Men’s Hockey
Monday Morning Quarterback: Huskies, Ravens and Gryphons claim national titles
Saskatchewan netminder Taran Kozun was honoured with the Senator Joseph A. Sullivan Trophy as U SPORTS men’s hockey Player of the Year Wednesday night, as the national award winners were celebrated at the annual All-Canadian gala.
Kozun also took home the Goaltender of the Year honour, while McGill blueliner Nikolas Brouillard was named Defencemen of the Year. In addition, Saint Mary’s forward Mitchell Balmas captured the Clare Drake Award as Rookie of the Year, Saskatchewan forward Levi Cable was named the winner of the R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award as most sportsmanlike player and Acadia defenceman Liam Maaskant earned the Dr. Randy Gregg Award for Student-Athlete Community Service.
Finally, Toronto bench boss Ryan Medel is the winner of Father George Kehoe Memorial Award as Fox 40 Coach of the Year.
SENATOR JOSEPH A. SULLIVAN TROPHY (Player of the Year) & Goaltender of the Year: Taran Kozun, Saskatchewan
It was another dominant season for Saskatchewan Huskie Taran Kozun, who is a dual award winner, claiming the nation’s Player and Goalie of the Year awards.
Kozun is the first player in U SPORTS history to claim both awards in the same season, since the goaltending honour was introduced in 2009-10. This marks his second straight Goaltender of the Year award, and the fourth time in five seasons it has been won by a Saskatchewan netminder, after Jordon Cooke captured back-to-back honours in the crease in 2016 and 2017. He is also just the second Huskie to win Player of the Year, and the first since Jon Barkman in 2002.
The former Seattle Thunderbird led the conference in every major goaltending category, posting a 1.87 goals-against average, .931 save percentage, five shutouts, and 17 wins. Along with those sparkling numbers, the third-year arts and sciences major from Nipawin, Sask., also became just the second goalie in CW history to score when he found the net in January against the Calgary Dinos.
Thanks in large part to Kozun's stellar season, the Huskies finished second in the conference standings, as the program's all-time leader in shutouts (11) posted a third consecutive season with a save percentage north of .920.
“For as long as I’ve been here – including as an athlete – we’ve always had good goaltending and Taran provides the level of play that our program expects,” said Saskatchewan head coach Dave Adolph. “He’s earned the respect of the league over the last two years with the way he’s played. He's consistently been a high achiever and obviously people respect him for his consistency at the top level.”
Player of the Year & Goaltender of the Year Nominees
- CW: Taran Kozun, Saskatchewan (Winner)
- OUA: David Thomson, Toronto (Player of the Year); Louis-Philip Guindon, McGill (Goaltender of the Year)
- AUS: Logan Flodell, Acadia
CLARE DRAKE AWARD (Rookie of the Year): Mitchell Balmas, Saint Mary’s
In just his first year with the Huskies program, Balmas scored the second most points in the conference and third most in the nation – amassing 17 goals and 26 assists for 43 points on the season. A commerce student from Sydney, N.S., he was also named a U SPORTS Second Team All-Canadian and earned a place on the U SPORTS all-rookie team.
Before joining the Huskies, Balmas played most recently for the QMJHL's Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. Prior to that, his QMJHL career included seasons with the Acadie-Bathurst Titans, the Gatineau Olympiques, and the Charlottetown Islanders.
This season, he led the Huskies to a 17-12-1 regular season record and a third-place finish in the conference standings.Saint Mary's went on to sweep the UPEI Panthers in their best-of-three quarterfinal series, with Balmas contributing a goal and an assist in Game 2.
He is the third consecutive AUS player to win the award and the first from the Saint Mary’s program.
Nominees
- CW: Jared Dmytriw, Saskatchewan
- OUA: Chris Paquette, RMC
- AUS: Mitchell Balmas, Saint Mary’s (Winner)
DEFENCEMAN OF THE YEAR: Nikolas Brouillard, McGill
A native St. Hilaire, Que., Brouillard earns a spot as a First Team All-Canadian in his fourth year of eligibility thanks to his potent play on the blue line. Brouillard posted 23 points to rank fifth among OUA rearguards and 10thnationally, while his seven goals put him in the top three among conference defencemen and tied for sixth at the U SPORTS level.
In addition to his defensive ability in his own end, Brouillard also forces the opposition to defend differently with the puck on his stick. As one of the most fearsome power play weapons across the league, wielding a shot as hard as any U SPORTS blueliner, Brouillard made himself at home at the point to claim this year’s honour.
He is the fourth McGill defenceman to win the award, after former blueliner Ryan McKiernan in 2014 and Marc-André Dorion (2010, 2012)
“Nik is an instrumental part of our hockey club, he plays in all situations for us and quarterbacks our power-play,” said McGill head coach Liam Heelis of the wiry 5-foot-11, 168-pound economics junior, who possesses a shot as hard as any blue-liner in the country and forces opposing teams to defend differently when he is on the ice. “He sees the ice extremely well and also has the ability to finish whenever he gets a scoring chance. I consider him a big game player and someone that can shift the momentum on any given night. He’s a dynamic skater and a dynamic shooter.”
Since joining the university ranks after stints in the ECHL and AHL, the two-time OUA all-star has tallied 22 goals and 49 points in 57 regular season games. He also has a 3-12-15 record in 17 career post-season contests.
Brouillard played for U SPORTS all-stars against Canadian junior prospects in each of the last two years and has registered five points in those five games. He also played for a university all-star squad from the Quebec-based teams in the OUA East against the Montreal Canadiens rookie team (Oct. 2019) and was previously invited to NHL training camps with Winnipeg (2013), San Jose (2014) and Toronto (2015, 2016).
Nominees
- CW: Adam Henry, Manitoba
- OUA: Nikolas Brouillard, McGill (Winner)
- AUS: Nick Welsh, Saint Mary’s
R.W. PUGH FAIR PLAY AWARD (Most Sportsmanlike Player): Levi Cable, Saskatchewan
Cable posted the third 20-point season of his career in 2019-20, registering 10 goals and 14 assists. He also registered a second consecutive penalty free season, as he concluded his five-year U SPORTS career with just 18 penalty minutes.
“Levi has been the best two-way forward in the league since about mid-way through December in his first year,” said Adolph. He brings it, is a reliable player at both ends of the rink, and scores game-winning goals week-after-week. He’s first on the puck, aggressive, and physical.”
Cable is the sixth Huskie to win the award, joining Brian Purdy (1996), Sheldon Moser (2000), John Barkman (2002), Dean Beuker (2006) and Kyle Ross (2012).
Nominees
- CW: Levi Cable, Saskatchewan (Winner)
- OUA: Austin Eastman, Ontario Tech
- AUS: Vincent Deslauriers, Moncton
DR. RANDY GREGG AWARD (Student-Athlete Community Service): Liam Maaskant, Acadia
A fifth-year engineering student from Clinton, Ont., Maaskant has served as team captain for two consecutive seasons.
He played in 28 games this season, anchoring the Acadia defence and scoring 15 points (four goals, 11 assists).
In the classroom, Maaskant is a three-time academic all-Canadian. Despite the heavy demands of being a student and a varsity athlete, he also contributes in the university and wider Wolfville communities, volunteering in a number of capacities.
He serves as the co-president of the Acadia Players' Association and is actively involved with the S.M.I.L.E. program (Sensory Motor Instructional Learning Experience) as a leader and program buddy. Maaskant has volunteered his time to a number of fundraising and minor hockey events, including Acadia's Hearts on Ice which raises money for the Valley Cardiac Rehab Society and the Hannah Miller Memorial Tournament, which gives back to the local hockey community.
Maaskant is the first member of the Axemen to win the award.
Nominees
- CW: Adam Henry, Manitoba
- OUA: Brendan Jacome, Ottawa
- AUS: Liam Maaskant, Acadia (Winner)
FATHER GEORGE KEHOE MEMORIAL AWARD (Fox 40 Coach of the Year): Ryan Medel, Toronto
With now three years under his belt behind the bench, Medel guided the Blues to a program-best tying 21 wins this season. The native of Ruthven, Ont., helped U of T rise the ranks, going from an eighth-place result a year to a first-place finish in 2019-20.
Under his guidance, the Blues churned out a top-ranked power play (30.8 per cent), scored the most goals in the OUA and fourth-most nationally (125), and allowed the third fewest in the conference (71).
Medel is the second Varsity Blues coach to win the award and the first since former NHL coach Tom Watt, who took home the inaugural award in 1971.
"This award is a testament to Ryan's hard work and dedication to the restructuring and rebuilding of our men's hockey program," said Beth Ali, U of T's executive director of athletics and physical activity. "The team's success this season would not have been possible without Ryan and his staff's efforts and I'm glad it has not gone unnoticed across the country."
Nominees
- CW: Todd Johnson, Regina
- OUA: Ryan Medel, Toronto (Winner)
- AUS: Darren Burns, Acadia
JUSTICE JOE KANE AWARD (VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR): Neil Fraser, Host Organizing Committee
Neil Fraser began volunteering at sporting events in Halifax in 2003 as a Shift Supervisor of Access Control at the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship. He carried on this role for years to follow, assisting with the 2003 Tim Hortons Brier men's Curling Championship, the 2004 IIHF World Women's Hockey Championship, the 2005 Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings Men's and Women's Olympic Curling Trials. He has led the security team for several championships and sporting events in Halifax since.
Fraser began volunteering with U SPORTS Championships in 2015 and has been involved for the past five years of U SPORTS Hockey and Basketball Championships held in Halifax. Since 2008, he has led a group of returning volunteers who have assisted him at these events and attributes receiving this award to his experienced and dedicated team.
ALL-CANADIAN & ALL-ROOKIE TEAMS
| First Team All-Canadians | ||||||
| Pos. | First Name | Last Name | School | Elig. | Hometown | Program |
| F | Tyler | Boland | UNB | 3 | St. John's, NL | Recreation & Sports Studies |
| F | David | Thomson | Toronto | 2 | Vaughan, Ont. | Psychology/ Criminology |
| F | Grayson | Pawlenchuk | Alberta | 2 | Edmonton, Alta. | Business |
| D | Nikolas | Brouillard | McGill | 4 | St. Hilaire, Que. | Economics |
| D | Nick | Welsh | Saint Mary's | 2 | Halifax, N.S. | Commerce |
| G | Taran | Kozun | Saskatchewan | 3 | Nipawin, Sask. | Arts & Sciences |
| Second Team All-Canadians | ||||||
| Pos. | First Name | Last Name | School | Elig. | Hometown | Program |
| F | Mitchell | Balmas | Saint Mary's | 1 | Sydney, N.S. | Commerce |
| F | Matt | Alfaro | Calgary | 3 | Calgary, Alta. | Science |
| F | Chris | Paquette | RMC | 1 | Kingston, Ont. | Military Arts & Science |
| D | Adam | Henry | Manitoba | 5 | Winnipeg, Man. | Management |
| D | Owen | Headrick | UPEI | 4 | Garden River, Ont. | Arts |
| G | Logan | Flodell | Acadia | 2 | Regina, Sask. | Business Admin. |
| All-Rookie Team | ||||||
| Pos. | First Name | Last Name | School | Elig. | Hometown | Program |
| F | Mitchell | Balmas | Saint Mary's | 1 | Sydney, N.S. | Commerce |
| F | Chris | Paquette | RMC | 1 | Kingston, Ont. | Military Arts & Science |
| F | Jared | Dmytriw | Saskatchewan | 1 | Craven, Sask. | Business |
| D | Dawson | Davidson | Alberta | 1 | Moosomin, Sask. | Arts |
| D | Jordan | Sambrook | Brock | 1 | Markham, Ont. | Social Sciences |
| G | Samuel | Harvey | UNB | 1 | Alma, Que. | Business Admin. |