BY RON VALENTINE
The 2023-24 season was big for the St. MIchael’s Buzzers David Elmy. The Toronto team’s No. 21 finished in ninth spot in the OJHL points with 81. His 44 goals were third highest, tied with Haliburton captain Patrick Saini.
He followed that up with 21 points in 11 postseason contests and he was named most improved player in the OJHL plus he suited up for Team Hawerchuk in the Eastern Canada Cup
He was selected 2023-24 Most Improved Player in the OJHL in postseason voting last spring.
Most recently, Elmy played with the Mexico Warriors in the NHL-sponsored Amerigo LATAM Cup this summer.
Now the Mississauga-born 19-year old has been named captain of St. Michael’s for the 2024-25 campaign. He has a scholarship with NCAA Division I Canisius College for the 2025-26 season.
Head coach and general manager Rich Ricci knows he has a top player on his hands: “David has emerged into the league’s most elite very quickly and many people have noticed. He plays hard and heavy. I really saw an outbreak last September. He was scoring the type of goals you see at a higher level…goals every which way. Along with that was a seriousness in practice and a singular focus to work hard and improve. In the room and off the ice he complemented our leadership group despite not having a letter. He has the opportunity here to lead a good team and maybe garner further accolades beyond his commitment to Canisius. We look forward to seeing him excel this season.”
David, who just returned from Florida, told the OJHL: “For the second year in a row I was playing at the LATAM Cup, it’s a fun event. My mum is Mexican so that’s how I got to play.”
This year’s LATAM Cup featured 52 teams and more than 1,100 players representing 17 countries, including Argentina, Armenia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Lebanon, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. The teams competed in seven divisions: men’s Division I, II and III, a women’s division, and U12, U14 and U16 groups.
The NHL, NHL Players’ Association and Florida Panthers were among the sponsors of the tournament, which was founded in 2018 by Juan Carlos Otero, a longtime Panthers fan, to help grow the sport within the Hispanic community both internationally and locally.
The LATAM Cup’s growth since 2018 prompted this year’s tournament to take place at Florida Panthers IceDen and Baptist Health IcePlex, the 2024 Stanley Cup champions’ new practice facility in Fort Lauderdale.
Cuba defeated Greece in the Division I final.
“I’m really looking forward to this season and wearing the ‘C’ for the first time in my career,” Elmy told the OJHL, It’s good to get leadership skills recognized. We had a great 2023-24 season finishing second in the East and then we beat Markham four straight before losing to Cobourg in game seven at home. It was a great series and really it could have gone either way.”
“This season we cannot take our foot off the gas pedal, as usual we will have many changes but we have a strong core of returnees with Jesse Venturo coming back for Season 2. He is set for a breakout.” (Jesse, who had 36 regular season and 15 playoff points has committed to Lake Superior State for 2025-26).
“We started out okay but really improved and gelled as a team as the season went on and I expect the same this time with even better results. I have set some personal goals but the number one is for our team to be better than last year. As a captain it’s important to show up every day, helping the new guys get used to what this league is all about and doing things like dinners that bond us off the ice as well.
“Mr. Ricci is a great coach to play for, he’s fair, knows what’s right and wrong and he’s usually right! His experience in this league is invaluable to us.”
Look for a big season from the big man.
