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***sve7en*** · 04-18-2021, 10:34 AM

[1718 words]

Good evening all, and welcome to the Carolina Kraken annual offseason banquet. While the season didn’t end in the way that we hoped, we can look back on another season of excellent play and celebrate the careers of some incredible players and people. Tonight, we send off a number of Kraken legends and once again look towards the future of our franchise, and we will close this banquet with a viewing of the SMJHL Awards Show.

As recent tradition mandates, we’re starting off with the award that is also not exactly an award. Carolina has a strong history of taking undrafted free agents and turning them into stars in both the SMJHL and SHL. Adam Friedland, Linus Grimstad, Kwame Dakari, Bobby Bergen, and Ben van Dijk all joined as free agents in their time and made great names for themselves in the J and Friedland beyond that. The tradition has continued in recent years, and these players are the backbone of our organization. Often joining at rough times in the franchise, these players reinvigorate the team in the locker room and on the ice.

One recent pickup made a huge name for themselves immediately, having a solid rookie season before becoming one of the highest drafted UDFAs in recent SHL history. This season, as the Kraken finished their rebuild, he put up top 10 assist totals, surrounded in those ranks by Quebec City and Kelowna names, while eating up the minutes both at even strength and on the penalty kill. They were one of the first ones in the arena each day and were an integral part of the retooling as they engaged their peers and the new rookies on a daily basis.

I’m happy to announce that this season’s Panda Panico Nominee for the Onoprienko Award has followed Kraken tradition and was also a finalist on the recent SMJHL Award Show. Congratulations…

LUUKAS LILJA

(@retuperkele)

Carolina is fortunate enough to not be affected much by the passing of time this season. Even though Aleksander Kozlov is off to do great things in Tampa Bay while Kyle Murray and Vincent Wolfe ride off into the sunset, we are fortunate to be returning an impressive number of players who have all been growing and developing this past season.

That being said, with Kozlov’s departure, there is once again a need for leadership positions to be filled. After a team vote, Jimmy Jimmy will reprise his role for his final season in Carolina, once again joined by Ole Olson and Finn von Murphenstein and their third alternate…

CORMAC PÓNAIRE

(@wumaduce)

Cormac / wuma has been an incredible addition to our locker room, and someone that I’m super pleased with having the opportunity to draft them last season. Their energy and love for the game remind me a lot of myself and he has both given to and received much love from this organization these last two months.

With the future still in good hands for a long time, we can reflect on another season in the history books. This season was an off one from the get go, and while it was an improvement on the down year in season 57, we’re well aware of how high our ceiling is. Our rookie core from last season was incredibly deep and resilient, all seven rookies are active and returning for season 59. The 5 that were drafted in the recent SHL draft are all at their current cap, and the other two are reinvigorated with chips on their shoulders. While we didn’t rack up the individual accolades this past season, we’re ready to have another multiple season stretch of competing at the top of the league.

No award or all-league committee can understand the Kraken like one on the inside though, and that’s where the Kraken season awards come in. As always, these awards are voted by the team, including departing members of the roster.

Our first award tonight is the Kain Webb Award for Leadership, and our nominees are..

Cormac Pónaire

Jimmy Jimmy

Finn von Murphenstien

The winner of the Kain Webb Award for Leadership this season is someone who has become a figurehead of the organization for the past few seasons. I would be worried about losing them soon if it wasn’t for how well I know they’ve helped mentor and lead their peers who will persist after that. Congratulations...

JIMMY JIMMY

(@Gumbaman)

Our second award tonight is the Cristoph Klose Award for the Top Forward, and our nominees are..

Aleksander Kozlov

Luukas Lilja

Tomas Lind

Our offense shifted back to the league media this season, though it was to be expected with our youth. These three all stepped up their game massively and were forces to be reckoned with whether we were up 2-1 or down 0-4. One in particular made sure the offense was moving each and every game though, and without them our goals would have no setup. Congratulations...

LUUKAS LILJA

(@retuperkele)

Our third award tonight is Carolina’s version of the Quilha Agante Award for the Top Defenseman, and our nominees are…

Gino Lombardo

Jimmy Jimmy

Ole Olson

The team as a whole has done much to try to identify their identity since the loss of Adam Friedland a few seasons ago, but the presence of these three names, Lind, and Ponare have done a lot to maintain Carolina’s physical and grindy brand of hockey. One in particular was a volume menace on both sides of the ice though, racking up a league best 328 combined shots and blocks. Congratulations...

JIMMY JIMMY

(@Gumbaman)

The fourth award tonight is the Jordan Nugent Hall Award for the Most Dedicated Player, and our nominees are…

Cormac Pónaire

Jimmy Jimmy

Ragnar-Alexandre Ragnarsson-Tremblay

Dedication to the team and the league comes in all shapes and sizes. Gumba has taken on work around the league, Wuma has been a huge part of Carolina’s locker room despite his Colorado commitments, and Larry has continued to put forth updates on RART as real life in a pandemic left him unable to crack an SHL roster. It’s impossible to quantify those efforts against each other and this was an incredibly close race because of that. Congratulations...

JIMMY JIMMY

(@Gumbaman)

The fifth award tonight is the Petr Klimek Award for the Best Two-Way Player, and our nominees are…

Jimmy Jimmy

Luukas Lilja

Ole Olson

Jimmy, mentioned before, was a force on both sides of the ice this season, but Lilja quietly racked up over 40 takeaways as a center, led both the offense as a whole and the power play, and had one of the team’s best shot differentials per 60, while Olson quietly led defensemen in points and racked up the most power play time while still performing as a strong defenseman. This was another tight race, but the offensive efficiency and well rounded game was recognized by their peers, congratulations...

LUUKAS LILJA

(@retuperkele)

The sixth award of the night is one of my personal favorites, both in name and what it represents. The Alonzo Garbonzo Award is a rookie award, but it’s unique in that it’s awarded to a rookie player who played well on the ice and had a great locker room presence. Our nominees this season are...

Aleks Blixstrom

Cormac Pónaire

Daud Ramza

Gino Lombardo

All four of these draft picks were considered steals in the eyes of overdoo and I when we made them, and all four have had impact beyond expectation on the team. Pat went from possibly not earning to capped by the season start, while he, Exilate, and Blassoon all contributed greatly despite their multi league obligations, and Wuma has had an incredible presence resulting in his being named an alternate this season. All four have been incredible off the ice and the on-ice performance had to differentiate them. With a rookie leading hit total over 100 and rookie leading goal diff per 60, congratulations...

DAUD RAMZA

(@Blasoon)

Our second to last award tonight is the Kurtis Hunter Award, the Team's MVP as decided by the team. The nominees this season are…

Jimmy Jimmy

Luukas Lilja

Ragnar-Alexandre Ragnarsson-Tremblay

If you’ve been following at all tonight, and through the season, these nominees should be no surprise whatsoever, all three had exceptional seasons with the first two having massive two way performances and RART racking up the most shots against while still putting up a league median save percentage, league best raw save total, and 4 shutouts on a retooling team. While the team as a whole was overlooked in individual accolades this season, the roster agreed with management on one outstanding campaign that stood above the rest, congratulations...

LUUKAS LILJA

(@retuperkele)

It’s common for teams to end at their MVP, but Carolina does things a little differently. There is one award critical to how we exist as an organization, the Michael Fitted Award for the player who best demonstrates what it means to be a Kraken. It commemorates the sportsmanship, dedication, and energy demonstrated by it’s recipient, and truly represents both the passion we all have for the SHL and SMJHL as well as a love for their team in Carolina and the league as a whole. Our nominees for this season’s award are…

Cormac Pónaire

Gino Lombardo

Jimmy Jimmy

Tomas Lind

The Carolina Kraken community and organization remains something that I’m eternally grateful to know and be a part of. That I’ve been able to continue the work of Fuzz and Trella gives me a lot of joy and individuals like these, past winners, and everyone else that has passed through the locker room make me happy that I was originally brought into the team and make me incredibly proud even in seasons we’re not competing for the cup. The winner this season is someone I was excited to finally share a locker room with, and has surpassed expectations as I’ve mentioned a few times before, congratulations...

CORMAC PÓNAIRE

(@wumaduce)

Congratulations to both the award winners and to the entirety of the Carolina Kraken and organization, and best of luck to the new roster and new leadership. Thank you all for coming out tonight, thank you season 58 roster and teammates for another incredible season, and thank you all for making the SHL one of the best communities online. May Terry Bradshaw’s ghost lead you to the promised land.

*slothfacekilla* · 04-18-2021, 11:04 AM

retuperkele · 04-19-2021, 05:44 AM

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