Hamilton Bulldogs centre from Mississauga nabs OHL honour

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Published March 13, 2023 at 4:48 pm

Sahil Panwar of the Hamilton Bulldogs. (Tim Cornett, OHL Images)

Sahil Panwar, who has been producing offence at an impressive rate since joining the Hamilton Bulldogs, has earned Ontario Hockey League player of the week recognition ofr the second time this season.

The Mississauga native tallied three goals, four assists and seven points in three games along with a plus/minus rating of plus-4 during three Bulldogs wins over the past week of OHL competition. The weekend tear gave the 21-year-old overage centre points in 12 of his last 13 games.

Panwar, whom the Bulldogs added from the Peterborough Petes in a deadline swap in January, punctuated the weekend with two-goals, one-assist, first-star effort during Hamilton’s 6-3 victory against the Ottawa 67’s on Sunday. The win kept the Bulldogs essentially dead even in a fourth-place race with the Peterborough Petes, the team that sent Panwar and his linemate Nick Lardis to Hamilton in order to add wing Avery Hayes and Dallas Stars-signed defenceman Gavin White.

The six-foot, 185-pound Panwar scored once and had two assists in Hamilton’s 6-2 win against the Niagara IceDogs last Friday. He also chipped in in a 4-3 road win against Niagara the previous night (March 9).

In total, Panwar has recorded 28 goals, 35 assists and 63 points over 63 games between Hamilton and Peterborough this season. That includes 46 points (18G-28A) across 29 games for Hamilton.

Panwar has split his time in the OHL between the London Knights, Firebirds, the Petes, and the Bulldogs. Last September, the NHL’s Florida Panthers invited him to their rookie camp.

Panwar was also the player of the week for Jan. 23 to 29. Bulldogs defenceman Jorian Donovan earned the award for the Nov. 21-27 period.

In that race for fourth, the Bulldogs (.556 point pct.) are two points ahead of Peterborough (.557), but the Petes have two games in hand. All five of the Bulldogs’ remaining regular-season games are on the road, including a Sarnia-Flint-Saginaw interconference road trip this weekend. The Petes are also road-heavy over the next two weeks, with just two of their last seven games on their home ice.

The Mississauga Steelheads (.525) and Sudbury Wolves (.500) also have a mathematical possibility of overtaking Hamilton and/or Peterborough.

The Bulldogs are relocating to Brantford, Ont., for at least the next three seasons. FirstOntario Arena is slated to close for refurbishment as part of the Hamilton Urban Precinct Entertainment Group project.

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