My unsung hero of these playoffs is Michael Boychuk. Sure, he's being helped out by star rookie Roman Augustus and Connor O'Reilly, but he's doing this whole defenseman thing in style. He's not going to immediately stick out to anyone as MVP because he's sitting behind the dominant Randy Randleman and Joe Kurczewski in points, but he's playing a defensive game and still has managed to put up 19 points in 15 games. While doing this, he's also managed to stay positive. Not emotionally, but on the ice. He's a plus 13, which is crazy when you think of the competition he is seeing on the ice night in and night out. He's definitely an offensive defenseman, as he's only put down 17 hits, but lays his body on the line with a team leading 31 shot blocks. Without Boychuk on the ice, this is a different team, and the results are a lot different.





When it comes to rookies making a name for themselves in the finals, we look to none other than Calgary Dragons defenseman Roman Augustus. Playing on the back end, he's still found a way to put up NINE assists in his rookie season, in just 15 games played. While he's not an all star right yet, he's putting up respectable plus minus numbers, with only a negative one. For playing against a high scoring team like Manhattan, this is important. He's played a lot of minutes in those 15 games, notching 328 minutes, with 43 of those being on the penalty kill. Having 9 assists and staying at a –1 is astonishing. While Randleman, Kurczewski and Boychuk are taking care of the scoring, he's making sure the back end stays tight and solid. He's definitely going to be a key piece in the future of the Dragons organization, and will likely be a cornerstone they build around when Randleman leaves, and Boychuk is forced to retire.