The SMJHL has a number of really stellar standouts who could potentially be the MVP. The coveted award often goes to the player with the most points but sometimes the player most valuable to a team's success can be considered.

Mia Lavoie from the Maine Timber: With forty-four goals and fifty-four assists, they lead the league in points and should be a shoe-in to get the award. But, you never know.

Close behind, Froya Solberg from the Quebec citadelles: Forty-one goals and forty-six assists: not too far behind and possibly more of a team full of stars contributing as opposed to an individual effort.

Final on my short list on the ballot: Edouard Lavoie. Third in the league for total points with thirty-four goals and fifty-three assists. Another member of the Maine Timber riding the top and making the team a legitimate Cup Contender.

There is always a dark horse when it comes to the MVP. perhaps there is someone who is under the radar until the nominations come out but these three are definitely noticed.

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I think anyone would be lying to themselves if they tried to make a case for any player at the moment other than Mia Lavoie of the Maine Timber. With 44 goals and 98 points, she has a healthy lead on the rest of the league and is currently averaging an astonishing 1.63 points per game. If the offensive contributions weren't enough, Mia has 113 hits on the season so far, laying out more players than almost any DEFENDER in the league. Of those 44 aforementioned goals, 9 were game winning markers for the Timber, making her not just a next level scorer but also a player who can performer great, if not BETTER under pressure. As her team mounts for a deep playoff push, time will tell just how valuable she is, but I'm afraid without her that Maine would simply not be the same team. To me, that defines an MVP.

So I'm newer to hockey and the SJMHL so I did what any responsible individual looking to be informed would do and fired up the old google machine to see what stats are the most important when determining a good hockey player. There's many answers, and separate ones for Goalies, but the overwhelming response was to go by points and more importantly the +/- of them. I then decided to take that criteria and weigh in Shots on Goal, Assists and lastly goals. So my imperfect list left me with the following contenders.

Mia Lavoie - 5th overall in the +/-, but top in total points, 2nd in assists and a great 20.1% shooting percentage. Honestly, hard to argue that Lavoie isn't the MVP hands down, but I'll include 2 others for the sake of making an argument.
Jean-Jacques Francois Jacques-Jean - Not to be ignored is the fact that JJFJJ is 5th in SOG, 3rd in Assists and +33. But the problem is that the goals are lacking with only 27 and a mediocre shooting percentage of 10.2% despire having that amount of shots.
Froya Solberg - 3rd in Points is a strong start, but the +/- is 29. 3rd overall in SOG w/ a respectable 16.3% and a hefty 44 goals and 47 assists. Honestly Froya sits in a not too distant second if you ask me,

Unfortunately if the voting is today, Lavoie edges out Solberg and I place my vote there.

This season and last season's MVP race seems to share the trend of sibling rivalry (although on the same team). Maybe it's the Sedin effect, being so close and playing on the same team/line often leads to otherworldly chemistry. Like Froya and Sonja Solberg from season 75, this season is being dominated by Mia and Edouard Lavoie of Maine Timber. With each on pace for a career year (so far) it will be tough to choose who is most valuable to their team and the league respectively. The dark horse of the MVP race and an often overlooked position is Song Ju-gong from the Quebec City Citadels (who shares a locker room with the Solbergs).

The clear leader right now (things can change with the few games remaining) is Mia Lavoie who has been on fire all season. The only player above the 100 point mark this season (there were 3 last season) with 49 goals and 56 assists.

Right behind her, although with a bit of a gap and it may be hard but not impossible to catch up is Edouard Lavoie with 93 points. He will need a once in a lifetime performance to get the 13+ points needed in the last 3 games. While it is a long shot, stranger things have happened in the SMJHL.

Lastly, Song Ju-gong has put together an impressive campaign. Winning 39 of the 52 appearances, while boasting an above average SV% and below average GAA. With the Solbergs not producing as well as last season, QCC has relied on Song to keep the team atop the league standings.

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The S76 regular season is now over and while teams are mostly gearing up for the playoffs, we can also look back and see who were the most valuable players in the league!

For my nominations I'm going to choose a forward, a defense, and a goalie so all positions are represented!

For forward, I'm going with the popular choice here and selecting Mia Lavoie of the Maine Timber. What a fantastic season, leading the league in goals and points over the 66 games, and 2nd in assists. Mia was the only player to break the 50 goal mark, and the only player to score more than 100 pts. Her 113 total points was 15 better than 2nd place in the league, demonstrating just what a spectacular season she had. It will be hard to argue anyone deserves it more.

If there was a defenseman who could be argued as their team MVP I would say it would be Oranj Konhe from the Colorado Raptors. Konh was just behind Troy McClure III in goals, assists, and points, but was also #2 in hits by a defender, so I will give Konhe the edge just for a more well-rounded game.

Finally if one did look at goaltending as being an MVP quality, for this I would actually give to the goalie tandem of the Great Falls Grizzlies, Lee Harrison and rookie ELvar Gil-Gelad combined to give the Grizzlies the lowest goals against in the league. For a team that didn't have a lot of scoring, their success was largely dependent on the play of both goalies giving them wins when they needed, but more importantly never really ever getting blown out badly. In a league where 10, 11, 12 goal games are not uncommon, it is impressive that they are both in the top 10 of most goalie statistical categories.

But it will be Lavoie.

      S76 SMJHL DRAFT 3RD OVERALL PICK     
                     IIHF TEAM NORWAY                      

Bog Damsel is leading the pack for MVP this season with 3 fight wins. That might not sound like a usual MVP stat, but those fights make a big difference. They fire up the team and throw the other guys off their game. Meanwhile Jordan Bamford, Trent Wiseman, and Caper Poirot are all sitting at 2 wins, and they’re definitely tough competitors, but Damsel’s extra win puts him just a bit ahead. In hockey, being able to stand up and protect your teammates counts for a lot. Damsel is setting the tone on the ice every night with his pure pain output. He's boosting morale and it can really change how a game flows. That kind of edge is what can make someone the most valuable to their team.

It's a shame that more people weren't violent - this was an easy victory for Bog. I hope next year I can do my part to make the sport more terrifying for all of us.

My pick for this season’s MVP would be Mia Lavorie of Maine Timbers. This player has performed the best out of everyone in SMJHL. Let’s run through the stats! 53 goals, 60 assists, 113 points, 49 +/-, and 20.62% shot percentage! Completely the best forward in the league right now. She has been flowing well across the board! Help Timbers become now #3 in league and #1 in their conference. That’s for the southern conference.

My second pick will be defenseman Troy McClure III of Regina Elk. This player is a machine on the ice stopping people on their tracks while playing some mind games with his opponents. He has 20 goals, 37 assists, 57 points, 198 shots, 10.10% shot percentage, 9 power play goals, and 1 short handed goal. For a defenseman, Troy’s stats are great in my opinion. He has helped Elk become #6 in the league and #3 in the northern conference.

Thus these two are my top picks for MVP of season 76.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12


Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

With season 76's regular season wrapped up, the talk for who deserves the Ideen Fallah Trophy has picked up. There are multiple deserving candidates including Faroya Solberg who lead the league in points for a majority of the season and was a huge factor in why Quebec dominated the entire season from start to finish. They managed to put up an impressive 45 goals and 93 points this year while playing on both the PP and PK throughout the season. Another deserving candidate is Edouard Lavoie of Maine. He has played on the top line, top powerplay unit, and 2nd penalty kill unit for them. He's been very effective on the dot with a winning percentage of 57.6%. He also has more takeaways than giveaways with 61 and 46 in each respectively. Then we need to get into his offense where he's put up 37 goals and 98 points in total. He's been a complete two-way beast for Maine. Now saving the best for last, we have Mia Lavoie who in my opinion is the clear favourite for the trophy. He finished the season with 53 goals and 113 points. That is 8 goals and 15 points higher than 2nd best. He's been on another level offensively this year compared to the rest of the league.

The only player that should be considered for MVP this season is Kelowna's very own Emeric Gagner! With his staggering +/- rating of -41! Wait that's pretty bad. Okay so maybe I'm not winning MVP this year.

For real though I think the consensus favourite would be of course one of the Lavoies on Maine, with an impressive 113 points for Mia and 98 for Edouard, that's good for first and second in the league.

For some contenders in other positions though I think goaltender Denebor Milasch in Carolina should get some serious consideration too. The goalie leads all starters with a GAA of 2.72, also leads in save percentage at 0.911, and is 3rd in wins at 31.

On defense I think the best candidate would have to potentially be Troy McClure III on Regina. Without digging too deep into it, he leads defense in points and goals. He also has a pretty impressive GA/TA split of 11/71. I imagine it will be a forward who wins it, as usual, but these players should also have some consideration.

Yannick Svoboda|RW|S62|Retired

Los Angeles Panthers Co-GM

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Transactions

23rd Overall - S61 SMJHL Draft - Regina Elk

17th Overall - S62 SHL Draft - Los Angeles Panthers

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Career Statistics: SMJHL

S61: GP: 66 | G: 7 | A: 12 | P: 19 | +/-: -11 | PIMS: 22 | Hits: 45 | Blocked Shots: 105

S62: GP: 66 | G: 8 | A: 24 | P: 32 | +/-: -35 | PIMS: 32 | Hits: 98 | Blocked Shots: 75

S63: GP: 66 | G: 21 | A: 39 | P: 60 | +/-: 1 | PIMS: 16 | Hits: 100 | Blocked Shots: 96

S64: GP: 66 | G: 22 | A: 37 | P: 59 | +/-: 18 | PIMS: 34 | Hits: 91 | Blocked Shots: 73

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Career Statistics: SHL

S65: GP: 66 | G: 12 | A: 30 | P: 42 | +/-: 20 | PIMS: 6 | Hits: 66 | Blocked Shots: 39

S66: GP: 66 | G: 18 | A: 40 | P: 58 | +/-: 15 | PIMS: 27 | Hits: 134 | Blocked Shots: 38

S67: GP: 66 | G: 29 | A: 42 | P: 71 | +/-: -3 | PIMS: 22 | Hits: 138 | Blocked Shots: 31

S68: GP: 66 | G: 36 | A: 36 | P: 72 | +/-: -17 | PIMS: 28 | Hits: 159 | Blocked Shots: 40

S69: GP: 66 | G: 25 | A: 40 | P: 65 | +/-: -18 | PIMS: 30| Hits: 157 | Blocked Shots: 29

S70: GP: 66 | G: 35 | A: 29 | P: 64 | +/-: -53 | PIMS: 44| Hits: 182 | Blocked Shots: 47

S71: GP: 66 | G: 36 | A: 43 | P: 79 | +/-: -14 | PIMS: 44| Hits: 197 | Blocked Shots: 34

S72: GP: 66 | G: 30 | A: 46 | P: 76 | +/-: 19 | PIMS: 54| Hits: 156 | Blocked Shots: 45

S73: GP: 66 | G: 34 | A: 46 | P: 80 | +/-: 0 | PIMS: 40| Hits: 126 | Blocked Shots: 32

S74: GP: 66 | G: 35 | A: 36 | P: 71 | +/-: 39 | PIMS: 40| Hits: 147 | Blocked Shots: 30

S75: GP: 66 | G: 8 | A: 31 | P: 39 | +/-: 37 | PIMS: 31| Hits: 59 | Blocked Shots: 79

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Total: GP: 726 | G: 298 | A: 419 | P: 717 | +/-: 25 | PIMS: 354| Hits: 1521 | Blocked Shots: 444

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Awards

S61: WJC Bronze medal

S63: SMJHL All-star Game

S64: SMJHL All-star Game

S64: WJC silver medal

S64: Zach Miller Trophy

S65: Challenge Cup

S66: IIHF gold medal

S68: IIHF silver medal

S72: SHL All-star Game
S73: IIHF bronze medal

S75: Challenge Cup

Emeric Gagner|RW|S77
Transactions

S76: Drafted 10th overall to Kelowna

Los Angeles Panthers Co-GM
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S65: W: 50 L: 14 OTL: 2 P: 102 | Challenge Cup
S66: W: 45 L: 17 OTL: 4 P: 94
S67: W: 38 L: 26 OTL: 2 P: 78
S68: W: 16 L: 44 OTL: 6 P: 38
S69: W: 17 L: 48 OTL: 1 P: 35
S70: W: 17 L: 41 OTL: 8 P: 42
S71: W: 30 L: 33 OTL: 3 P: 63
S72: W: 35 L: 29 OTL: 2 P: 72
S73: W: 36 L: 28 OTL: 2 P: 74
S74: W: 40 L: 22 OTL: 4 P: 84

S75: W: 46 L: 18 OTL: 2 P: 94 | Challenge Cup
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Awards
S65: Lance Uppercut Award (co-GM)
S65: Challenge Cup

S75: Challenge Cup

The Ideen Fallah Trophy is the most prestigious trophy in the SMJHL, awarded to the most valuable player. Its contenders this season, include primarily distant goals and points leader Mia Lavoie of the Maine Timbers, up 8 goals (53) and 20 points (113) on second place goals leader Froya Solberg (45G, 93P) of the Quebec City Citadelles, who himself must be considered as a top contender. 

Also on that short list is top offensive defenseman Troy McClure IIII, giving his all for the Regina Elk, leading all defensemen in goals AND assists while second on his team in blocked shots, giving his absolute best to the team and the league. 

Also due consideration is San Diego Tidal rookie and assistant captain Sam Volta, who led his team in points despite being a first year player, with his 27 goals and 44 assists good for first in rookie point scoring. It will be interesting to see what ultimately decides the winner.

We can spend all day discussing potential MVP candidates, tossing out name after name and breaking down stat after stat, but let's just be real for a moment. There is no discussion, and to suggest otherwise would just be kidding ourselves. I shouldn't even have to be posting this, because we ALL know that Mia Lavoie of the Main Timber is winning this award. She currently holds an 8 goal lead for 1st place with 53 goals, and is 2nd in assists behind her brother Edouard.....or is it her husband? Son? Uncle? I don't know the Lavoie family lore, someone is going to need to explain that to me. Either way, she's currently leading the pack with 113 points and even in the top 5 of the league for +/-. To put it simply, this is Mia Lavoie's world, and we're just lucky enough to be living in it.

Trevor "The Tijuana Tornado" Lopez
#36

There's a few interesting nominees for the Ideen Fallah Trophy, depending on how the performance is weighted.
Mia Lavoie: Mia Lavoie has 113 at the end of the season and is absolutely crushing it through the season. Alongside her sibling, Maine Timber's being held up by those two in performance. 
Froya Solberg: While edged out by Mia's points, Froya has been working hard and performed well. Performing worse to Mia overall while being on a stronger team, Froya's chances in the trophy are slim compared to Mia's. Though, Froya's defensive performance is higher to Mia's which demonstrates her greater versatility.
Bean Beanman Jr: Holding 90 points this season, I could see Bean Beanman matching or surpassing Froya Solberg or Mia Lavoie if placed into a top team. He's still holding strong though, really pulling for Regina Elk to perform as they are. While Edouard's stats are higher to Bean's, they're worse compared to Mia's despite being on Timber's team.

Honestly, I have absolutely no idea who is doing well, who is doing really well or even what qualifies as an MVP level performance but I can definitely look at some leaderboards and extrapolate from a small set of numbers so lets get into it.

Mia Lavoie leads the league in points with 113, 15 points ahead of the dude in second. #1 in goals scored, #2 in assists, #4 in plus/minus, and probably top 5 in a bunch of other shit. probably an easy pick I'd guess, but I've also never heard their name before today lmao

Inge Baardsen leads the league in hits, and as we all know, hockey is about bashing each other real good and maybe scoring goals if possible. Frankly I don't need to see any more, this dude hits a lot of people so they're obviously an all time GOAT.

Last I'll say Nathangus McExplosion. Incredible name, takes a lot of shots and maybe even makes a few. I don't care, I've seen enough just from the name.