After taking a long break from the hockey world following his retirement, ex SHL champion, Brandon Donini has returned to the game this year. He has offered his services as agent to star SHL prospect Lallo Selman as well as taken on a role with the SHL awards committee. Following last night's controversial SHL awards ceremony, Donini has agreed to join us here on the SHL network in an effort to increase the transparency of the new SHL awards committee. He has come on to reveal and discuss his three nominations for each award as well as his final votes for every award and any comments he had on nominations and results of each award. Additionally, he got a couple other members of the committee; Former Blizzard GM Nikolaus Scholz and SHL Hall of Famer Lord Pretty Flacko to join us and discuss some of the more controversial awards of the show like the Ron Mexico Award, the Aidan Richan award, the Jef Dar award and the inaugural Bojo Biscuit award.


Former star power forward Brandon Donini arriving at the S46 SHL Award Show.

Ron Mexico Award (League MVP)
1. Terrance Nova  - Minnesota's first line was out of this world this season and was what made an otherwise average team finish at the top of the conference. Terrance Nova was arguably the biggest part of that playing centre on that line and winning 55.67% of his faceoffs to go along with a CF% of 54.82 making him indispensable to that line in terms of gaining and keeping possession. Nova led the league in points with 75, 30 of which were goals. Nova was also a big part of Minnesota's special teams scoring 33 power play points in 144 minutes and playing 99 minutes on the penalty kill for Minnesota. 

2. Benjamin Blue  - Blue put up some of the best numbers amongst all goalies in the league with a league leading .919 Sv% despite having the league's heaviest workload, facing 1475 shots. Blue's 10.41 point shares make him one of the biggest reasons that a team which on paper is probably the worst in the league ended up making the playoffs.
 
3. Luke Atmey  -  Atmey finished 8th in league scoring with 55 points despite having very little support on an expansion team sitting near the bottom of the league. Atmey's individual points percentage of 84.6 is outstanding and the fact that 47 of his 55 points were primary points is also extremely impressive. Atmey's contributions were more than just offensive as he had 154 hits and 20 blocks while also being counted on for 119 penalty kill minutes making him a star player for the Syndicate at both ends of the ice.

NB: I recognize how outstanding the Chiefs' 1st line's season was and how much Watson/Skillstedt deserve some sort of recognition but I just can't justify nominating a player as the league's MVP if I don't even have him as his own team's MVP.

Final Vote:

1. Terrance Nova
2. Bobby Watson
3. Dick Skillstedt

Comments: 

Donini Wrote:Wow ok, where do I start with this one? I don't agree with these nominees at all. I really don't think that there should be more than one player nominated for an MVP award from the same team, it doesn't make sense to me how someone who isn't the MVP of their team could be nominated to be MVP of the league. I feel like Benjamin Blue was really deserving of a nomination for this award given the phenomenal season he had and given how weak the team he played for is. For him to carry them on his back like that and take them into the playoffs was pretty exceptional. From these three nominees, Nova is the easy choice for me. As I explained in my nominations, I think Nova is the reason that that line was as good as it was and so it would be shocking for anyone other than Nova to take home the Mexico.

Flacko Wrote:I was definitely in the camp that either Nova or Marius should win, with a slight nod to Nova. The three nominees all being on that Chiefs line... I get it but at the same time I definitely don't agree with it. I really wish Marius was at least able to be a nominee because I think he and Nova are really the two obvious choices.

Scholz Wrote:Nova, Watson, Cuddles - two of my nominations were part of the consensus and made it through to the voting stage and for obvious reasons, they killed it. I think Cuddles was overlooked though. He led his team is goals, assists, points, rating and hits. The highest point producer in the league not associated with the Chiefs, he logged almost 4 minutes less per game than the big 3. Point share wise he's right up there too at #5.

John McBride Award (Best Goaltender)
1. Benjamin Blue  - Had the league's highest Sv% while also facing the most shots of any goalie in the league. Blue had his work cut out for him on a very weak team and delivered, making him a huge part of why the Barracuda made the playoffs at all with his incredible 10.41 point shares.

2. Aleister Cain  - Could have easily taken the first spot over Blue, put up incredible numbers in his first season as a starter with the best GAA, 2nd best Sv%, most shutouts and 2nd most wins in the league. A huge part of the Specters' success this season.

3. Kata Vilde  - Put up great numbers in Sv% and GAA while facing the second most shots in the league. Vilde also had the 2nd most points share of any goalie at 9.57 making him crucial to the Dragons.

Final Vote:

1. Benjamin Blue
2. Aleister Cain
3. Kata Vilde

Comments: 

Donini Wrote:This award is interesting because both Cain and Boucher had exceptional seasons. For me the big difference maker here was Boucher's point shares, for a player to have point shares that much shows how well he played and how much his good play impacted his team. Cain had a very good season too though and is also very deserving of the award, for me Blue just edges it a little bit.

Scott Stevens Award (Best Defenceman)
1. Ludwig Koch Schroder  - Had the 2nd most total point shares of any defenseman in the league and impressively had almost perfectly equal offensive and defensive point shares making him the perfect all around defenseman. Schroder led defensemen in scoring with 48 points and also had great defensive numbers with 80 blocked shots, 1015 steals and 112 hits. His possession metrics were also impressive with a 52.35 Corsi For%.

2. Jon Toner  - His defensive point shares could make him a best defensive defenseman contender but it's impossible to ignore his offensive point shares which are also fairly high, enough to give him the highest point share amongst defensemen. Toner's offensive numbers are not as good as those of some other defensemen but are still good enough to show that he was able to contribute all around with 41 points and 10 ppp. Toner was great for LA defensively with 120 hits, 68 blocked shots and 885 steals while being trusted with 106 minutes on the PK. 

3. Tatu Makela  - The best defenseman on the league's best team, Makela put up 42 points and had great possession numbers with a 52.07 CF%. Makela had great defensive point shares which were backed up by his numbers with 139 hits, 73 blocks and 912 steals.

Final Vote:

1. Ludwig Koch Schroder
2. Jon Toner
3. Tatu Makela

Comments:

Donini Wrote:No surprises in this award for me, all 3 players I chose ended up being on the nominations list and the winner should be Ludwig Koch Schroder in a landslide. He was outstanding all over the ice this season, easily the league's best defenseman and he'll finally win the award that's alluded him for so long.

Ryan Jesster Award (Best Rookie)
1. Barret McCarthy  - Tied for rookie scoring as a defenseman while still putting up excellent defensive numbers with 70 hits and 63 blocks while putting up solid total point shares for a rookie with 3.45 point shares.

2. Cedric Robinson  - Robinson put up excellent numbers for a rookie goalie, with 4 shutouts, a .911 Sv% and a 2.61 GAA while grabbing 24 wins. Many would argue that he benefitted from playing on a very good Buffalo team but his 7.91 point shares say otherwise.
 
3. David Fantobens  - Fantobens finished tied for the lead in rookie scoring and played a key role in helping a weak Barracuda team get to the playoffs. Fantobens put up 2.16 offensive point shares and had a solid 67.4 individual points percentage making him a dangerous rookie in the offensive zone.

Final Vote:

1. Barret McCarthy
2. Cedric Robinson
3. Mika Mayfield

Comments: 

Donini Wrote:This is another one for me that's similar to the Mexico case where I don't exactly agree with two players from the same team being nominated, although they do play two different positions so it is more acceptable. I still believe that Fantobens had a better season than Mayfield and should've been there but regardless neither of them would've won as this one was close for me between McCarthy and Robinson. In the end, I think McCarthy just edges it out as his season as a rookie defender was pretty outstanding. The underlying numbers here really make the case for McCarthy giving him just a narrow edge in this one. Robinson also had a very good defense in front of him making his work load a little easier.

Jeff Dar Award (Best Two-Way Forward)
1. Viktor Marius  - Marius led the league in hits with 221 and put up great offensive numbers as well for 59 points. He was relied on for the penalty kill with 110 pkm and added 14 blocks. Marius had excellent possession metrics with a 55.55 CF% and also had strong defensive point shares for a forward with 1.83 dps.

2. Bobby Watson  - Watson was one of the league's best players offensively with an impressive 74 points and also did really well defensively with 24 blocks and 96 hits. Watson's 2.06 defensive point shares were 3rd best amongst forwards in the league and his 54.87 CF% made him a strong player on the puck as well.

3. Sophia Bennett  - Bennett led her team in scoring with 49 points and put up great defensive numbers with 169 hits and 10 blocked shots, with 96 minutes on the penalty kill. Bennett was amongst the best forwards in defensive point shares with her 1.91 dps.

Final Vote:

1. Viktor Marius
2. Mike Izzy
3. Teddy Cuddles

Comments: 

Donini Wrote:This award means a lot to me, it's one that I won twice in a row in my career with 4 straight nominations. It was important to me that the winner of this award is the most deserving power forward in the league and I think that that's exactly what Marius is and he should win the Dar easily. As far as the nominees go, it was close for me as a final nomination between Mike Izzy and Sophia Bennett so seeing him on the final nominees list is no surprise. I don't, however, think that Teddy Cuddles is the most deserving final nominee and it wouldn't be a surprise to me if he doesn't come close to winning.

Flacko Wrote:This is one that I saw as a one man show. No player came close to the two-way play exhibited by Marius and to give anyone else this award would be an absolute crime.

Scholz Wrote:Marius, Phelps, Augustus - Only 1 of my guys made it through this time. Arguably the most contested award in this league, we always struggle to define "two-way" play. Once again Marius was my favorite. league wide he was #5 in points, #1 in hits. #3 in steals (by a forward) and #3 in CF%. The rest of the group went with the staple nominations in Izzy and Cuddles, but I had to give a nod to Phelps this season. He was one of just 4 players to score 50 points and over 100 hits, and he's the only one to do it as a center. His 55.30% win percentage at the dot is top 10 as well. Digging in to advanced stats in CF% is one of the best in the league (top 10%). His steals and steals to turnover ratio aren't as spectacular though. Just under a point per game, Augustus led his team in scoring, had the best forward rating on the team and was third in hits. His CF% was sparkling, but his steals total and steals to turnover ratio weren't as good as any of the names mentioned above.

Bojo Biscuit (Best Defensive Defenseman)
1. Toivo Kosonen  - While not being the biggest hitter, Kosonen was still top 15 in the league in blocked shots, top 10 in steals and played the 3rd most penalty kill minutes out of any defenseman in the league on what was the league's 2nd ranked penalty kill. Was very disciplined having taken only 6 pim. He also had the league's highest defensive points share.

2. Richard Physt  - A very physical defenseman with 139 hits, Physt also had respectable numbers in blocked shots and played a solid 121 minutes on the penalty kill. His 828 steals are impressive and even more impressive are the low amount of giveaways he had given his high amount of ice time Physt only caused 610 turnovers giving him an amazing 1.36 STL/TO ratio. Was also 2nd in the league in defensive point shares. 

3. Geoff Moore  - Possibly one of the purest defensive defensemen in the league, Moore had the 6th highest defensive point shares while only having 0.256 offensive point shares. Moore is not an overly aggressive defender with only 16 hits but his other defensive numbers are strong as he put up 73 blocked shots and 887 steals. A very impressive 1.33 STL/TO ratio and a respectable 112 minutes on the penalty kill.

Final Vote:

1. Toivo Kosonen
2. Poopity Scoop
3. Ludwig Koch Schroder

Comments: 

Donini Wrote:This was an interesting one for me, I feel because it's a new award and there isn't much of a standard for it yet that the field was really wide open and it reflected in the nominees. After seeing the final nominee list, I see that Scoop had a really strong case for the award but I think Kosonen was just a level above which is why I went with him first. It is close between the two though. Got Schroder last as I don't really agree with the same player being nominated for best defensive defenseman and best all around defenseman, kind of defeats the purpose of adding this award.

Flacko Wrote:I relied a lot on the possession and takeaway metrics along with hits and shot blocks. I definitely used CF% and takeaways as a qualifier... I think around 52.5% and then I tried to pinpoint guys with takeaways at least a bit above average. Ultimately, as much as I feel a bit weird about it, Poopity Scoop was a clear standout in all these defensive metrics. I'm a bit disappointed guys like Bob Bergen and Nate Emerson didn't get more love... Bergen imo was criminally underrated. I think he was MVP caliber with his all around play.

Scholz Wrote:Kosonen, Scoop, Walker - Again two of my nominations made it through to voting so I wasn't too upset here. I feel Scoop is the runaway favorite, given that all his numbers are the same as Kosenen except he actually hits too. Walker was my darkhorse in this one and only received the one nomination. I was a little shocked since he led the league in blocks, had more steals than Kosonen and Scoop, and a very nice 1.23 steals to turnover ratio. Again not as physical as Scoop though.

Aidan Richan Award (Most Improved Player)
1. Aleister Cain  - Cain went from a backup for the Blizzard to a starter for the Specters and instantly became one of the best starters in the league. A technicality kept him out of the running for a well deserved Jesster award but with the 2nd best Sv%, 2nd most wins, most shutouts and best GAA in the league in his first season as a starter, Cain is undoubtedly the league's breakout player of the year.

2. Dick Skillstedt  - Having never passed 40 points in any of his 7 previous SHL seasons, Skillstedt was part of a line that absolutely blew the league out of the water this season and he almost doubled his career high in points picking up 71 points. Skillstedt went from being a good forward to being one of the league's elite offensive threats in what has been an incredible season for him.

3. Viktor Marius  - Another player who always had good but not great numbers, Marius finished 5th in overall scoring with 59 points and put up over 200 hits, allowing him to breakout as one of the league's premiere power forwards.

Final Vote:

1. Aleister Cain
2. Viktor Marius
3. Dick Skillstedt

Comments:

Donini Wrote:For this one I actually changed my mind from the time of nominations to the time of final voting, I ended up putting Marius ahead of Skillstedt seeing as this may have been more of a one off for the retiring Skillstedt than a breakout like it was for Marius who emerged as one of the league's elite power forwards. I do however think that Cain was absolutely robbed in this award and should've won in a landslide. He was ineligible for the Jesster because of a technicality and should've been a shoe in for this award going from a backup goalie to an MVP caliber goaltender, an absolutely amazing breakout for him and I could see him winning some McBride trophies in his future if he keeps this play up.

Flacko Wrote:There were a lot of guys who fit the bill in my opinion. But I think Marius and Skillstedt are the two best nominees as both went from good to outstanding. I think the nominations were quite on point here.

Scholz Wrote:Kadinger, Marius, Skillstedt - Once again 2 of the 3 I nominated moved on to voting so I wasn't too shocked on this one. Marius established himself as one of the premier power forwards in the league this season. His lead leading 221 hits is over 5 times more than his career to date (48 through 6 seasons) which I thought was just insane. Toss on a career high 59 points and he's my favorite. My darkhorse was Karsten Kadinger who quietly doubled his career best in points while playing a bigger role for West Kendall. Hitting 20 points two times over the last 6 seasons, he pumped out 39 this year. I was hesitant to select Skillstedt because he's retiring (most improved... bye) but the stats were too juicy.

Lance Uppercut Award (Best General Manager)
1. New Orleans Specters  - To make an expansion team not only become a playoff team, but also one of the best teams in the league is an incredible achievement. The Specters management had a fantastic expansion draft with Augustus, Cain and Physt becoming extremely important players for their team and they did well in free agency to strengthen the squad.

2. Buffalo Stampede  - Buffalo's management spent seasons building the best team in the league on paper, they didn't lose any free agents this off season despite the possibility of facing cap struggles and they strengthened their team at the deadline to make a playoff push.
 
3. Minnesota Chiefs  - Minnesota's haven't built as strong of a team overall as the other two but have put together a squad that includes 3 of the strongest players in the league and made moves at the deadline to fill some of their weaknesses and try to make a deep push.

Final Vote:

1. New Orleans Specters
2. Buffalo Stampede
3. Manhattan Rage

Comments: 

Donini Wrote:I think it was close between the management of Buffalo and New Orleans but in the end the fact that New Orleans accomplished what they did with an expansion franchise is an unreal accomplishment and it just edges them for me.

Joe McKeil Award (Best Coach)
1. Manhattan Rage  - Led one of the league's worst teams on paper to a 2nd place finish overall.

2. Tampa Bay Barracuda  - The fact that the Barracuda even made the playoffs with the team that they have is a miracle in itself and their coaching staff deserve some sort of recognition for that.

3. Minnesota Chiefs  - Again similarly to Manhattan, Minnesota's coaching staff led a team which is not great on paper to a 1st place finish in the Western Conference due in large part to how well they used their first line in a season where it was head and shoulders above the rest of the league.

Final Vote:

1. Manhattan Rage
2. Tampa Bay Barracuda
3. Minnesota Chiefs

Comments:

Donini Wrote:Nothing unexpected in this award as the three nominees ended up being the same three I thought should be nominated. I think both Tampa Bay and Manhattan make a good case but Manhattan just edges it for me mainly because of the contributions that Manhattan's coaching staff was able to get from their whole team while Tampa Bay got lots of help from their goaltending.

Damian Littleton Award (Most Dedicated Member)
1. Baelor Swift - The commitment to trying to improve the league is obvious with the work done as awards committee head so far. Could've easily taken the job and just done the minimum required to keep the status quo but has gone above and beyond to question the system in place and make meaningful changes to improve the awards process. Also put in hours of work to create stats that the league has not had before and which can be useful in many aspects of the league.

2. JR95 - Not sure much of an explanation is needed but the simmer obviously dedicates a lot of time to the league and is extremely important to keep the league running.

3. luketd - Seems to be extremely involved in the community of the league and genuinely cares about improving the quality of the community within the forums. Has a big effect in one of the most important parts of the league's community as a lot of his activity is targeted towards rookies and the SMJHL, is always making an effort to comment on new players pages and creates quality content in the SMJHL media section to engage the league's younger members.

Final Vote:

1. JR95
2. luketd
3. Mike Izzy

Anton Razov Trophy (Playoff MVP)
1. Oliver Konig  - Simple enough, the best player on the best team in the playoffs. Konig led the league in goals despite not playing in the first round. He finished with 20 points in 17 games and contributed defensively too with 8 blocked shots while sporting a 53.46% success rate in the face-off circle. Konig had a spectacular playoffs and was a huge part of Buffalo's Cup win. 

2. Alexis Metzler  - Metzler's all around game in these playoffs was perfect as he put up 13 points including 4 goals and had 41 hits and 20 blocked shots. He was a force on the power play for Buffalo with 5 power play points. Overall arguably Buffalo's best defenseman in the playoffs leading them to their first ever Challenge Cup championship.

3. Sebastien Primeau  - While Primeau's team didn't make the finals, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that they wouldn't even have won a round had it not been for him. While the three regular season superstars regressed back to normal point totals for the playoffs, Primeau put on a spectacular individual performance finishing first by a mile in Sv% (0.940) and GAA (1.58). He also faced the 4th most shots in the league and had the most shutouts in the league despite only playing 2 rounds. An unconventional pick for not even being in the finals but definitely some outstanding player worthy of a shout.

Final Vote:
1. Oliver Konig
2. Kevin Hamilton
3. Joe Kurczewski

Comments:

Donini Wrote:I think Konig is an easy choice for me as he was definitely the most outstanding player on Buffalo's Challenge Cup run. Primeau is kind of an unorthodox nomination seeing as he didn't even make the finals but his numbers were just out of this world in the playoffs and Minnesota likely wouldn't even have won a round without his play being at the level that it was, I had to recognize that. Absolutely no surprise in the end to see Konig win it though.

Thank you for joining us on this SHL Network awards panel, we hope you enjoyed this segment and that it may have cleared up some of the controversy regarding last night's award show.