BROOKS, AB (February 13, 2019) – Three members of the CJHL-leading Brooks Bandits have been nominated for AJHL awards this season, the league announced today.
Forward and team leading scorer William Lemay (Marieville, QC) was nominated for Most Valuable Player, while goaltender Pierce Charleson (Aurora, ON) was nominated for Top Goaltender, and head coach and general manager Ryan Papaioannou (Calgary, AB) was nominated for Coach of the Year.
Lemay, 20, is the second-highest scoring player in the AJHL with 78 points (30 goals, 48 assists) in 52 games. The University of Vermont commit also ranks fourth in the league in goals and second in assists, behind only his teammate, rookie Bandit forward Ray Christy (St. Paul, MN). The last Bandit to win the MVP award was defenceman Cale Makar (Calgary, AB) in 2016-17.
Charleson, 18, has the third-lowest goals against average among qualified goalies in the AJHL at 2.25, its 8th-highest save percentage at .908, and has 10 more wins than any other league goalie, sporting a record of 37-2 while also playing the second-most minutes of any goaltender in the league. He would be the first Bandit player to win the award if he were selected.
Papaioannou has led the team to one of its best seasons ever, eclipsing the previous AJHL record for consecutive wins, leading the league in both offence and defence, and ranking first in power play and in the top three in penalty kill for most of the season. At +181, the Bandits sport a goal differential nearly twice as large as any other team in the league. He previously won the Coach of the Year award in 2012-13, which also led to his being named CJHL Coach of the Year.
The Bandits have also already clinched the Dave Duchak Trophy as AJHL Regular Season champions for the fourth time in franchise history.