25 points in 11 games this month to earn both the QMJHL and CHL honours. His teammate Pierre-Marc Bouchard was the CHL Player of the Month for November.

 Parenteau's totals included six power play goals as he recorded at least one point in all 11 games he played in December.

 The other QMJHL top performer of the month was goalie Corey Crawford, who was selected as both the Defensive Player of the Month and the Rookie of the Month. Crawford was outstanding in 10 games during December, posting a goals against average of 1.83 and a save percentage of .900. He posted a won/loss record of 4-4-0 and picked up a shutout as well.

 The QMJHL Players of the Week for the period between Dec. 17 and Jan. 6 were forward Eric Betournay of the Chicoutimi Sagueneens (Offensive) and Crawford once again (Defensive).

 During that period Betournay appeared in nine games, scoring eight goals and adding nine assists for 17 points. His totals included a game-winning overtime goal and a five-point performance against the CHL's number one ranked team, the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

 Crawford appeared in seven games over that time span, posting a goals against average of 1.79 and a save percentage of .945. He had a 4-2-0 record and his week included a brilliant 40-save performance in a 3-0 win over the Titan on Dec. 30.

 For complete QMJHL statistics and standings, visit the official QMJHL site.

 FOR MORE INFORMATION

 Roger Lajoie
 Canadian Hockey League
 Director of Information
 416-332-9711, ext. 321
 rlajoie@chl.ca
 www.chl.ca