Cam Maclise Named Finalist for 2013 CJHL MVP Award

The Canadian Junior Hockey League is pleased to announce the five finalists for the 2013 CJHL MVP award.  The MVP honour will be awarded to the player considered to have contributed most to his team’s success in the 2012-2013 regular season.  This will be the first time the award is presented on a national level and represents one of seven newly created CJHL awards.

The five finalists for the 2013 CJHL MVP Award are spread across the country and represent the AJHL, SJHL, OJHL, CCHL and LHJAAAQ.

Paul Jr. Bourbeau, Collège Français de Longueuil, LHJAAAQ (39 GP, 30 W, 6L, 4 SO, .910 SV%, 2.42 GAA)
Paul Jr. Bourbeau was awarded LHJAAAQ Player of the Year.  During the 2012-2013 regular season, Bourbeau led the league in all goaltending departments and received trophies for best goals against average, most wins, most shutouts and best save percentage.  He was also selected to the LHJAAAQ All-Star Team.

Tyler Gjurich, Buffalo Jr. Sabres, OJHL (53 GP, 53 G, 44 A, 97 PTS)
Tyler Gjurich was the only OJHL player to reach the 50-goal mark, while also leading the league with 97 points. Gjurich was member of the OJHL West Division All-Stars that competed at the 2012 Central Canada Cup All-Star Challenge and he was named an OJHL 1st Team All-Star, as well as winning the OJHL Top Scorer and Rookie of the Year Awards. Gjurich has committed to University of Maine Black Bears.

Cam Maclise, Brooks Bandits, AJHL (59 GP, 27 G, 56 A, 83 PTS)
Forward Cam Maclise scored a league leading 6 game winning goals for the Brook Bandits and his 56 assists led the Alberta Junior Hockey League in the regular season.  Maclise was the sole unanimous selection to the 2012-2013 AJHL South Division All League team.

Michael Pontarelli, Cornwall Colts, CCHL (53 GP, 52 G, 55 A, 107 PTS)
Michael Pontarelli had an outstanding inaugural year of junior hockey as an Associate Captain of the Cornwall Colts. Pontarelli was the 2012-2013 scoring champion with 107 points, including tallying 50 goals and 50 assists in 50 games.  He was a unanimous choice for CCHL MVP and the CCHL Sportsmanship and Ability Award. Pontarelli has committed to Union College.

Alex Wakaluk, Melville Millionaires, SJHL (46 GP, 28 W, 15 L, 3 SOL, 5 SO, 2.32 GAA, .930 SV%)
Alex Wakaluk led all goalies in wins and was second in both minutes played and shutouts. Wakaluk faced more rubber than any other goalie in the SJHL, seeing an average of well over 32 shots a night.

Congratulations to the following honourable mentions for the CJHL MVP Award:

  • Mike Dietrich, Minnesota Wilderness, SIJHL
  • Mitch Gillam, Chilliwack Chiefs, BCHL
  • Darcy  Haines, Sudbury Nickel Barons, NOJHL
  • Mitch Maynard, Summerside Western Capitals, MHL
  • Guillaume Naud, Dauphin Kings, MJHL

 

In February 2013, the Canadian Junior Hockey League announced that it will recognize the best Junior A talent from across all 10 Junior A leagues with a new suite of national awards.  The new CJHL awards include Most Valuable Player, Top Forward, Top Defenceman, Top Goaltender and Rookie of the Year.   Every Junior A league in the CJHL has submitted a nominee for each award and the winner will be chosen from among those 10 national nominees.

The finalists for all CJHL player awards have been announced over the past week and an announcement of the award winners will be made during the week of May 6th-10th.