Before the Canadian Hockey League awarded the Memorial Cup on Wednesday night, the CHL held its annual awards ceremony on Tuesday night with Logan Stankoven, Nathan Styos, Dylan Garand and Braden Jagger among the big winners of the evening.
The 19-year-old Stankoven won the David Brunch Player of the Year award over other finalists winger St. John Dogs William Dufour and center Wyatt Johnston of Windsor Spitfires.
A native of Kamloops, British Columbia, Stankoven led his hometown of the Blazers with 45 goals and 59 assists, finishing third in the Western Hockey League. Choosing from the second round of the Dallas Stars in 2021, Stankov’s 1.76 points per game were the best in the league. Claiming the award, Stankoven joins the remarkable list of winners, which includes Hockey Hall of Fame members Mario Lemieux, Dale Haverchuk and Joe Sakic, as well as current NHL stars Sidney Crosby, Mitch Marner and John Tavares.
21-year-old Staios was named Defender of the Year in the KHL. The Hamilton Bulldogs Bluerinner defeated Alain Zellweger of Everett Silvertyps and Lucas Cormier of the Charlottetown Islanders for the award.
A native of Oakville, Ontario, Staios led all Ontario Hockey League defenders in scoring 15 goals and 51 assists in 59 games. Finishing fourth in the team, Staios played five games with three or more points last season. Styos is the son of longtime NHL defender Steve Styos, who has played 1001 games in his 16-season career with the Boston Bruins, Vancouver Canucks, Atlanta Thrashers, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames and New York Islanders. Those who have previously won the CHL Defender of the Year include Chris Pronger, Dougie Hamilton and Thomas Shabot.
Islanders’ Jim Hulton was named Brian Kilreah’s Coach of the Year. Kingston, 53, Ont. nativ led his team to a score of 48-13-7 last season. The team’s 103 points were the second highest in the Quebec Youth Hockey League after Quebec Remparts, which finished with 104 points. Hulton has extensive coaching experience in the KHL, having been head of the bench with the Mississauga IceDogs, Belleville Bulls and Kingston Frontenax before arriving on Prince Edward Island. He defeated finalists Patrick Roy of Remparts and Stephen Julien of Sherbrooke Phoenix for the award. Previous winners of CHL Coach of the Year are Ken Hitchcock, Gerard Galant and Sheldon Keefe.
Kamloops Blazers goalkeeper Dylan Garand, 20, won the CHL Goalkeeper of the Year award, defeating Bretch Brooch of the London Knights and Samuel Richard of Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. Choosing from the fourth round of the New York Rangers in 2020, Garand set a 34-9-1 record last season with 2.16 goals against the average and 0.925 percent of saves in 45 games. Born in Victoria, British Columbia, he joined people like Carrie Price, Darcy Kumper and Felix Potwin in winning the award.
Moose Jaw Warriors striker Braden Jaeger has been named rookie of the year in the CHL ahead of Cam Allen by winger Guelph Storm and Islanders Jakub Brabenek.
Jaeger’s 34 goals last season set a new franchise record for the 16-year-old, breaking the previous 29 mark held by Theo Flory. The native of Saskatoon, Sask., Added 25 assists for 59 points in 63 games. Jaeger is expected to qualify for the draft next summer and play for Canada in the Hlinka-Gretzky tournament in August. He joins a list that includes Joe Thornton, Vincent Lecavalier and Taylor Hall in winning the award.
Shane Wright, the future first overall pick in the NHL draft next month in Montreal, also picked up the hardware on Tuesday night.
Burlington, Ont. the native defeated Remparts striker Nathan Gosher and Winnipeg Ice’s Matthew Savoy to win the CHL Draft’s Best Outlook Award, an honor given to the candidate eligible for the best draft. Wright scored 32 goals and 62 assists last season for Frontenac, finishing second in the team. Earlier announced as a rookie for the CHL in 2020, Wright is only the sixth player in the history of the CHL to gain outstanding status and early admission to the league. A number of players who were ranked No. 1 in the NHL draft have previously won the award, including Connor McDavid, Stephen Stamkos and Eric Lindros.
Several more awards were presented at the ceremony. Missing Player of the Year, Johnston took the CHL’s top scorer award. Edmonton Oil Kings defender Luke Prokop received the KHL Humanitarian of the Year award. Owner Beck of the Mississauga Steelhead became the KHL Player of the Year, and Jordan Dumet of Halifax Musheds won the KHL Athlete of the Year.
The Bulldogs meet their hometown of Sea Dogs on Wednesday night for the Memorial Cup.
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