Frontenacs' Kory Cooper Wins Jim Gregory OHL General Manager of the Year Award

Sports stats

OHL Ontario Hockey League

Frontenacs' Kory Cooper Wins Jim Gregory OHL General Manager of the Year Award

May 2, 2025 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL) News Release


Toronto, ON - The Ontario Hockey League today announced that Kory Cooper of the Kingston Frontenacs is the 2024-25 recipient of the Jim Gregory OHL General Manager of the Year Award.

In his fourth season as General Manger in Kingston, Cooper helped construct the fifth 40-win season in Frontenacs history as they played to an overall record of 40-20-5-3. He made a pair of high impact trades leading into the 2024-25 season with the acquisitions of veteran centreman Cedrick Guindon from the Owen Sound Attack as well as eventual 90-point producer Tuomas Uronen from the Ottawa 67's, who came off a campaign limited to just 11 games at the time of the trade. The Fronts were powered by former second round draft choices Jacob Battaglia and captain Quinton Burns while offseason recruit Emil Pieniniemi also made an impact, recording a point-per-game from the blueline.

"I am honoured to be selected as the recipient of the Jim Gregory Award for the 2024-25 season," said Cooper. "Mr. Gregory was someone who helped evolve and shape the General Manager's role into what it is today. To receive an award named in his honour is truly meaningful.

"It is my belief that this award is a team award, and I can only be successful by surrounding myself with good people," he added. "I am surrounded by an incredible group of individuals that should all be proud of their contributions to this accomplishment."

One of the highlights of the Frontenacs' season came in the form of a 16-game winning streak at Slush Puppie Place, a new franchise record that spanned from December 8th through March 14th. Cooper's Frontenacs proved to be one of the league's best on home ice, finishing the season with a 25-7-1-1 record as hosts.

The second half saw the addition of veterans in goaltender Charlie Schenkel from the Soo Greyhounds and a former Memorial Cup champion trio of Ethan Hay, Joey Willis and Will Bishop acquired from the Saginaw Spirit as the Frontenacs would go on to reach a deciding Game 7 of their second round series against the Barrie Colts.

Cooper was selected as winner of the annual honour after he and finalists Matt Turek of the Brantford Bulldogs, Bill Bowler of the Windsor Spitfires and Mark Hunter of the London Knights finished as front-runners in voting by OHL General Managers. The final winner was decided upon by a committee consisting of media representatives from a market in each of the OHL's four divisions, a representative from NHL Central Scouting, as well as a representative from the Ontario Hockey League.

"I could not be happier for a more deserving individual," said Frontenacs President and Governor Doug Springer. "Kory works tirelessly to make our organization better on and off the ice. Additionally, there isn't a person I know that cares more about his players than Coop, and I admire his commitment to providing the best experience for them. I am proud to call him the General Manager of the Kingston Frontenacs."

Originally from Winsloe, PEI, Cooper enjoyed a four-year OHL playing career as a goaltender with the Belleville Bulls and Sudbury Wolves from 1994-98. After eight years of professional hockey, Cooper transitioned into coaching where he served as Goaltending Coach with the Frontenacs from 2005-10 before stints with the Mississauga Steelheads and the AHL's Belleville Senators. After a season as Assistant General Manager in Kingston, he was named General Manager of the Fronts in July 2021.

First announced in August 2019, the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award is presented annually to the General Manager who best excelled in his role during the regular season. The award honours the memory of one of the game's great builders in former long-time NHL executive Jim Gregory who passed away in October 2019 at the age of 83.

Cooper follows previous award winners in Adam Dennis of the North Bay Battalion in 2024, Mark Hunter of the London Knights in 2023, Steve Staios of the Hamilton Bulldogs in 2022 and James Boyd of the Ottawa 67's in 2020. He'll be formally presented with the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award at the OHL's Awards Ceremony at The Hockey Hall of Fame in June.

Check out the Ontario Hockey League Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from May 2, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central