Player of the Year
Stats: 34GP, 34G, 18A, 52PTS (22GP, 25G, 9A, 34PTS)
Let's be honest, this award was already given to Smith a long time ago. We've all seen and heard how good this guy has been this season. You've read what I've written about him all year and know his numbers, so there's really shouldn't be much of an explanation here. He's the nation and league's top goal scorer, and has been absolutely dominant in every game he's played in, only being held pointless three times in 34 games. End of story. Don't get me wrong, Brian O'Neill is having a great senior campaign, but Smith has pretty much single-handedly brought Colgate from last place to a first round bye in one season.
Other Nominees: Brian O'Neill (Yale)
Goaltender of the Year (Ken Dryden Award)
Stats: 27GP, 1.64GAA, .937SV% (16GP, 1.60GAA, .940SV%)
This award is definitely not as clear cut as the previous one. Many like Clarkson's Karpowich, others feel Cornell's Iles is the best, and there's even a good case to be made for RPI's Merriam or QU's Hartzell. But, I feel Union's Troy Grosenick is the top netminder in the league. Like his predecessor and the 2010-11 Dryden Award winner, Keith Kinkaid, Groesnick is not the flashiest goaltender and might not seem to steal games, but he makes all the stops and is probably the most valuable player on the team. The Dutchmen have only won four of the seven games where he has not started, and have a better winning percentage when he starts (This is definitely not a knock on Colin Stevens, who I personally think is the best freshman goaltender in the league... the numbers prove it). The sophomore from Brookfield, Wisconsin is also second in the nation in GAA and third in Save%, as well as in shutouts. In ECAC play, he leads all goaltenders in GAA, SV%, and shutouts. First place teams need first rate goaltenders, and luckily for the Dutchmen they have one.
Other Nominees: Andy Iles (Cornell), Paul Karpowich (Clarkson), Eric Hartzell (Quinnipiac)
Rookie of the Year
Stats: 29GP, 5G, 17A, 22PTS (22GP, 4G, 11A, 15PTS)
Revision: I originally had QU's Peca as my ROY, but after Jason Klump pointed out that I counted his five points from his playoff series with Brown, I've decided that the five points was a big enough deal to change my choice.
This one was a very tough decision. There were many deserving rookies for this award, but no one really stood out above and beyond any other player. Ferlin came in with high expectations, and fulfilled them for the most part before his season-ending injury. But I didn't pick him because he slowed down towards the end of the season. I originally picked Peca because of his play-making abilities, but have decided not to select him because many of his points were picked up earlier in the season against lesser out of conference opponents and his ECAC numbers weren't as impressive as I originally thought. Brandon McNally could be a great replacement for Doug Jones and a top goal scorer in the future, but feel is 10 league goals is a tad inflated by his two empty net goals. So in the end, I'm going to go with Harvard's Patrick McNally. The Glen Head, New York native's 15 points in league play were the fifth most of any ECAC defenseman. His three power-play goals in ECAC contests were also tied for the most of any freshman skater, and was even more than teammate (and probably the best offensive defenseman in the league) Danny Biega. As you can see, he made a huge impact on the Crimson power-play which is currently the top ranked unit in the league and second in the nation. With McNally's help, Harvard received a first round bye, which surprised many this season.
Other Nominees: Brian Ferlin (Cornell), Matthew Peca (Quinnipiac), Brandon McNally (Dartmouth)
Defensive Forward of the Year
Stats: 34GP, 8G, 31A, 39PTS, +16 (22GP, 5G, 20A, 25PTS, +13)
This is always a tough award to hand out because when you watch a game you're usually not paying attention to what forwards do on the defensive side of the puck. There really isn't a place where you can look up faceoff percentage, takeaways, penalties killed, and other important things to a defensive forward in the college game. You have to give this award to a forward who does everything right and makes the little things the best part of their game. For four years, I've seen Kelly Zajac do this night in and night out. Everyone he's a tremendous playmaker and has great vision, but he's also stellar when it comes to puck possession on the boards, faceoffs, penalty killing, and being a smart hockey player overall. I think it's also important to note that Zajac has only received six penalty minutes this season, showing that he's always on the ice and never hurts his team. He as proven that he is extremely effective in all facets of the game.
Other Nominees: Chris Wagner (Colgate), Greg Miller (Cornell)
Defensive Defenseman of the Year
Stats: 29GP, 2G, 5A, 7PTS, +14 (22GP, 1G, 4A, 5PTS, +14)
This is another tough one to pick since I can't watch every team play every game. For an award like this you have to go with the stats, reputation, and the small sample size that you saw a player live this season. I got to watch Cornell in person twice and a few times on TV, where each time I thought their captain was very impressive on the defensive side of the puck. His +14 in league play is the best of any ECAC defenseman, and has been a key contributor to Cornell's second ranked league defense (also eighth in the nation). I also took into account that Ross only took four penalty minutes during league play, proving that while being a shutdown defenseman harassing opposing forwards, he isn't being beaten and outworked where he has to take a penalty to make up for a mistake.
Other Nominees: Thomas Larkin (Colgate), Shawn Stuart (Union)
Coach of the Year (Tim Taylor Award)
Stats: 20W-7L-7T (14W-4L-4T)
Like the Dryden Award, the Tim Taylor Award has been up to debate for awhile. Coach Vaughan brought Colgate from last place to a first round bye in one year, Coach Schafer had the Big Red finish in second with lesser talent than usual, and Coach Donato led the Crimson to a first round bye with a young squad. But, I've decided to choose Union's first year head coach Rick Bennett. The reason I have chosen him is not just because Union finished in first, but because of the intangibles. Last year, Nate Leaman set the standard by leading Union to their first Cleary Cup and NCAA Tournament appearance. So, once Leaman left and Bennett was hired, anything less from Bennett would be considered a failure. The prior season's success was thought to be hard to reach without First Team All-American goaltedner Keith Kinkaid and the program's all-time leading scorer, Adam Presizniuk, but as of this moment, Bennett is on his way to at least replicating Leaman's success from last season. The Dutchmen have already won the Cleary Cup, and are currently 8th in the PWR. If Union can win the league playoffs and win a game in the national tournament, there is no doubt that Bennett accomplished more than anyone could have expected. Also, you can't say that Bennett is coaching Leaman's team. Bennett recruited pretty much every player on Union's roster, and deserves almost as much credit as Leaman did for Union's rise to the top.
Other Nominees: Don Vaughan (Colgate), Mike Schafer (Cornell), Ted Donato (Harvard)
I've also decided to add my own awards this season:
Most Improved Player Award
Stats: 37GP, 16G, 19A, 35PTS (23GP, 9G, 12A, 21PTS)
This award is given to the player who I felt surprised everyone with their output this season, compared to prior seasons. While many Golden Knights are worthy of the award, I felt senior Louke Oakley was the most worthy. Oakley hadn't scored more than three goals in any of his first three seasons in Potsdam. But this year, he found his scoring touch netting 16 goals, nine of which came in league play. He also finished his senior campaign with 19 assists and 35 points (13 more than his previous career high), which are also career highs. This year, Oakley grew from a nice role player to an important scorer.
Other Nominees: Nick Tremblay (Clarkson), Ben Sexton (Clarkson), Jack Berger (Princeton)
Unsung Player Award
Stats: 32GP, 17G, 13A, 30PTS (25GP, 15G, 10A, 25PTS)
I've already said a lot about Laganiere this week, as I named him my First Star of the First Round. Here's what I said: " The junior power forward from Quebec is quietly having a breakout season, while being overshadowed by teammates like Brian O'Neill, Andrew Miller, and Kenny Agostino. In his first two seasons in New Haven, Laganiere accumulated 12 goals and 11 assists for 23 points. This season, he has netted 17 goals (tied for 5th in the league) and added 13 helpers for 30 points. Talk about an increase in production." I should also mention that while Laganiere is fourth on the Bulldogs scoring list overall, he's second in league games with 25 points and tied for tops with Brian O'Neill with 15 goals. Those numbers are also tied for fifth and first, respectively, in the league. Laganiere's seven power-play goals in league contests are also second in the league behind Brown's Jack Maclellan. When your numbers are comparable to some of the league's best, it's safe to say that you've had a great season.
Other Nominees: Austin Mayer (Colgate), Marshall Everson (Harvard), Zack Currie (Quinnipiac)
What do you think? Was I spot on in your book, or was I way off base with a few picks? Either way, this what I feel, and we'll see if the league agrees or disagrees with me. Honestly, any of these awards (besides MVP) can go to a different person. There are a lot of great players in this league.
While I agree that the numbers for Grosenick probably make him the Dryden winner and Austin Smith is certainly the best forward, if there were a "Most Valuable to his Team" award, Paul Karpowich would be the winner, hands down. Honestly, the Knights would've never had a chance at a home playoff series without their goalie. Take Karpowich away from Clarkson and you're looking a terrible year in Potsdam.
ReplyDeleteCasey Jones had better be thanking Mr. Karpowich for affording him a quasi-free pass year to recruit and develop his team without Clarkson fans facing a completely miserable season.
Matt,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment.
You do make a very valid point about Karpowich. I think most can agree that without Karpowich, Clarkson finishes in the lower half of the conference. That's why there's a very legitimate shot that he wins the award. I've seen/heard many talk about him as the league's best goaltender, so maybe the people who pick the awards will feel the same.
If you're going to had out an award to "Most Valuable Player to his team," Karpowich is definitely a finalist for the award since without him, Clarkson would not have hosted a first round playoff series. But, do you think Colgate would have received a first round bye without Smith? He has accounted for 1/3 of Colgate's goals this season. I really find it hard to believe that the Raiders would have done as well without him. If there was an award for "MVP to his team," it would be a tough call on to give it to Karpowich or Smith. Neither would be a wrong decision. Just depends if you prefer a lethal scorer over a big time goalkeeper.
Either way, who ever replaces Karpowich next season has some big shoes to fill.
- Dan
I think the stats, more than showing Grosenick is the best goaltender and Stevens the best freshman, show that playing for Union makes the job of being a goalie easier. I don't think it's fair to give the award to someone who didn't even play 1000 minutes when Karpowich is the reason his team didn't finish dead last and Iles beat him straight up, both of whom are ironmen.
ReplyDeleteSmith, Oakley, and Laganiere I agree with. The rest I disagree, but I only strongly disagree with Peca. He only scored 4 goals in ECAC play and only had 5 more assists than Patrick McNally, who is a defenseman and scored the same number of goals.
Jason,
ReplyDeleteFigured you'd disagree with me on a few things. That's just the way it seems to always happen.
While being on Union does make Troy's stats better, you still can't take away those numbers. He still had to perform night in and night out. I don't think a good goalie could put those numbers up for Union this year, only a very good goalie could have. Could Karpowich have put up those numbers if he played for Union? Sure. But, he didn't. Could Grosenick have led Clarkson to a first round home series if he was on their team. Sure. But, he's not on that team. What I'm saying is that you can't take away someone's numbers just because they play on a good team. I also took into account the fact that Grosenick had some big shoes to fill with Kinkaid leaving for the pros.
As you know, I was considering Karpowich a few weeks ago, but only winning two of his last seven regular season games really didn't help his cause in my book. He had a stellar first half of the season, but after shutting out Cornell on 12/3/11, he didn't post another shutout and was allowing a lot of crooked numbers on the scoreboard. I also understand that Karp was pretty much the main reason why Clarkson didn't finish "dead last," but the Golden Knights still finished in the bottom half of the league. It's not like the team got a first round bye. Also, Colgate and Harvard got first round byes. Do you think Mihalik and Michalek's stats are padded because they were on good teams? I would consider their stats to be very medicoure.
I also understand what you're saying about McNally. The Rookie of the Year Award was definitely the hardest one for me to decide. I took Peca, McNally, and Ferlin each into heavy consideration, even writing up explanations for all three. Any of the three would be a solid choice. First, I think your numbers are wrong for Peca's and McNally's assists. According to USCHO, Peca had 20 in league play while McNally had 11, which is a difference of 9 instead of 5. If Peca had only 16 assists in league play I might have reconsidered, but that extra five assists (and five points) is a big deal.
When it comes to goals, I also understand what you're saying. But, Peca isn't (or doesn't seem like) the goal scoring type. He's more of a playmaker like Union's Kelly Zajac, who also had five goals and 20 assists in league play. Just for arguments sake, do you think McNally is a better player than Zajac? I don't think so. I do believe that goal scorers are more "valuable" than assist guys, but there are still extremely valuable. That's why I have Chris Wagner on my First Team. Do you think Wagner would have had the season he had without Smith? I doubt it, but he did and that's all you can say about it.
All in all, we're all going to have our opinions. Thanks for taking the time to read my post and response.
Have fun at the games this weekend.
- Dan
Re:Peca, USCHO is obviously including his 5 points from the playoff series against Brown. He was 4-16-20 regular season. Still led all frosh in points, but I'd take Dartmouth's McNally or Ferlin over him as forwards anyway.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Smith would have had this season without Wagner more than the other way around. I think Wagner would have more goals and less assists without Smith.
Wow, that was a major oversight on my part. Thanks for pointing it out. I might have to reconsider. The five points is a big difference.
ReplyDelete- Dan