Oil Kings Announce Award Winners For 2010-11 Season

Press Release

Edmonton, AB – The Edmonton Oil Kings officially closed out their most successful season in their four-year modern franchise history on Saturday night as they held their awards banquet for the 2010-11 campaign.

The Oil Kings set modern franchise records for wins and points during the regular season, as they finished seventh in the WHL's Eastern Conference with a 31-34-2-5 record for 69 points. They were unable to record their first-ever playoff victory, though, as they were defeated in the conference quarterfinals in four straight games by the provincial rival Red Deer Rebels.

Despite the early playoff exit, there was still plenty to celebrate at Saturday's awards banquet, starting with team captain Mark Pysyk winning the Greg Tomalty Most Valuable Player honour for the second straight year, in addition to being named Top Defenceman for the third consecutive season.

The 19-year-old Sherwood Park native played in 63 games during the regular season and led the Oil Kings in scoring among defencemen with six goals and 34 assists for 40 points to go along with an outstanding plus-29 rating.

His 40 points gave him a career high and set a new modern franchise record for scoring by a defenceman. Pysyk became the first-ever Oil King to be picked in the first round of the NHL Draft when the Buffalo Sabres selected him 23rd overall last June.

Oil Kings left-winger Dylan Wruck also had a breakout season and picked up a pair of awards for his efforts. After scoring just 12 points as a rookie last year, the 18-year-old Saskatoon native finished the 2010-11 season with 38 goals and 40 assists for 78 points, setting new modern franchise records for goals and points. Wruck edged out fellow sniper Michael St. Croix for the Top Scorer award and the Big League Three Stars award.

First-year defenceman Griffin Reinhart captured Rookie of the Year honours as he scored 25 points and was plus-7 in 45 games, unfortunately missing seven weeks of action during the second half of the season due to injury. The 17-year-old from West Vancouver also represented the Oil Kings and led Team Pacific to a bronze-medal showing at the 2011 World Under-17 Challenge.

The Oil Kings' Blue Willow Unsung Hero award went to 18-year-old centre Travis Ewanyk, who was one of two players to appear in all 72 regular season games. The St. Albert native was fifth on the team in goals with 16 and finished with 27 total points. He also led the team with four shorthanded goals.

Ryan Dech, an 18-year-old defenceman from Winnipeg, was selected as the Oil Kings' Scholastic Player of the Year, while 20-year-old blue-liner Adrian Van de Mosselaer won the Humanitarian Player of the Year award.

The Oil Kings also paid special tribute to Van de Mosselaer (the modern franchise's all-time leader in games played) and fellow graduating over-age players Jordan Hickmott and Mike Piluso, thanking them for their contributions to the team and wishing them well in their future endeavours.

(Nathan can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)