The Merritt Centennials got together last night to celebrate their team, players, and accomplishments over the season.
Listed below are the winners of each award.
Volunteer Excellence –
The Cents were a part of the community in a number of ways this season. From participating in can skate, the after school program, power skating, minor hockey practices and more – two individuals embraced their duties and stood out above the rest.
Fan Favourite –
His simple game, physicality and hard work made a connection with fans near and far as the first year defender won the fan Favourite by a landslide.
Most Improved Player
Coming into his first year in the league, he started at the bottom of the depth chart but quickly proved that he could be an effective defender. He didn’t make a huge splash on the stat line night in and night out, but he ate up more and more minutes throughout the year and patrolled the blue line with punishing hits.
Ska Lu La Awards
Every year there are a handful of Cents that are employed by the Ska Lu La workshop. Along with working in the lumber yard, they also make connections with the special needs clients that also spend their days there. For being a part of that program, they are recognized with this award.
Academic Scholar
It takes quite a lot to give 100% to your studies and to your hockey duties, but this player excelled on the ice as well as in the classroom.
Most Promising Player
The player that most embodied Cents hockey and was such a key cog in the line up that you really felt it when he was missing.
Coaches Award
To receive the coaches award you have to be willing to lead by example, come to work every day, and be willing to try and implement what the coaches are teaching and have the right attitude. This player brought it with him day in and day out.
Most Gentlemanly Player
The Most Gentlemanly player typically goes to the one that has the least penalty minutes, but it isn’t just that. You also have to be a good team mate and treat others right.
Rookie Of the Year
There were quite a few rookies this year, but from start to finish the one that chipped in the most offensively was this player. His lethal shot, and good eyes in the offensive zone helped the Centennials stay in games.
Leading Scorer
This one is pretty self explanatory. He put more pucks in and set up his team mates more than anyone else.
Best Defenseman
At the start of the year he was slotted in as the 3 or 4 defenseman. Throughout the year his role grew and grew until he was the leader of the D core. He played big minutes, he made smart plays.
Unsung Hero
These players aren’t always who you think about when you think of the front line of the team, but without them the team wouldn’t be the same. They provided timely offense, set examples on the ice for their team mates, and never missed a shift.
Leadership and Ability
There’s no question who this award went to. He wore the ‘C’ all year long, he represented the team well on the ice and in the community. He set a shining example for others to follow.
Most Valuable Player
It was hard to single out just one player, so it had to go to two. Without these two players games would’ve gotten out of hand in a hurry. They were the last line of defense, and they were difference makers every night.
Most Game Winning Goals
The Cents sadly didn’t have as many of these as they would’ve liked, but when the chips are down someone has to come up clutch and he did it more than any other Centennial.
Best Plus / Minus
It’s hard to believe with giving up as many goals as the team did this year that there were a pair of players that were only -2.
Most Valuable Home Grown Player
This one was a bit of a no brainer – until next year when we have two or more!
Joe Tenant – Most Dedicated
To win this award you have to embody the spirit of Joe Tenant – hard work and dedication from start to finish. It’s safe to say this player did that and more.