HabsWorld.net --
With the conclusion of the 2004-2005 season, Habsworld.net has put together various awards in several categories, including fastest skater, most improved, hardest shot, top rookie season as well as several others. Several of the Canadiens prospects enjoyed career years, such as Chris Higgins, Mikhail Grabovsky, Greg Stewart, Alex Perezhogin, Andrew Archer, Duncan Milroy, Ryan O’Byrne, while rookies Yann Danis, Corey Locke, Andrei Kostitsyn and J T Wyman, enjoyed success in their rookie year.
Most Improved
Winner- Greg Stewart
Runner Up- Andrew Archer
Greg Stewart enjoyed a very successful sophomore season in the OHL, as he worked his way onto the top lines this year and set career highs in his offensive production, as well as continuing to play his high energy, physical type of game.
Andrew Archer saw limited ice time in his rookie season with Hamilton last year, but showed a great deal of improvement as he saw regular ice time and was a solid addition of the defense, as he plays a very safe defensive game.
Fastest Skater
Winner- Mikhail Grabovsky
Runner Up- Alex Perezhogin
Grabovsky gets the fastest skater award based on his top end speed, and very quick acceleration. It doesn’t take much for Grabovsky to hit the high gear, as he can reach top speed in only a few strides.
Perezhogin is the runner up as he doesn’t have breakaway speed, but he can kick it into high gear and his speed is one of his better assets which aids him on the PK.
Hardest worker
Winner- Chris Higgins
Runner up- Kyle Chipchura, Maxime Lapierre, J-P Cote
Higgins gets the hardest working player award for his efforts on the ice at all times. One things for sure, when Higgins is on the ice, you can count on him giving a great effort night in and night out.
Chipchura is a co-runner up as he has displayed a great work effort on the ice as he consistently gives it his all. Also a runner up for the award, Maxime Lapierre is another hard working player that always gives 110%. Although more players could be considered, J-P Cote rounds out the co-runner up as he also will give it his all every time he hits the ice.
Rookie of the Year
Winner- Yann Danis
Runner Up- Corey Locke
Danis gets the rookie of the year award for his outstanding play this for the Hamilton Bulldogs, as he was one of the top rookie goalies in the league. Without Danis the Dogs would not have made the playoffs, as he was often Hamilton’s best player.
Locke was able to show that his great career in the OHL was not a fluke as he was one of the top scorers in the AHL this year, despite the higher level of competition. Locke did run out of steam towards the end, but was able to hold on as Jaroslav Halak was right up with him with a successful rookie year as well.
Hardest Shot
Winner- Andrei Kostitsyn
Runner Up- Ron Hainsey
Kostitsyn can hammer the puck as he has a rile of a shot, just needs to shoot that cannon more and with better accuracy.
Hainsey isn’t called rocket ron for no reason, as he also has a cannon of shot that can cause goalies trouble.
Most Physical Player
Winner- Ryan O’Byrne
Runner Up- Alexi Emelin, Greg Stewart
O’Byrne will crush you into the boards if you give him the chance, as he not only loves to take the body, but seems to enjoy inflicting pain on his oppenents as the mixture of speed and size cause players to be wary of him when he’s on the ice.
Emelin isn’t he biggest guy but it appears his favorite place on the ice is the penalty box as he can often be found in the box. He racked up an impressive 198 pims in the Russian High league as a 17 year old, in less then 60 games. Stewart is known for his physical play as he consistently takes the body as his speed helps him layout players.
Best Playmaker
Winner- Corey Locke
Runner Up- Tomas Plekance
Locke can slow the play down to his pace, and can make passes most players can only dream of.
Plekanec has the vision and offensive instincts to find the open man as he can thread the needle.
Top Defensive Defensemen
Winner- J-P Cote
Runner Up- Andrew Archer
Cote gets the top defense award as he had another strong season for Hamilton and showed he was a solid free agent signing as he is now the career leader in plus minus for Hamilton with an impressive +40
Archer edges out O’Byrne and Korpikari (who missed most of the season) as he was one of the more sturdy blueliners this year. Not flashy but he plays a smart safe game in his own end.
Top Offensive Defensemen
Winner- Ron Hainsey
Runner Up- James Sanford
Hainsey gets the top offensive defensemen award as he set a career high in goals with nine and also became the Bulldogs top scoring defensmen in the teams history. Hainsey can make teams pay for mistakes as he can make things happen on the PP.
Sanford enjoyed a solid rookie year in the ECHL, where he led his team in scoring for defensemen and earned a spot in the ECHL playoffs, but never played as he got the call to Hamilton and never looked back. Sanford also showed he can put the puck in the net on the shootout as he deadly accurate scoring every time he had the chance.
Top Defensive Forward
Winner- Chris Higgins
Runner Up- Christian Larrivee
Higgins can not only score goals but he is also excellent in his own end, as he always works hard, puts himself in great position and has the skating/foot speed to make up ground on the opposition.
Larrivee works hard on the ice and can use his long reach to knock down passes or block passing lanes as well as using his big frame to tie up players.
Top Offensive Forward
Winner- Alex Perezhogin
Runner Up- Tomas Plekanec, Mikhail Grabovsky
Perezhogin enjoyed a career year as he was in the top twenty in league scoring despite missing a small chunk of the season to settle his legal troubles. One things for sure, Perezhogin can create offense as he knows how to put the puck in the back of the net.
Plekanec once again showed he’s a highly skilled player as he led the Bulldogs in scoring once again and beat out Higgins for the team lead in goals. Grabovsky also enjoyed a career year and was around the top ten in league scoring, despite being the second youngest player on the team and having inexperienced linemates.
Most Flashy Player
Winner- Andrei Kostitsyn
Runner Up- Alex Perezhogin
Kostitsyn can dazzle fans with his amazing stick handling and impressive moves as he can deke defensemen out of their drawers. Not only can he dangle but when he’s shooting the puck, look out, as he can fire it with the best of them and he can also setup plays with passes that most players wouldn’t even think of attempting.
Perezhogin is right there with Kostitsyn as he can also dangle, dip and dazzle, as his speed and skating make him a tough player to defend against. Not only can he stickhandle in a phone booth, but he can also fire the puck, as he has the ability to put the puck in the net.
Top Prospect per league
WHL- Kyle Chipchura
OHL- Mark Flood
QMJHL- Jaroslav Halak
NCAA- Ryan O’Byrne
ECHL- Matt Shasby
AHL- Chris Higgins/Tomas Plekanec/Yann Danis
RSL- Mikhail Grabovsky/Alex Perezhogin
FNL- Oskari Korpikari
Sweden- Christopher Heino-Lindberg
Czech Republic- Tomas Linhart
