Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Viterra Division Award Winners

Press Release

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Rylan Parenteau, G
Weyburn Red Wings

At the age of 17, Rylan Parenteau was in the top tier of SJHL goalies this season, nearly carrying a young Weyburn team to the playoffs.  He was among the leaders in minutes played, and posted almost unheard of numbers for an underage rookie goaltender, with a  2.72 GAA, and a .926 save percentage, to go along with three shutouts.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Austin Daae, F
Estevan Bruins

Regular season scoring champion Austin Daae makes a strong case for Player Of The Year, and is this year's Viterra representative.  The 20-year-old fit right in with his hometown Bruins, after spending some time in the Western Hockey League in previous years.  His 71-points led all scorers, and he was one of just four SJHL players to hit the 30-goal plateau this season, finishing with an even 30.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Austin Daae, F
Estevan Bruins

Austin Daae was the picture of consistency this season.  He didn't once go three straight games without a point, and in every calendar month in the regular season, was over a point-per-game.  Daae had 29-points in 21 games in January and February to get some breathing room at the top of the leader board.  He had 21 multi-point games, a pair of hat tricks, and a season-high 5 points in a game in Battlefords in January.

TOP GOALIE
Kale Thomson, G
Yorkton Terriers

30 wins is a very good season for any team, with 5 of the league's 12 clubs passing that milestone this season.  Terrier goalie Kale Thomson managed 31 wins on his individual record.  Thomson was 31-11-3, while leading the Terriers to the league's top regular season record and 1st overall playoff seed.  Not only that, Thomson set the SJHL's single season with 8 shutouts, to go along with his 1.89 GAA and .934 save percentage.

TOP DEFENSEMAN
Chase Norrish, D
Yorkton Terriers

Chase Norrish ended up with nearly a double-digit lead in the defensemen scoring race, finishing with 9 more points than his closest competition.  Chase, whose twin brother Brady was named Yorkton's MVP a year ago, really cranked it up down the stretch, putting up 23 points over his last 14 games.  During that stretch, Norrish had the second most points in the league, one fewer than teammate Brett Boehm.  Led by the Norrish twins, captain Devon McMullen and of course Kale Thomson, it's no surprise the Terriers also led the league in fewest goals against (125).

 (Nathan can be reached at nathanfournier@mainehockeyjournal.com)

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