BROOKS, AB (February 16, 2017) – Brooks Bandits defenceman Cale Makar (Calgary, AB) and forward Oliver Chau (Oakville, ON) have been nominated for 2016-17 Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) awards, it was announced today.
Makar, 18, has been nominated for the Alberta Old Time Hockey Players Trophy as the league’s Most Valuable Player, as well as the W.G. Scott Memorial Trophy as the league’s Outstanding Defenceman.
Chau, 19, is nominated for the Dick White Trophy as the league’s Rookie of the Year.
Makar currently leads all AJHL defencemen in scoring with 58 points (17 goals, 41 assists), and is 11th overall in the league scoring race. He is rated as a potential first-round NHL draft pick by Central Scouting and won the Dick White Trophy as league Rookie of the Year last season.
Were he to win MVP, he would be the third Bandit to win, after Cam Maclise in 2012-13 and Jarret Granberg in 2008-09. If he were to win Outstanding Defenceman, he would be the second Bandit to win the award, after Linden Springer in 2014-15.
Chau currently leads all AJHL rookies in scoring with 72 points (29 goals, 43 assists). He is third overall in the league scoring race, second in goal scoring, and fourth in assists, with a league-high 17 power play goals as well.
Were Chau to win the Dick White Trophy, it would be the second consecutive year with a Bandit winning the award, after Makar last season, and the third time a Bandit would have won the award, the first being Anthony Petruzzelli in 2011-12.
Also expected to be considered for league awards were goaltender Mitch Benson (Windsor, ON) for Top Goaltender and head coach Ryan Papaioannou for Coach of the Year. Benson leads the AJHL in wins with 31, goals against average at 1.68, and save percentage at .931, and is on pace to record the 5th-best GAA and 6th-best save percentage in league history, while Papaioannou is on pace for his team to record 50 wins, which would be the 5th-most in league history. Neither was nominated.
The winners will be announced prior to the end of the 2016-17 regular season.