Award winners named
NORTH BAY, Ont. — Anthony Romani was honoured as the fans’ favourite player and most outstanding player when the North Bay Battalion’s individual awards for the 2023-24 Ontario Hockey League season were announced Sunday.
Right winger Romani won voting for the Don (Hockey) Hadley Memorial Award as the fans’ favourite player. Hadley, a veteran of the Second World War, was a longtime season ticket holder in Brampton, where the Battalion played its first 15 seasons.
Romani, a Pickering, Ont., resident who turns 19 on July 12, took a second award in the form of most outstanding player. He was a third-round choice in the 2021 OHL Priority Selection.
Ty Nelson was named the defenceman of the year for a third straight season and shared the Jerry Callaghan Memorial Award as humanitarian of the year with repeat recipient Dalyn Wakely. Nelson, a Toronto resident who was the Battalion’s first-round pick, No. 1 overall, in the 2020 Priority Selection, turns 20 on March 30. Centre Wakely, a Port Hope, Ont., resident, was a second-round pick in 2020 who turned 20 on March 5.
Callaghan served in various capacities with the Battalion in Brampton.
Centre Liam Arnsby and defenceman Paul Christopoulos shared honours as the overage player of the year. Arnsby, an Ajax, Ont., resident who was the Battalion’s first-round pick in the 2019 Priority Selection, turned 20 on Nov. 20. Christopoulos, a Richmond Hill, Ont., resident who was a second-rounder in 2019, turns 21 on Tuesday.
Right winger Sandis Vilmanis was named the most sportsmanlike player. A resident of Riga, Latvia, who turned 20 on Jan. 23, he was acquired in a multiplayer trade Jan. 6 with the Sarnia Sting.
Left winger Ihnat Pazii was recognized as rookie of the year. A native of Kharkiv, Ukraine, who turned 17 on Dec. 4, he was the Battalion’s first-rounder in the 2023 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft.
Centre Nolan Laird was the scholastic player of the year. The Port Perry, Ont., resident was an eighth-round Priority Selection pick in 2022. He turned 18 on Jan. 4.
Award winners were honoured before the Battalion’s last game of the regular season against the Peterborough Petes.