Marie-Philip Poulin swept up the night and took home three awards. (Photo courtesy of CWHL.)
The CWHL awards took place this past Friday and were a great showcase of the league’s top talents.
Alongside host Caroline Cameron, each team had a tribute introduced by a young female hockey player from their local community. Hopefully those girls will be back in the future accepting awards of their own.
Rookie of the Year
went to Victoria Bach of the Markham Thunder. Bach was the top scoring rookie this season and finished fourth in the league with a total of 32 points. Markham’s other award for the night went to Jim Jackson for coach of the year. Jackson was able to bring the team straight back into the playoffs after their championship win last season, though they just fell short in their series to Montreal.
Defensewoman of the Year
was awarded to Erin Ambrose of les Canadiennes de Montréal. Ambrose led the league for points for a defenseman with 24. Alex Rigsby of the Calgary Inferno claimed Goaltender of the year, finishing the season with a Goals Against Average of 2.04 and only two regulation losses.
Humanitarian of the Year
went outside the league this year, and was presented to Michael Bartlett, head of community affairs at MLSE. Michael has had a strong role with the partnership between the CWHL and MLSE, and specifically the partnership between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Furies.
Marie-Philip Poulin came out as the big winner of the night, as she took home an incredible three awards. The first was the pre-determined Angela James Bowl , marking her third win for that award in four years. The James Bowl is given to the top regular season scorer, which Poulin claimed with her 50pt run. She also took home the Jayna Hefford Trophy , representing the player voted MVP of the season, which again marks her third time winning it in the past four years. Finally, Poulin was named the CWHL MVP for her role in leading Team Canada to a silver medal in Pyeongchang, and her Canadiennes to the Clarkson Cup final. As well, same as the first two awards, Poulin is taking home that trophy for the third time in four years.