SYLVESTER CLEANS UP

Captain Cody Sylvester knew he was the Calgary Hitmen leading scorer for the year, and figured he likely had the ENMAX Humaniarian Award locked up due to his Chance To Play initiative.

He had no idea that seven different times Hitmen play-by-play announcer Brad Curle would call Sylvester’s name to come up to the stage and accept another award at the 2012-13 Hitmen Award Banquet.

“It was unexpected,” Sylvester said.  “I didn’t expect to win this many.

“I’m very honoured and grateful to have the privilege to win these awards, but I have to give a great big shout out to my team and my linemates. I couldn’t have done it without them.”

All in all, he won Ed Williams Player of the Month for March, Calgary Hitmen Leading Scorer Award, Calgary Hitmen Booster Club Fan Favourite Award, NSD Sports & Fitness Club Players Choice Award, ENMAX Humanitarian Award, RE/MAX Three Star Award and Suncor Energy Player of the Year Award.

It was an amazing way to cap off his Hitmen career that saw him jump up in the franchise records, lead his team to the second best record in the Eastern Conference, and saw him get recongnized on a national level. 

“This was my fifth year coming into the WHL and every year, you want to grow as a player and as a teammate and I think I’ve done that throughout my five years,” he said.  “I couldn’t have asked for a better organization to be a part of.”

Combined with previous awards, he’s now at least nine individual awards in his time with the Hitmen. He became only the fourth players to win the Suncor Energy Player of the Year Award twice, and his six awards in one year is another record.

Add that to the franchise-record six-assist, seven-point performance in one game against the Saskatoon Blades, and Sylvester will go down as one of the franchise greats.

Now, all he’s got left to do is earn the Memorial Cup ring to go along with his 2010 WHL Championship title.

“These mean a lot but the championship and Memorial Cup trophy are the ones that I want and I know my team wants it,” Sylvester said. “We have a long playoff run and we are going to get back to work tomorrow at practice and look forward to Swift Current.”

The night before in a pre-game ceremony, the 20-year-old found out he raised $17,312 for his Chance To Play initiative that helps kids in Calgary play minor hockey. It was his charity work that earned him the ENMAX Humanitarian Award.

“That was a big one for sure. Calgary had given so much to me in the five years that I just wanted to give back and I think that was the best possible way of doing that,” Sylvester said.

Then there was the 41 goals, 49 assists and 90 points to set career-highs and lead the Hitmen that played a major role in the rest of his awards.

“Cody has been a vital part of our hockey club’s success this season,” said Hitmen General Manager, Executive Vice President and Alternate Governor Kelly Kisio.  “He is well-respected in the dressing room for not only his leadership but his work ethic both on the ice and in the community.  It has been a privilege to have Cody in our organization for five seasons.  We wish him all the best in his post-WHL endeavors.”

2012-13 Calgary Hitmen Team Awards

Award	Recipient
Ed Williams Player of the Month for March	Cody Sylvester
Calgary Hitmen Leading Scorer Award	Cody Sylvester
Calgary Hitmen Booster Club Fan Favourite Award	Cody Sylvester
NSD Sports & Fitness Club Players Choice Award	Cody Sylvester
ENMAX Humanitarian Award	Cody Sylvester
Chrysler Canada Inc. Scholastic Player Award	Chase Lang
Wendy’s Rookie of the Year Award	Jake Virtanen
Husky Energy Top Defenceman Award	Spencer Humphries, Jaynen Rissling, Alex Roach (co-winners)
RE/MAX Three Star Award	Cody Sylvester
TELUS Coaches Award	Spencer Humphries
Suncor Energy Player of the Year Award	Cody Sylvester