The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League has handed out its divisional awards for the 2021-2022 season.
Each division – the Sherwood, the Global Ag Risk Solutions, and the Viterra – recognized its respective Most Valuable Player, Top Forward, Top Defenceman, Top Goaltender, and Top Rookie over the past few weeks as voted on by the coaches.
Now, the Global Ag Risk Solutions Division.
SGEU Most Valuable Player / SaskTel Top Goaltender – Rayce Ramsay, Humboldt Broncos
The Directwest commitment to the University of Toronto of USports continues to add to his accolades after his remarkable season yielded an SJHL single-campaign record 41 wins, a feat the Saskatoon native was able to accomplish in 50 starts. Ramsay’s goals-against average of 1.98 and save percentage of .930 were tops in the league among true starters, and his minutes played were a full 388 more than his closest competitor.
A 2001-born goaltender, Ramsay broke into the league as a 17-year-old with the Broncos in the 18-19 SJHL season and would parlay that earned spot into a full season in the Western Hockey League in 19-20 with the Kamloops Blazers. The now-21-year-old elected to return to Humboldt for his final junior season and has not skipped a beat, helping to lead Humboldt to the No. 2 seed in the league and a Top 20 ranking in Canada throughout the campaign.
RBC Top Forward / Directwest Top Rookie – Connor McGrath, Humboldt Broncos
A Directwest commit to Ferris State University (NCAA Div 1) and listed as the 128th-ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting ahead of the 2022 National Hockey League draft, McGrath has been dominant this year from the start. The SJHL’s leading scorer with 84 points in 56 games, the 2003-born sniper had the two-longest point-scoring streaks during the regular campaign, with a 14-game heater from late November to mid-January, and a 12-gamer from late October to mid-November.
From LeRoy, SK, a town 20 minutes from Humboldt, McGrath was dealt from the Weyburn Red Wings to his near-hometown club in the last off-season. An alumnus of the Humboldt Broncos minor hockey system, he also spent time with the CSSHL’s Prairie Hockey Academy of Caronport, SK, and the Moose Jaw Warriors U18AAA in the Saskatchewan U18 provincial league.
McGrath’s 22 power-play assists and 33 power-play points were both tops in the league, while his points, assists, and game-winning goals totals were the most among SJHL rookies.
Mayfair Diagnostics Top Defenceman – Noah Barlage, Humboldt Broncos
A veteran of 124 SJHL games at the time of writing despite his 2003-birth year, Barlage has been central to the Broncos’ success all the years he has been in Humboldt. His 34 assists and 42 points were the most this regular season among Global Ag Risk Division-defenders, and second in the league as a whole.
A native of Humboldt, the local boy came up through the Broncos minor hockey system, spending a year in prep school at Prairie Hockey Academy in Caronport, SK in 2018-19, before returning home in 19-20. Originally a draft pick of the Kindersley Klippers, Barlage’s rights were acquired in exchange for fellow young star defenceman Michael Neumeier in June of 2018.
A 6-foot-2, 190-pound mobile right-shot defender, Barlage’s offensive game has exploded this campaign, up to 42 points from the nine he posted as a rookie two seasons ago.
