THE WLUHL12 AWARDS PAGE

BRAMPTON, Ontario - For the first time ever, the WLUHL awards ceremony took place in the
city of Brampton. Many people believe the reason for this is so that the WLUHL
Commissioner himself could fit the awards banquet into his schedule, but other's believe
it is because he is a frequent visitor of HOOTERS! and thus was able to get a good deal on
the babes! Err... I mean, the place.

    With that being said, this ceremony,  unlike that of the past, was kept kinda low and
quiet, not to track much attention from the usual stars who attend such a deal. However,
they were able to get Leaf great Wendle Clark out to attend, as well as Ex Philly great
Ron Hextall who stated that he nevers turns down a Hooter girl! Err... gig!

    With the usual funny remarks all said and done, let's get to what you guys all wanted
to see and hear about... who won the awards this year! The balloting for some awards was
close while others were not even close at all... let's take a look!


HART TROPHY:
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    This year, the winner of the Trophy was extremely easy to pick. With 12 out of the 14
possible votes, including 10 of 14 first place votes, Sergei Fedorov of the Screech was
the clear winner. Fedorov not only guided the team to an incredible regular season, he was
the main driving force behind the Screech winning the WLUHL cup this year. Without him,
the Screech seem to stumble so with 46 goals and 49 assists, a total of 95 points, it is
no wonder Sergei is this years Hart Trophy winner.

    - Runner Up is Markus Naslund with 8 votes, including 6 second place votes.

CONN SMYTH:
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    This year, the winner of the Conn Smyth award was a tough decision. If we could, we
would have a tie, but in hockey folks, there is never a tie, so a winner had to be chosen.
With two players, both on the Cup Winning Screech having amazing post seasons, it was hard
to choose... but without a doubt, game in and game out, Sergei Fedorov was the teams
leader. Within him the lineup, the Screech were 15-2... without him, they were 1-2
including the total shut down of the teams top goall scorer Patrick Elias. Fedorov was the
player that made everything happen from the Screech and thus, because of that, Sergei
Fedorov is this years Conn Smyth Winner.

    - Runner Up is Sean Burke of the Screech.

NORRIS TROPHY:
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    The Norris Trophy is one of the hardest awards for GM's to vote on. Do you give the
award to the top point getter? To the best Plus/Minus? To guy with the most Hits? In this
case, well, I guess it did go to the best defenseman! This years race was tight right up
to the end, with the final vote deciding this years winner. Grabbing 11 of a possible 14
votes, getting 3 first place votes (2nd most first place votes for this category) and 5
second place votes, the winner of this years Norris Trophy, from the Screech as well,
Niklas Lidstrom. With 44 pointsin 62 games, including 37 assists, this defenceman was the
pillar that kept the walls from crumbling down in the defensive zone and he was definately
one of the best d-men in the league this year.

    - Runner Up is Brian Leetch 9 of a possible 14 votes, including 4 first place votes.

VEZINA TROPHY:
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    The Vezina Trophy is an award that many people argue is for the team and not the
goalie, as it is the play in front of the goalie that will make or break him. I agree...
but, if you do not have a good goalie, it doesn't matter what happens up front because
once the other team get's the puck, the red light will be on! This year, there was tough
competition in both the American and Canadian Conferences, however, when it came right
down to it, the GM's voted and made their selection a very easy one. Receiving 8 out of a
possible 14 first place, Manny Fernandez of the Pinkerton Pylons is this years Vezina
trophy winner. Posting an impressive 1.94 Goals Against Average, .924 Save Percentage and
getting 7 shut outs, Fernandez showed day in and day out that he was one of the, if not
the top goalie in the WLUHL this past season.

    - Runner Up is Dominik Hasek of the Dogs who received 8 out of a possible 14 votes.

LADY BING:
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    The Lady Bing Trophy is not a trophy that a lot of men would go around and brag about
winning... being the most gentlemanly player? Come on now... that's not real hockey! But
when you look at the names that are on that trophy, boys and girls, you better brag
because you are in with some elite company. This year, the crop of men who had a chance of
getting their name put on this trophy was great. However, only one man could bring it
home. Putting together a very quiet season, Simon Gagne of the Resevoir Dogs played in 60
games, had 22 goals, 22 assists and a miniscule 6 PIM. For that, he received 4 first place
votes, 3 second place votes and 1 third place vote and with that being said, he is this
years winner of the Lady Bing Trophy.

    - Runner Up is Joe Sakic of the SLaSH who received 6 votes, including 3 first place
votes.


SELKE TROPHY:
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    The Selke Trophy is not awarded to the Bure's and Jagr's of the league... it is
awarded to those people who fight hard at both end of the rinks and who's compass works
completely and not just going south if you know what I mean! This year, we saw some
familiar names on the ballot for this award, and some names that were not so familiar.
However, the competition for this award really wasn't close as Mike Sillinger from the
Kitchener Terriers grabbed 8 of the possible 14 first place votes and was the clear winner
of this award. Sillinger had the duty of checking the oppositions best players and
stepping up when the wingers slacked off and forgot what their own defensive end looked
liked like.

    - Runner Up is Magnus Arvedson of the Lawmakers who received 6 second place votes.

GOLDEN GLOVES:
===============
    The Golden Gloves award is something that you have to work to get! Trust me! This
award isn't like that Lady Bing award... this one... is all blood and guts! Just ask any
of the past winners or any of this years nominees! If they didn't lay it all on the line,
they wouldn't have been nominated this year! These guys take nothing from nobody and they
are a crowd that you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley way! That's for sure! This
years winner, well, let's just say there are more guys who hate him then like him and he
has taken out more knees in the league then any other player... and with a total of 228
PIM, he definately ticked off a couple people this past year! From the Wisconsin Melted
Ice, this years Golden Gloves winner is Bryan Marchment.

    - Runner Up is Steve McKenna from the Voodoo with a total of 8 votes, including 2
first place votes.

SCOTTY BOWMAN:
================
    The Scotty Bowman awards goes out to that GM/Coach who was able to compete and put out
the best possible team on and off the ice that he could. Through trades, drafting and free
agency, this GM/Coach did it all and bring fans into the arena and made the game of hockey
an exciting time out for his friends, fans and family. This year, the man who will be
taking this award home did that... but did that in the big way. Not only did Chris Millar
dominate the regular season, he kept the train rolling throughout the playoffs, destroying
the opposition to bring home the WLUHL Stumpy Cup. Chris grabbed 9 first place votes and
through his drafting, trades and ability to manipulate his lines, he was clearly the top
of the class in the WLUHL this year. Congrats Chris.

    - Runner Up is Sean Palmer of the Lawmakers who grabbed 7 votes, including 2 first
place votes..


DON CHERRY AWARD OF EXCELLENCE:
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    This year, the Don Cherry Award of Excellence goes to a GM that has been part of the
WLUHL for a while now. We hear a lot of him through his press releases... but in terms of
what his team does on the ice, well, let's just say there isn't much room for boasting
there! All kidding aside, Richard Farley has been part of the WLUHL for a number of
seasons and through his press releases and money crunching style of managing his team, he
given a lot to the league and provided a lot of laughs. Richard is always one of the first
people to respond to league issues, always willing to help out or ask if I need any help,
always there to try to make the league a more fun and exciting place. Thus, this years Don
Cherry Award of Excellence will be given to Richard Farley of the California Sea Lions.