With the WHL final looming, the league held its annual awards ceremony Wednesday afternoon in Calgary. As always, the awards race was competitive but it’s hard to argue with any of the winners.
Here’s a rundown on the 2015 WHL Awards winners:
Four Broncos Memorial Trophy (WHL Player of the Year)
Oliver Bjorkstrand, Portland Winterhawks
If you saw the Winterhawks play in the pre-season, it was clear that Bjorkstrand was poised for a monster season. He didn’t disappoint as he led the WHL in scoring with 113 points and goals with 63. The fact he pulled off those numbers in only 59 games makes him the slam-dunk winner of the Four Broncos. He potted 50 goals in 50 games and ended the year averaging more than a goal per game. The Columbus Blue Jackets prospect ends his three-year WHL season with 144 career tallies and 290 points.
Brandon’s Tim McGauley was the runner-up after a career best 105 points.
Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy (WHL Rookie of the Year)
Nolan Patrick, Brandon Wheat Kings
Sixteen-year-old Nolan Patrick of the Brandon Wheat Kings walked away with the rookie of the year award, and it was well deserved. He was the fourth-overall pick in the 2013 Bantam Draft and ends his first WHL season with a remarkable 30 goals. He’s a big reason the Wheat Kings are set up to be a dominant force over the next several seasons.
Spokane’s Kailer Yamamoto was the runner-up after the centre turned in an impressive 23-goal 16-year-old season.
Del Wilson Trophy (WHL Goaltender of the Year)
Taran Kozun, Seattle Thunderbirds
The Thunderbirds somehow wrested Kozun away from the Kamloops Blazers in 2014 for next to nothing. A year later he wasn’t only their team MVP, but ends up as the WHL’s top netminder. Kozun carried the young Thunderbirds by winning 33 of their 38 victories this season. He was second in the league with a .915 save percentage and 2.41 goals-against. Seattle suffered some injuries to key players during the first half of the year, and Kozun was the reason they were able to scrape out points and stay in the thick of things all year long.
Edmonton’s Tristan Jarry was the runner-up as the Pittsburgh Penguins prospect ended his junior career with another stellar season.
Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy (WHL Defenceman of the Year)
Shea Theodore, Seattle Thunderbirds
Despite missing 29 games due to injury and the world juniors, Theodore gets the nod as the top blue liner in the WHL. It’s a well-deserved honour for the former Anaheim Ducks first-round pick. He ended his junior career as Seattle’s all-time leading scoring defenceman, won gold for Team Canada, potted 13 goals and was in the top 20 in defenceman scoring while only playing in 43 games. Had he stayed healthy and played a full season, Theodore was on a pace for an 80-point season, which would have far and away led the league for defenceman.
Brandon’s Ivan Provorov was the runner-up as the Russian import turned in a stellar season in which he led all rookies in scoring with 61 points.
Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy (WHL Coach of the Year)
John Paddock, Regina Pats
John Paddock led the Regina Pats to a second-place finish in the Eastern Division this season to win the coach of the year award. While the finish is good, how he got there is even more impressive. Off to a good start, Paddock’s Pats had a roster that was heavy with 19-year-old players. Looking towards the future, they traded off a number of those talented guys for younger players. Despite that, the Pats never fell off the pace and finished strong by sweeping Swift Current in the first round before falling to Brandon in the second round of the playoffs. Paddock managed to transition from a veteran team to a young team without losing any momentum.
Kelowna’s Dan Lambert was the runner-up after finishing his first year as the Rockets head man with the Western Conference’s top record and a berth into the WHL final.
Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy (WHL Executive of the Year)
Kelly McCrimmon, Brandon Wheat Kings
McCrimmon pulled all the right moves to get the Wheat Kings to the top of the WHL. Brandon ended the season with the best record and is in the final. McCrimmon pulled off a number of shrewd moves — some might call it a fleecing of the Lethbridge Hurricanes ––to turn his Wheat Kings into the class of the Eastern Conference and perhaps the WHL. He didn’t sell the farm to do this either, as Brandon is set up to be a dominant force for the next several seasons. This is McCrimmon’s third Lloyd Saunders Trophy after previously winning in 1995 and 2010.
Kelowna’s Bruce Hamilton was the runner-up. Hamilton pulled off the biggest blockbuster trades this year in landing Leon Draisaitl and Josh Morrissey, which has paid off with the Rockets playing for the WHL title.
Brad Hornung Trophy (WHL Most Sportsmanlike Player of the Year)
Rourke Chartier, Kelowna Rockets
Chartier managed to play top minutes on one of the best lines in the WHL and only picked up 18 penalty minutes. That’s pretty impressive; even more so when you consider he did that while racking up 48 goals. Proving that he was worth more to the Rockets on the ice than he was in the penalty box, the San Jose Sharks prospect was a key piece to Kelowna’s Western Conference championship.
Peter Quenneville of the Brandon Wheat Kings was the runner-up as he only was tagged for 20 penalty minutes and like Chartier, showed up on the score sheet with 75 points.
Other Awards
Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy (WHL regular season champion)
Brandon Wheat Kings — 114 points
Bob Clarke Trophy (WHL top scorer)
Oliver Bjorkstrand, Portland Winterhawks — 63 G, 55 A, 118 PTS
Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Memorial Trophy (WHL Scholastic Player of the Year)
Nick McBride, Prince Albert Raiders
Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy (WHL Humanitarian of the Year)
Taylor Vickerman, Tri City Americans
WHL Marketing/Business Award
Kelowna Rockets
Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy (WHL top official)
Reagan Vetter