Tyler Toffoli named AHL Rookie of Year

The American Hockey League announced Friday that forward Tyler Toffoli of the Manchester Monarchs has been named the winner of the Dudley (Red) Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL’s outstanding rookie for the 2012-13 season, as voted by AHL coaches, players and media in each of the league’s 30 member cities.

Toffoli, a second-round pick (47th overall) by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, has recorded 28 goals and 20 assists for 48 points in 55 games for the Monarchs this season. He leads all AHL rookies in goals and shorthanded goals (three) and owns the highest plus/minus rating among rookie forwards in the league at plus-20. A 20-year-old native of Scarborough, Ont., Toffoli represented Manchester at the 2013 Dunkin’ Donuts AHL All-Star Classic, and was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team with fellow OHL grad Ryan Spooner earlier this week.

Toffoli made his National Hockey League debut on Mar. 16, and has recorded two goals and three assists in eight NHL games with the Kings. The Monarchs are 28-22-2-3 with Toffoli in the lineup this season, 4-9-1-1 without him.

This award, which was first presented by the AHL in 1947, honors the late Dudley (Red) Garrett, a promising young player who lost his life during World War II while serving in the Royal Canadian Navy. Garrett split his only pro season, 1942-43, between the AHL’s Providence Reds and the NHL’s New York Rangers.

Toffoli played four OHL seasons between 2008-12 competing in 252 career regular season games where he collected 333 points.  He recorded back-to-back 50-goal and 100-point seasons capturing the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as OHL Top Scorer with Jason Akeson in 2011.

Toffoli is the first OHL graduate to earn AHL Rookie of the Year honours since Patrick O’Sullivan in 2005-06.