CHL grads Hall, McDavid, Barzal front and centre at 2018 NHL Awards
As the game’s stars of tomorrow prepare for the 2018 NHL Draft in Dallas, the league handed out its annual hardware in Las Vegas at the 2018 NHL Awards at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Wednesday.
Among the CHL’s all-time greats, two-time Mastercard Memorial Cup champion Taylor Hall (Windsor Spitfires) of the New Jersey Devils, 2015 CHL Player of the Year Connor McDavid (Erie Otters) of the Edmonton Oilers and 2017 WHL champion and Playoff MVP Mathew Barzal (Seattle Thunderbirds) of the New York Islanders were front and centre at the annual ceremony.
All Hart for @hallsy09. #NHLAwards pic.twitter.com/LyHRAkJWvH
— NHL (@NHL) June 21, 2018
Hall claimed the prestigious Hart Trophy awarded to the NHL’s Most Valuable Player. The first overall pick of the 2010 NHL Draft set career highs across the board in his second season with the New Jersey Devils, recording 39 goals, 54 assists and 93 points over 76 games. He becomes the first Devils player to ever win the award and adds it to a career resume that also includes back-to-back Mastercard Memorial Cup MVP honours as well as an Eddie Powers Trophy as the OHL’s leading scorer in 2010.
???? @cmcdavid97 ????#NHLAwards pic.twitter.com/esKcCg7qdp
— NHL (@NHL) June 21, 2018
McDavid came away with his second consecutive Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s leading scorer while also earning the Ted Lindsay Award for a second straight year. The Ted Lindsay Award is given to the NHL player voted as the league’s most valuable by members of the NHLPA. The Edmonton Oilers captain recorded his second-straight 100-point season, leading the league with 108 points including 41 goals and 67 assists. He is the first player to win the Ted Lindsay Award twice before the age of 22 and is the third Oilers player to claim the honour, joining Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier.
He was a dynamite rookie, and now @Barzal_97 is the Calder Trophy winner! #NHLAwards pic.twitter.com/sUmLMOSCgJ
— NHL (@NHL) June 21, 2018
Barzal was awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s Rookie of the Year, following the footsteps of past CHL grads in Aaron Ekblad (2015), Nathan MacKinnon (2014) and Jonathan Huberdeau (2013). Barzal led NHL rookies with 85 points including 22 goals and 63 assists. He is the seventh rookie in league history with at least 20 goals and 60 assists in one season, becoming the first since Sidney Crosby in 2005-06. He’s the fifth player in Islanders history to win the award and first since Bryan Gerard back in 1996-97.
He helped unite his city, and now Deryk Engelland is honored with the Mark Messier Leadership Award. #NHLAwards pic.twitter.com/T8DbgWBGwY
— NHL (@NHL) June 21, 2018
Another CHL graduate in four-year Moose Jaw Warriors rearguard Deryk Engelland of the Vegas Golden Knights was awarded the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award. The honour is given to the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice, during the regular season and plays a role in his community growing the game of hockey. Engelland has assisted the city’s firefighters in raising more than $40,000 for children who cannot afford to play hockey in the Las Vegas community. He also played a leading community role in the wake of the mass shooting of October 1st.
There was little doubt. Gerard Gallant of the @GoldenKnights is the Jack Adams Award winner. #NHLAwards pic.twitter.com/lBVsOmUOZk
— NHL (@NHL) June 21, 2018
Additionally, 2011 Mastercard Memorial Cup champion Gerard Gallant (Saint John Sea Dogs) of the same Golden Knights earned the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s Coach of the Year. Gallant guided the Golden Knights to a Pacific Division title, a Western Conference crown and an appearance in the Stanley Cup Final. The Jack Adams Award is Gallant’s first after being a finalist in 2015-16. He is the first coach to lead a modern-era expansion team from any of the four North American professional sports leagues to a division title. In addition to his time as a coach in the QMJHL, Gallant played four seasons in the league between Sherbrooke, St. Jean and Verdun from 1980-83.
Here’s s complete look at CHL produced award winners and all-star team members announced Wednesday night in Las Vegas.
CHL GRADUATES WHO WERE 2018 NHL AWARD WINNERS:
Hart Trophy (MVP): Taylor Hall (Windsor Spitfires/New Jersey Devils)
Art Ross Trophy (Leading Scorer): Connor McDavid (Erie Otters/Edmonton Oilers)
Ted Lindsay Award (MVP, voted by the players): Connor McDavid (Erie Otters/Edmonton Oilers)
Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year): Mathew Barzal (Seattle Thunderbirds/New York Islanders)
Jack Adams Award (Coach of the Year): Gerard Gallant (Verdun Saint John [coach]/Vegas Golden Knights)
Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award: Deryk Engelland (Moose Jaw Warriors/Vegas Golden Knights)
CHL GRADUATES ON 2017-18 NHL ALL-STAR AND ALL-ROOKIE TEAMS:
First All-Star Team
D – Drew Doughty (Guelph Storm/Los Angeles Kings)
C – Connor McDavid (Erie Otters/Edmonton Oilers)
LW – Taylor Hall (Windsor Spitfires/New Jersey Devils)
RW – Nikita Kucherov (Quebec, Rouyn-Noranda/Tampa Bay Lightning)
Second All-Star Team
D – Seth Jones (Portland Winterhawks/Columbus Blue Jackets)
D – P.K. Subban (Belleville Bulls/Nashville Predators)
C – Nathan MacKinnon (Halifax Mooseheads/Colorado Avalanche)
LW – Claude Giroux (Gatineau Olympiques/Philadelphia Flyers)
All-Rookie Team
F – Mathew Barzal (Seattle Thunderbirds/New York Islanders)