WHL GRADS CAPTURE ALL UNIVERSITY HOCKEY AWARDS
Calgary, AB — The Western Hockey League is proud to announce that 100% of all Canada West University Hockey Award winners and Canada West University Hockey All Stars are graduates of the WHL. All are currently utilizing Western Canada’s Premier Hockey Scholarship, a combination of the guaranteed WHL Scholarship and additional financial assistance provided by each individual Canada West Men’s Hockey University program.
Saskatoon Blades and Tri-City Americans WHL graduate and third-year University of Manitoba forward Blair Macaulay has been named the 2011-12 Canada West men’s hockey Most Valuable Player and CIS Sullivan Trophy nominee.
Macaulay, a Winnipeg native, was the leading goal-scorer in all of CIS, with 23, and he finished third in Canada West scoring with 33 points while playing all 28 regular season games. He was first in CIS game-winning goals (5), fourth in conference power-play goals (7), tied for third in plus/minus rating (+20), was second in shots (120) and had one hat-trick. The 5-11, 185-pound forward also had an eight-game point streak, during which he recorded 13 points, including a shorthanded goal. Named November/December “Husky-WHL Graduate of the Month”, the Asper School of Business major also makes a first appearance as a First Team All-Star after making the Second Team last season.
“Blair Macaulay has elevated his game each year with the Bisons to become an elite player in Canada West. His tremendous speed, skill and determination make Blair an offensive threat every shift and he has game-breaking ability. He is a pleasure to work with as he consistently reflects the Bisons hockey values of integrity, hard work, honesty and respect,” said Bisons head coach Mike Sirant.
WHL Graduates Capturing Canada West University Hockey Awards
Most Valuable Player (Sullivan Trophy nominee as CIS Player of the Year): Blair Macaulay, Manitoba (SAS, TC)
Dave “Sweeney” Schriner Scoring Trophy: Derek Hulak, Saskatchewan (REG, SAS)
Mervyn “Red” Dutton Trophy (Outstanding defenceman): Jeremy Schappert, Manitoba (SEA)
University of Alberta Hockey Alumni Trophy (Outstanding Freshman): Teigan Zahn, Calgary (SAS)
UBC Hockey Alumni Trophy (Sportsmanship & Ability): Kyle Ross, Saskatchewan (RD, REG)
Randy Gregg Award (Athletic ability, Academics & Citizenship): Kyle Ross, Saskatchewan (RD, REG)
Coach of the Year: Milan Dragicevic, UBC (WHL: player 86-90, coach 96-98)
Adam Kryczka Memorial Trophy (Canada West only, best team GAA): Real Cyr (PG) & Kurtis Mucha (POR, KAM), Alberta
Fair Play Trophy (Canada West only, fewest team penalty minutes): UBC
ALL-STARS
First Team Second Team
G: Real Cyr, Alberta Jordan White, UBC
D: Jeremy Schappert, Manitoba Dane Crowley, Manitoba
D: Teigan Zahn, Calgary Matt Delahey, Saskatchewan
F: Kyle Bortis, Saskatchewan Dustin Moore, Lethbridge
F: Derek Hulak, Saskatchewan Sean Ringrose, Alberta
F: Blair Macaulay, Manitoba Kyle Ross, Saskatchewan
Award winners are now finalists for Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) annual awards, to be handed out during University Cup week, hosted March 21-25 in Fredericton by the University of New Brunswick (UNB).
The Canada West championship takes place this weekend, with the Calgary Dinos at Saskatoon to face the Saskatchewan Huskies in a best-of-three series starting on Friday night at Rutherford Rink. Each game can be viewed live on www.canadawest.tv. In addition to a conference banner, the winner also earns a berth at CIS Nationals.
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CANADA WEST — Claiming the Dave “Sweeney” Schriner Scoring Trophy is Derek Hulak of the Saskatchewan Huskies, who outpaced all other by racking up 44 points (11 goals, 33 assists) over the 28-game conference schedule, five points ahead of who closest competitor.
Taking the Mervyn “Red” Dutton Trophy for the first time as the league’s Outstanding Defenceman is Manitoba’s Jeremy Schappert.
Schappert has continued to shine in his second season with the Bisons after he was rewarded last year with the University of Alberta Hockey Alumni Trophy as Outstanding Freshman. Schappert was first in conference defenceman scoring, with 23 points in 28 games. His six goals, 17 assists were both totals that tied for first for the most among defenceman. In addition, the 6-0, 195-pound Arts major was 10th overall with a plus-minus rating of +15 and second among all players in power-play assists (12).
“Jeremy’s explosive speed, puck skills and vision enabled him to lead the conference in scoring. In addition to his offensive capabilities, he is tough and extremely solid defensively, making him a complete player. Jeremy’s exceptional character, leadership and success as an Academic All Canadian make him an excellent representative of the Bisons hockey program and Canadian Interuniversity Sport,” commented head coach Mike Sirant.
Rookie of the Year, Calgary defenceman Teigan Zahn, is the first University of Calgary player to be awarded the conference’s rookie of the year honour since Eric Schneider in 1999.
A five-year veteran of the Saskatoon Blades, Zahn joined the Dinos this season after attending the Los Angeles Kings’ rookie camp. Brimming with confidence, Zahn became a stalwart on the blue line for the Dinos early in the season and played consistent hockey all year, recording three goals and 12 assists in 23 games with the team in his freshman year. Zahn was also named a First Team All-Star on defence.
“He has had a terrific year from start to finish,” said Calgary head coach Mark Howell. “He came out of the L.A. camp with confidence, stepped into our lineup right away and demonstrated that he is going to be a solid defenceman in our league. He has been consistent all year, probably the most consistent rookie in the conference, and he really deserves this honour.”
Saskatchewan Huskies captain Kyle Ross receives both the UBC Hockey Alumni Trophy for Sportsmanship & Ability, as well as the Dr. Randy Gregg Award, representing Athletic Ability, Academics & Citizenship.
Ross, a fifth-year forward from Regina, joined the Huskies in 2009-10 after transferring to the University of Saskatchewan to study in the College of Law. As a Law student, Ross has shown extreme discipline to help guide the Huskies’ to the playoffs in all three seasons – the last two as captain. He has consistently been an Academic All-Canadian and is on his way again in 2011-12 with an 85% average.
On top of captain duties and demanding school priorities, the forward had a career-best season recording 16 goals and 17 assists in 28 games. Ross recorded eight power play goals, had a +14 rating and tallied just 26 penalty minutes. He finished the season fourth in conference scoring and was part of a line that dominated the season tallying a combined 116 points.
“Kyle not only leads our team in every aspect on and off the ice, but he has been a top point producer for us in all three years,” said Huskie head coach Dave Adolph. “He leads by example and challenges all of our players to be exemplary in the classroom and be a representative of our program off the ice and on. He is a veracious competitor and asks everyone to follow his lead.”
This is the second time Ross has won the Dr. Randy Gregg Award. He won the award in 2008-09 as a member of the Regina Cougars.
Canada West Coach of the Year Milan Dragicevic’s time as head coach of the UBC Thunderbirds men’s hockey team has been characterized by steady improvement.
Before the current season began, fellow Canada West coaches picked UBC to finish last in the league, after missing the post-season the previous two campaigns. Instead, Dragicevic guided the Thunderbirds to a 12-12-4 season, which was good enough for a fifth place finish and a playoff spot, despite losing captain Justin McCrae for most of the second half.
“It is a very tough conference and there are a number of quality coaches so being selected as coach of the year is really something special,” said UBC’s Director of Athletics Bob Philip.
For maintaining the lowest team goals against average, Real Cyr and Kurtis Mucha from the Alberta Golden bears share the Adam Kryczka Memorial Trophy. It marks the second such win for Cyr, who shared the award with Aaron Sorochan back in 2008-09, the last time Alberta goaltenders won the award.
For the first time since 1997-98 and just the third time in the 34-year history of the award, the UBC Thunderbirds have won the Fair Play Trophy as the team with the fewest penalty minutes. With 323 for the 28-game schedule, UBC averaged a league-best 11.5 penalty minutes per game.
