2015 Fan Choice Awards Winners
With the Charlottetown Islanders getting set for the playoffs, the efforts of the regular season were recognized Monday night at the second annual Fan Choice Awards.
Seven different players ended up taking home hardware. Here’s a brief look at who won what.
Rookie of the Year
Candidates: Mitchell Balmas, Filip Chlapik, Filip Rydstrom
Winner: Filip Chlapik. No surprise here. The Isles’ second leading point scorer set a couple of franchise records this season for rookie scoring, picking up 33 goals and 42 goals for 75 points. Those 75 points placed him third in the league in rookie scoring.
UPEI Scholastic Player of the Year
Winner: Dexter Weber. Playing hockey and going to school at the same time isn’t easy. Weber was chosen by the Islanders’ education staff as the player who demonstrated excellence in his academic studies while also being a key part of the hockey team.
Moose Light Three Stars Selection
Winner: Filip Chlapik. Chlapik racked up the most points from the three stars selections at Islanders home games this season.
Offensive Player of the Year
Candidates: Alexandre Goulet, Filip Chlapik, Daniel Sprong
Winner: Daniel Sprong. Again, no real surprise here. Sprong led the team in all three offensive categories this year with 39 goals, 49 assists and 88 points. His 88 points puts him 14th overall in league scoring.
Most Dedicated Player
Candidates: Kameron Kielly, Ross Johnston, Ryan MacKinnon, Mason McDonald
Winner: Ross Johnston. Johnston takes home this year’s most dedicated player award, fighting through an upper-body injury early in the season to return to the team as a leader on and off the ice.
Volunteer of the Year
Winner: Westley Hood. A Charlottetown Islanders game day wouldn’t function properly without the hard work of our dedicated volunteers. If you’ve been at the Eastlink Centre on a game day, then chances are you’ve heard Westley doing his job.
Class Act/Gentlemen’s Award
Winner: Ryan MacKinnon. The Islanders’ captain has been actively involved in the community since joining his hometown team last summer. As President of Operations Craig Foster mentioned at the beginning of the evening, the Islanders have been involved in a number of initiatives this year and MacKinnon was the easy choice for this one.
Defensive Player of the Year
Candidates: Dexter Weber, Ryan MacKinnon, Mason McDonald
Winner: Ryan MacKinnon. MacKinnon has been the backbone of the Islanders’ defence this year, but also put up some strong offensive numbers to go alongside. He’s been strong on both the power play and the penalty kill this year.
Fan Favourite Award
Winner: Kameron Kielly. Kielly took home the Fan Favourite Award for the second year in a row. The Charlottetown native clearly has a lot of hometown support and is a popular member of the Islanders team.
Play of the Year
Winner: Tic-Tac-Toe. This beautiful play between Spenser Cobbold, Kameron Kielly and Daniel Sprong took home the award for the most spectacular play of the season.
Player’s Player Award
Winner: Mason McDonald. This one is a great one for the players to win. Being recognized by your teammates as a hardworking and dedicated player is rewarding and McDonald easily earned his teammates’ praises this season.
Most Valuable Player
Candidates: Alexandre Goulet, Filip Chlapik, Ross Johnston, Ryan MacKinnon, Daniel Sprong, Mason McDonald.
Winner: Mason McDonald. I don’t think there were too many shocked faces about this one. McDonald was the backbone of this team and carried them to victory on a number of occasions. He tied the franchise record for wins by a goaltender and easily set new personal records.
