TORONTO — James Boyd of the Ottawa 67's has been named the inaugural recipient of the Ontario Hockey League's Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award.

Under the watch of Boyd and two-time coach of the year Andre Tourigny, the 67's posted an OHL-best 50-11-1 record before the season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 50 wins equalled a franchise record set last season, and this season's 67's reached the mark in six fewer games.

Ottawa led the league with 296 goals and surrendered 164 goals, fewest in the OHL.

The league announced in August that its general manager award would be renamed in honour of Jim Gregory, who died in October at 83.

Gregory, a Hockey Hall of Fame inductee in 2007, got his managerial start by winning a total of three Memorial Cup titles with St. Michael's College and the Toronto Marlboros before becoming GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1969-79.

"This is a tremendous honour for our organization to receive this inaugural award in memory of the late, great Jim Gregory, whose exemplary dedication and class touched so many people in our game," Boyd said in a release.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 25, 2020.