# Max Kaminsky Trophy

The Max Kaminsky Trophy is an annual award presented by the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Originally (1961–1969) awarded to the most gentlemanly player in the league, since 1970 it is awarded to the OHL's most outstanding defenceman.
The award is named in honour of Max Kaminsky, who coached the St. Catharines Teepees to a Memorial Cup win in May 1960; he retired after the Memorial Cup, and died of cancer in May 1961.
The winner of the Max Kaminsky Trophy is the OHL's nominee for the CHL Defenceman of the Year.

## Max Kaminsky Trophy winners (1961–1969)

OHL most gentlemanly player :
| Season | Winner | Team |
| 1960–61 | Bruce Draper | Toronto St. Michael's Majors |
| 1961–62 | Lowell MacDonald | Hamilton Tiger Cubs |
| 1962–63 | Paul Henderson | Hamilton Red Wings |
| 1963–64 | Fred Stanfield | St. Catharines Teepees |
| 1964–65 | Jimmy Peters Jr. | Hamilton Red Wings |
| 1965–66 | Andre Lacroix | Peterborough Petes |
| 1966–67 | Mickey Redmond | Peterborough Petes |
| 1967–68 | Tom Webster | Niagara Falls Flyers |
| 1968–69 | Rejean Houle | Montreal Junior Canadiens |

## Max Kaminsky Trophy winners (1970–present)

* denotes player also named CHL Defenceman of the Year
OHL most outstanding defenceman :
| Season | Player | Team |
| 1969–70 | Ron Plumb | Peterborough Petes |
| 1970–71 | Jocelyn Guevremont | Montreal Junior Canadiens |
| 1971–72 | Denis Potvin | Ottawa 67's |
| 1972–73 | Denis Potvin | Ottawa 67's |
| 1973–74 | Jim Turkiewicz | Peterborough Petes |
| 1974–75 | Mike O'Connell | Kingston Canadians |
| 1975–76 | Rick Green | London Knights |
| 1976–77 | Craig Hartsburg | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds |
| 1977–78 | Brad Marsh | London Knights |
| 1977–78 | Rob Ramage | London Knights |
| 1978–79 | Greg Theberge | Peterborough Petes |
| 1979–80 | Larry Murphy | Peterborough Petes |
| 1980–81 | Randy Boyd | Ottawa 67's |
| 1981–82 | Ron Meighan | Niagara Falls Flyers |
| 1982–83 | Al MacInnis | Kitchener Rangers |
| 1983–84 | Brad Shaw | Ottawa 67's |
| 1984–85 | Bob Halkidis | London Knights |
| 1985–86 | Jeff Brown | Sudbury Wolves |
| 1985–86 | Terry Carkner | Peterborough Petes |
| 1986–87 | Kerry Huffman | Guelph Platers |
| 1987–88 | Darryl Shannon | Windsor Spitfires |
| 1988–89 | Bryan Fogarty | Niagara Falls Thunder |
| 1989–90 | John Slaney | Cornwall Royals |
| 1990–91 | Chris Snell | Ottawa 67's |
| 1991–92 | Drake Berehowsky | North Bay Centennials |
| 1992–93 | Chris Pronger | Peterborough Petes |
| 1993–94 | Jamie Rivers | Sudbury Wolves |
| 1994–95 | Bryan Berard | Detroit Junior Red Wings |
| 1995–96 | Bryan Berard | Detroit Whalers |
| 1996–97 | Sean Blanchard | Ottawa 67's |
| 1997–98 | Chris Allen | Kingston Frontenacs |
| 1998–99 | Brian Campbell | Ottawa 67's |
| 1999–2000 | John Erskine | London Knights |
| 2000–01 | Alexei Semenov | Sudbury Wolves |
| 2001–02 | Eric Reitz | Barrie Colts |
| 2002–03 | Brendan Bell | Ottawa 67's |
| 2003–04 | James Wisniewski | Plymouth Whalers |
| 2004–05 | Danny Syvret | London Knights |
| 2005–06 | Andrej Sekera | Owen Sound Attack |
| 2006–07 | Marc Staal | Sudbury Wolves |
| 2007–08 | Drew Doughty | Guelph Storm |
| 2008–09 | Ryan Ellis | Windsor Spitfires |
| 2009–10 | Jake Muzzin | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds |
| 2010–11 | Ryan Ellis | Windsor Spitfires |
| 2011–12 | Dougie Hamilton | Niagara IceDogs |
| 2012–13 | Ryan Sproul | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds |
| 2013–14 | Aaron Ekblad | Barrie Colts |
| 2014–15 | Tony DeAngelo | Sarnia & Sault Ste. Marie |
| 2015–16 | Mikhail Sergachev | Windsor Spitfires |
| 2016–17 | Darren Raddysh | Erie Otters |
| 2017–18 | Nicolas Hague | Mississauga Steelheads |
| 2018–19 | Evan Bouchard | London Knights |
| 2019–20 | Noel Hoefenmayer | Ottawa 67's |
| 2020–21 | Not awarded, season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Not awarded, season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2021–22 | Nathan Staios | Hamilton Bulldogs |
| 2022–23 | Pavel Mintyukov | Saginaw/Ottawa |
| 2023–24 | Zayne Parekh | Saginaw Spirit |