When the Moose Jaw Warriors held their annual Yara Awards night prior to their final game of the regular season on Saturday, one thing was for certain: Tristin Langan was going to put a few miles on his skates going from the bench to the awards presentation area.
And sure enough, the Tribe overager and league scoring title contender picked up four major awards during the ceremony, including the most coveted of all as the Warriors’ Player of the Year.
“It’s a special feeling to get Player of the Year, especially with all the great guys on the team who could have won it, but I couldn’t have done it without my linemates and teammates,” Langan said shortly after his three-point night gave him 53 goals and 113 points on the season, briefly moving him into a tie for the Western Hockey League scoring lead.
“They’re a great bunch of guys and they work hard as a team, and especially my linemates Justin Almeida and Brayden Tracey, I’ve played with them all year and I couldn’t have done it without them.”
Given how close Langan and Almeida were in the scoring race – Almeida would finish with 33 goals and 111 points – the duo shared the Top Scorer Award, while Langan also picked up the Three-Stars Award and won the Fan’s Choice Award.
Almeida picked up a second honour as he was named the Warriors’ Most Sportsmanlike Player after taking only 14 minutes in penalties all season.
Rookie defenceman Daemon Hunt’s hard work in the classroom at Vanier Collegiate saw him pick up the team’s Scholastic Player of the Year award, and the 16-year-old rearguard was also honoured for his work on the ice as the teams Most Improved Player.
Luke Ormsby received one of the teams’ most prestigious honours, picking up the Mark MacKay Hustle Award for his night-to-night, shift-to-shift effort on the ice.
The goaltending duo of Brodan Salmond and Adam Evanoff won the Cody Smuk Unsung Hero Award after their effort in the crease game in and game out gave the Tribe a chance to win every night.
Warriors second-year forward Tate Popple was honoured for his work off the ice with various charitable organizations with the team’s Humanitarian Award.
When it came to the Top Defenceman and Top Rookie awards, neither carried much controversy.
Montreal Canadiens top prospect and team captain Josh Brook was the team’s top rearguard, scoring 16 goals and 75 points with a plus-24 rating to lead all defencemen in scoring after catching Saskatoon’s Dawson Davidson on the final weekend of the season.
High scoring forward Brayden Tracey claimed Rookie of the Year honours after racking up 36 goals and 81 points to lead all first-year players in WHL scoring. His totals for the best for the Warriors dating back to the 1998-99 season when Jamie Lundmark put up 40 goals and 91 points.
