Award winners were voted on by Coaches and Media across the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
SGEU MVP and Sasktel Goaltender of the Year: Matthew Kieper, Flin Flon Bombers
Kieper’s campaign in Flin Flon has been nearly flawless since his early November arrival. The 20-year-old took 17 games to lose in regulation and only did it twice all season while leading qualified goaltenders in goals-against-average by a remarkable .21 and save percentage by nine points. A native of Winnipeg, MB, he represented the SJHL at the SJHL/MJHL Showcase in his hometown in January and was the SaskTel Goaltender of the Month twice this campaign. The last time one player won both the MVP and Goaltender of the Year was in 2021-22 when Humboldt’s Rayce Ramsay earned the honour.
Bourgault Forward of the Year: Jaron Desnoyers, Yorkton Terriers
Desnoyers, the Terriers captain, has been unstoppable from start to finish this season. He finished first in assists, second in points, second in game-winning goals, third in short-handed goals, and earned a plus/minus of +18 while averaging just under 20 minutes per game. He has thrived in all situations for Emery Olauson’s club and has been a massive reason for the Terriers’ terrific resurgent campaign.
SuperU Defenceman of the Year: Nicholas Andrusiak, Melfort Mustangs
Andrusiak is part of a very deep Mustangs defence corps, so it says a lot that his coach, Trevor Blevins, still found it necessary to play the all-around superstar defender 24:25 per game. His points have been consistent, but he and his partner Ty Thornton have been the best pairing in the league all year, and it shows through with Andrusiak’s +23 rating.
IKS Media Rookie of the Year: Max Chakrabarti, Weyburn Red Wings
Weyburn’s superstar blue liner Chakrabarti could easily have won Defenceman of the Year as well, as he led all SJHL defenders with 50 points and all players with 25 power-play assists. Fresh out of dominating B.C. Junior B a season ago, the only question about the tall, rangy blue liner was whether his tools would translate to the SJHL; the answer has been resounding and consistent all season.
SJHL Sportsmanlike Player of the Year: Jadon Iyogun, Melville Millionaires
Iyogun is a Tennessee State NCAA Division I commit, and given the volume of minutes and the importance of his role with the Mils, the fact he only had two penalty minutes all campaign while playing for a hard-nosed coach like Doug Johnson is nothing short of remarkable. How often does a star player have more short-handed goals (three) than penalty minutes? It’s hard to imagine it happens very often. To go a step further, nobody has had more shorthanded goals over the last two seasons combined than Iyogun’s eight, so the fact he has very rarely been in the box himself has paid enormous dividends for Melville.
SCSA Coach of the Year: Trevor Blevins, Melfort Mustangs
The Mustangs showed no hangover from last year’s epic run to the Centennial Cup National Championship game, and the standard that the long-time Melfort coach Blevins holds his team to has much to do with it. He has again put together a loaded, experienced team and guided them to a level of consistency this season in all areas of the ice, only rarely seen in any hockey league. His team heads into the playoffs as the No. 1 seed, has the No. 1 power play and penalty kill, and a goal differential of +98, 22 goals better than the No. 2 team.
Canterra Seeds Saskatchewan Player of the Year: Rylan Silzer of Swift Current, SK, La Ronge Ice Wolves
On a team that had to fight for a post-season spot all season long, the Wolves’ captain was a model of consistency, as he finished third among SJHL defenceman in points and averaged 25:15 minutes per game. He averaged just under two shot blocks per game, the second most in the league.
SJHL Scoring Champion: Reilley Kotai, Melfort Mustangs
