9 CHL Alumni win 2014 NHL Awards
Tuesday June 24, 2014
Nine Canadian Hockey League alumni captured 12 of the 16 major NHL Awards for the 2013-14 season presented at the NHL Awards Ceremony held Tuesday night in Las Vegas.
Among the award recipients, Calder Trophy winner and recent CHL graduate Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche was voted Rookie of the Year just one year after winning a MasterCard Memorial Cup title and tournament MVP with the Halifax Mooseheads.
The 18-year-old from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, is the youngest player to ever win the award after leading all NHL rookies with 63 points and was a near-unanimous choice receiving 130 first place votes from 137 ballots cast. MacKinnon is the seventh straight CHL graduate to claim Rookie of the Year honours following Jonathan Huberdeau (Florida/Saint John), Gabriel Landeskog (Colorado/Kitchener), Jeff Skinner (Carolina/Kitchener), Tyler Myers (Buffalo/Kelowna), Steve Mason (Columbus/Kitchener), and Patrick Kane (Chicago/London).
Last year MacKinnon also became the seventh straight CHL player to be selected first overall in the NHL Draft following Nail Yakupov (Edmonton/Sarnia), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Edmonton/Red Deer), Taylor Hall (Edmonton/Windsor), John Tavares (NY Islanders/London), Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay/Sarnia), and Kane.
Sidney Crosby (Rimouski Oceanic), Patrice Bergeron (Acadie-Bathurst Titan), Dustin Brown (Guelph Storm), Andrew Ference (Portland Winterhawks), Duncan Keith (Kelowna Rockets), Bob Murray (Cornwall Royals), Ryan O’Reilly (Erie Otters), and Patrick Roy (Granby Bisons / Quebec Remparts) complete the list of CHL alumni to earn prestigious NHL honours this season.
Crosby led the way with three awards including the Hart Memorial Trophy for Most Valuable Player, the Ted Lindsay Award as voted by the players, and the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s Leading Scorer with 104 points. He earned all three awards for the second time in his career. The 26-year-old Pittsburgh Penguins star played two seasons with the Oceanic from 2003-05 earning CHL Player of the Year honours twice.
Bergeron claimed two awards including the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the league’s Best Defensive Forward, along with the NHL Foundation Award recognizing the core values of commitment, perseverance, and teamwork to enrich the lives of people in his community. The Boston Bruins forward will also appear on the cover of EA Sports’ NHL 15 which features CHL players and teams. The 28-year-old played two seasons with the Titan from 2001-03.
Brown, who captained the Los Angeles Kings to their second Stanley Cup earned the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award in recognition of his commitment and service to charities in his community. The 29-year-old played three seasons with the Storm from 2000-03 where he earned OHL Scholastic Player of the Year each season earning the CHL Award in 2003.
Ference earned the King Clancy Memorial Trophy as the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice making a noteworthy humanitarian contribution to the community. The 35-year-old Edmonton Oiler played four seasons with the Winterhawks from 1995-99 and earned WHL Humanitarian of the Year honours in his final season.
Keith earned the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s Best Defenceman for the second time in his career with the Chicago Blackhawks finishing second in scoring among blueliners with 61 points in 79 games also winning his second Olympic Gold Medal for Canada. The 30-year-old played one WHL season with the Rockets in 2002-03.
Murray was named the NHL’s General Manager of the Year with the Anaheim Ducks leading the team to its best season in franchise history winning their second straight Pacific Division title and first overall in the Western Conference with a club record 54 wins and 116 points. Murray played three QMJHL seasons with the Royals from 1971-74 winning a Memorial Cup in 1972.
O’Reilly captured the Lady Byng Trophy as the NHL’s Most Sportsmanlike Player producing a career-high 64 points for the Avalanche leading the club with 28 goals while recording just one minor penalty in 80 games played. The 23-year-old was the OHL’s first overall pick in the 2007 Priority Selection and played two seasons for the Erie Otters from 2007-09.
Roy earned the Jack Adams Trophy for Coach of the Year in just his first season behind the bench for the Avalanche finishing with the NHL’s third best record atop the Central Division standings with 52 wins. Roy played three QMJHL seasons in Granby from 1982-85 and later coached the Remparts from 2005-13 winning a MasterCard Memorial Cup title in his first season as head coach.
In addition to the Awards, the NHL’s All-Star and All-Rookie Teams were announced on Tuesday with several CHL alumni included. On the First All-Star Team, Crosby and Keith were joined by former Prince George Cougar Zdeno Chara, former London Knight Corey Perry, and former Rocket Jamie Benn. The Second All-Star Team included Weber along with former Barrie Colt Alex Pietrangelo, and former Calgary Hitmen forward Ryan Getzlaf. Joining MacKinnon at forward on the All-Rookie team are former Spokane Chief Tyler Johnson, and Drummondville Voltigeurs grad Ondrej Palat.
For more information on the NHL Awards visit nhl.com.