Thursday, April 29, 2010

Tyler Seguin Wins Red Tilson Trophy

Press Release

Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that forward Tyler Seguin of the Plymouth Whalers is the 2009-10 recipient of the Red Tilson Trophy awarded to the OHL’s Most Outstanding Player of the Year as voted by the writers and broadcasters that cover the league.

Seguin finished the regular season tied for first overall in league scoring with 106 points including 48 goals and 58 assists in 63 games, with a plus-minus rating of plus-17 and 54 penalty minutes. He becomes the first Whaler to win the award since David Legwand in 1997-98, with Pat Peake of the Detroit Jr. Red Wings organization winning in 1992-93.

The Red Tilson Trophy is the most prestigious individual award presented by the Ontario Hockey League. Accredited media were asked to select their top three choices from the 20 nominees representing all 20 member clubs. Players received five points for a first place selection, three points for second place and one point for a third place selection.

Seguin received 224 points in the voting process ahead of Taylor Hall of the Windsor Spitfires who finished second with 197 points. Nazem Kadri of the London Knights finished third with 34 points. Seguin appeared as either the first or second selection on over 96% of all media ballots.

“I am very proud to be accepting this award today,” Seguin said. “It is a very exciting day for me and I want to thank my family, coaches, and my teammates. I accomplished a lot of my personal goals this season. I wish the team could have gone farther in the playoffs, but overall it was a great year.”

An 18-year-old from Brampton, ON, Seguin also shares the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy with Hall as OHL Scoring Champion. Seguin’s 48 goals were third most in the league and his 58 assists were ranked sixth overall. He recorded 29 multi-point games and tallied five hat-tricks. He scored five points in two games this year including a 9-2 win on October 10 as first star against the Sudbury Wolves, and on December 11 as first star of a 6-3 victory over the Erie Otters. He was named the All Weather Windows OHL Player of the Month twice for December and January, and was also named the Boston Pizza OHL Player of the Week two times this season.

“Tyler’s off-ice work has been exceptional this season,” said Mike Vellucci, Whalers’ President, General Manager and Head Coach. “In terms of his conditioning, he’s one of the most committed players I’ve ever seen. He strives to be the best player he can possibly be and not just in games. Tyler is a hockey player – he’s not just a player who happens to play hockey. He’s an ultimate professional.”

Selected ninth overall by Plymouth in the 2008 Priority Selection from the Toronto Young Nationals, Seguin completes two full OHL seasons with 173 career points in 124 games. He is eligible for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft and is ranked first overall by NHL Central Scouting. He competed in the 2010 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game as captain of Team Orr. He also represented the OHL in the 2009 SUBWAY Super Series and was a Western Conference All-Star at the 2010 OHL All-Star Classic. He was also voted the Smartest Player and the Best Playmaker in the Western Conference Coaches Poll, while finishing second in voting as the OHL’s Best Stickhandler and Most Dangerous in the Goal Area.

Other winners of the Red Tilson Trophy include Frank Mahovlich (Toronto 1957), Mike Foligno (Sudbury, 1979), Doug Gilmour (Cornwall 1983), Eric Lindros (Oshawa 1991), Brad Boyes (Erie 2001 & 2002), Corey Perry (London 2005), and John Tavares (Oshawa 2007). Cody Hodgson of the Brampton Battalion won the award last season.

The trophy is named in honour of Albert "Red" Tilson, who was killed in action in Europe during World War II. Tilson was the OHA scoring champion for the 1942-43 season after scoring 19 goals and 38 assists for 57 points in 22 games with the Oshawa Generals.

Seguin will be the OHL’s nominee for the Canadian Hockey League Player of the Year Award presented at the CHL Awards Ceremony during the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup in Brandon, MB.

(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)

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