Queen City's Leon named Most Valuable Player

Press Release

The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) has announced its Most Valuable Player, Forward of the Year, Defenseman of the Year, Goaltender of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year and Organization of the Year, along with its All-NA3HL Team and All-Rookie Team, for the 2010-11 season as voted by the league’s coaches and general managers.

Queen City Steam goaltender Matt Leon has been named Most Valuable Player.

Leon, a 19-year-old from Pineville, N.C., forged an 18-15-1 record in 35 regular-season appearances to compliment a 2.73 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage.

In the postseason, Leon put together a 4-1 mark to lead the Steam to a USA Hockey Tier III Junior A National Tournament berth.

“Matt’s a young man who shows what hard work and determination can do,” said Steam head coach Don Biggs. “There was never a day he didn’t want to be in the net working on his game.”

Leon was also named Goaltender of the Year and to the All-NA3HL Team.

“He really was the difference all year for us as a team,” Biggs added. “He gave us a chance to win every game he played and always seemed to make that big save at exactly the right time.”

The Pittsburgh Jr. Penguins’ Charles Williams was named Forward of the Year. The 19-year-old from Pittsburgh ranked second in NA3HL scoring with 80 points on 38 goals in 44 regular-season games. Williams was also named to the All-NA3HL Team.

Jerry Rank of the Quad City Jr. Flames was named Defenseman of the Year. A 21-year-old from Tomah, Wis., Rank totaled 26 points on seven goals in 44 regular-season games. Rank was also named to the All-NA3HL Team.

The Jr. Penguins’ Jayson Angus was named Rookie of the Year. The 18-year-old from Latrobe, Pa., won the NA3HL’s regular-season scoring title with 82 points (43 goals) in 45 games. Angus was also named to the All-Rookie Team.

Biggs was named Coach of the Year. In addition to guiding the Steam to a 24-18-2 mark in the regular season, Biggs led his team to a 4-2 record in the playoffs on its way to a Hurster Cup Finals appearance and a berth to USA Hockey’s Tier III Junior A National Tournament.

The Peoria Mustangs were named Organization of the Year.

All-NA3HL Team
Forward: Jayson Angus, Pittsburgh Jr. Penguins
Forward: Charles Williams, Pittsburgh Jr. Penguins
Forward: Alex Dobrezeniecki, Queen City Steam
Defenseman: Jerry Rank, Quad City Jr. Flames
Defenseman: Tanner Warner, Chicago Hitmen
Goaltender: Matt Leon, Queen City Steam

All-Rookie Team
Forward: Andy Lay, Flint Jr. Generals
Forward: Mason Riley, Peoria Mustangs
Forward: Mike Marconi, Toledo Cherokee
Defenseman: Nikolas Sakellaropoulos, Peoria Mustangs
Defenseman: William Quillman, St. Louis Jr. Blues
Goaltender: Mike Parda, Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks

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