WHL names Division nominees for Four Broncos Memorial Trophy

Calgary, Alta. – The Western Hockey League announced today the 2021-22 Division nominees for the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy presented by Kia Canada, awarded annually to the WHL Player of the Year.

WHL Division Awards are voted upon by General Managers.

All individual WHL Division Award winners will be eligible for the overall WHL Awards, to be announced June 1, 2022.

WHL Player of the Year Nominees
B.C. Division – Logan Stankoven (Kamloops, B.C.) – Kamloops Blazers|
Central Division – Ben King (Vernon, B.C.) – Red Deer Rebels
East Division – Connor Bedard (North Vancouver, B.C.) – Regina Pats
U.S. Division – Olen Zellweger (Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.) – Everett Silvertips

WHL Player of the Year Nominee Biographies

Forward Connor Bedard (Regina Pats): Bedard became the first 16-year-old in 35 years to score 50 or more goals in a WHL Regular Season, finishing with exactly 100 points (51G-49A during the 2021-22 campaign. The product of North Vancouver, B.C. completed the regular season fourth in League scoring while his 51 goals were bested by only one other WHL skater. The 5-foot-9, 181-pound forward, who was named the McSweeney’s WHL Player of the Month for February 2022, has recorded 128 points (63G-65A) in 77 career regular season games with the Pats.

Forward Ben King (Red Deer Rebels): Vernon, B.C.’s Ben King led the WHL with 52 goals, finishing second to linemate Arshdeep Bains among WHL scoring leaders with 105 points. The 19-year-old, who was named McSweeney’s WHL Player of the Month for March 2022, finished the campaign with 15 game-winning goals, one shy of equaling a 43-year-old League record. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound centre held a 58.8 percent face-off efficiency, and over the course of 206 regular season games with Swift Current and Red Deer has registered 205 points (89G-116A).

Forward Logan Stankoven (Kamloops Blazers): The 19-year-old forward finished third in WHL scoring with 104 points (45G-59A) and was one of eight WHL players to finish with 40 or more goals during the 2021-22 Regular Season. The product of Kamloops, B.C., and prospect of the Dallas Stars helped Kamloops to a third consecutive B.C. Division Championship, recording three or more points 18 times along the way. The 5-foot-8, 170-pound forward, who was the McSweeney’s WHL Player of the Month in January of 2022, has registered 163 points (81G-82A) in 132 career WHL regular season games.

Defenceman Olen Zellweger (Everett Silvertips): The 18-year-old Anaheim Ducks prospect led all WHL defencemen in scoring with 78 points (14G-64A) during the 2021-22 Regular Season, setting both new personal bests and Everett Silvertips franchise marks in the process. The product of Fort Saskatchewan, Alta. finished the 2021-22 Regular Season by tallying 19 points (1G-18A) over his final 10 games. In 125 career regular season games with Everett, the 5-foot-10, 175-pound blueliner has totalled 103 points (18G-85A).

About the Western Hockey League
Regarded as the world’s finest development league for junior hockey players, the Western Hockey League (WHL) head office is based in Calgary, Alberta. The WHL consists of 22 member Clubs with 17 located in Western Canada and five in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. A member of the Canadian Hockey League, the WHL has been a leading supplier of talent for the National Hockey League for over 50 years. The WHL is also the leading provider of hockey scholarships with over 375 graduates each year receiving WHL Scholarships to pursue a post-secondary education of their choice. Each season, WHL players also form the nucleus of Canada’s National Junior Hockey Team.