Each year, the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League presents seven awards for on-ice excellence: Most Valuable Player, Top Scorer, Top Defenceman, Top Goaltender, Rookie of the Year, Most Sportsmanlike Player and Coach of the Year. Winners are named from the four divisions prior to the start of KIJHL Playoffs, with overall league award winners named the first week of April.
Monday, February 19 – Eddie Mountain Division
Tuesday, February 20 – Bill Ohlhausen Division
Wednesday, February 21 – Neil Murdoch Division
Thursday, February 22 – Doug Birks Division
Today, we recognize the award winners for the Neil Murdoch Division.
| Most Valuable Player & Top Defenceman Kaleb Percival Beaver Valley Nitehawks  |
The Nelson native recorded 26 points in 27 games, playing an average of 18:27 a game. Percival also played as a forward when needed. He missed 17 games to injury, including all of December except one game, returning on Jan. 19. After being held pointless in his return, Percival had 10 points in nine games.
Percival was a plus-30 and played 38 per cent of the time in his zone, while also playing 36 per cent of the time in the offensive zone. His 18:27 of playing time included 3:15 on the power-play and 2:12 on the penalty-kill. In the Nitehawks’ Quick Shift team preview at the start of the year, head coach-GM Terry Jones said Percival has been part of their leadership group for the past few years and has a high standard of how he conducts himself. “He’s a highly skilled player, who is a real student of the game. In a lot of ways, I refer to him as the player-coach Reg Dunlop. At the end of the day, he demands a lot of the right stuff from every one of our players.” |
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| Top Scorer & Rookie of the Year Zach Baumann Spokane Braves  |
The Spokane, Wash., product completed his first junior season by posting 20 goals, 39 assists for 59 points in 43 games to lead his team, but also all KIJHL rookies. He collected 16 power-play points (14 assists), had a short-handed goal while averaging 20:31 a game. He was a plus-4 on a Braves squad that allowed a league high 247 goals. His 20:31 of ice time also included 4:34 on the power-play and 1:27 short-handed. He averaged 1.45 hits per game and had 80 penalty minutes.
He started the season with 18 points in seven straight games, and was consistent offensively, never going pointless for more than two straight games. |
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| Top Goaltender Connor Stojan Beaver Valley Nitehawks |
The Grand Prairie, Alta., product won a league leading 22 games, going 22-7-0 in 32 games, while earning three shutouts. His 2.46 goals against average ranks eighth in the league, while his .924 save percentage is seventh. He was named the Top Goalie once, as well as for January.
Stojan made key saves when needed, as evident by his scoring areas SP of 85 and 83 SP on breakaways. He averaged 2.1 brilliant saves per game. |
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| Most Sportsmanlike Player Kane Kennedy Nelson Leafs  |
The Airdrie, Alta., product spent 14 minutes in the penalty box, and played 15:03 a game. He played most of the the time, 54 per cent, in the offensive zone, and won an average of 11 puck battles per game – 47 per cent.
The 19-year-old had 30 points in 41 games, with 13 of his points coming on the man-advantage. Two of his 15 goals were winners. |
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| Coach of the Year Terry Jones Beaver Valley Nitehawks |
Jones guided his team to 16 straight wins and finished the season undefeated in regulation time in 19 games. The Nitehawks finished third overall with 67 points and their 206 goals scored are second in the KIJHL.
The Nitehawks had the second best power-play at 25.1 per cent going 47-for-187. Their penalty-kill finished seventh best at 85.4 per cent – 29-for-199. |
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