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***Frenchie*** · 06-03-2024, 12:05 PM

Ottawa Highlanders Inaugural Season Awards

The ballot compiling company we hired turned out to be unreliable and took too long to post results, so we turned in house to do it. Sorry about the delay, not my fault whatsoever! First awards in the history of the franchise! We had a weird year, we had a fun year, we had a year going to plan that finished with all of us holding our heads up high, and it’s time to recognize those who played a big part in what we in management deem to be a successful initial season!

Cob O'Corn Leadership Award
This award is named after a player who showed up with high spirits, high leadership and constant encouragement, despite personal woes, and a lot going on. Leadership is defined not in how much you show up, but how you show up when its needed most. Cob (@SloppyPainter) bought into the project hard, never once complained and was a beacon of resilience on his final season to pave the way for success in the Franchise, most of the time outside the spotlight. As such, this award shall now hold his name. This season's Cob O'Corn was given to a player who asked to be here, prior to them being drafted. They bought into the project, they closed a chapter dear to their heart to open a new one in Ottawa and has shown commitment to their teammates and to the success of the franchise in general. From morning homies to feeding all the various channels in engagement, this user has provided the relief needed and the proper headspace for this team to pursue on its growing path. Congratulations to Hockey Player (@Ruggsy), our first ever recipient of the Cob O'Corn Leadership Award.

Ottawa Claymore - Offensive Player of the Year
‘'The claymore is one of the most recognizable swords in history. A uniquely Scottish two-handed sword first appearing at the beginning of the sixteenth Century.''. What better way to symbolize our offense than by naming this award after one of the more recognized weapons of Scottish tradition! As its name suggests, which player was most deadly in front of net? Which player contributed the most to making other team's lives miserable in their own end? Which player not only had a good personal season, but elevated their teammates whilst doing so? The first point per game player in Ottawa history, a 30-goal scorer, 36 assist machine, this season's Claymore recipient is none other than Benji Hockiwi (@Hockiwi)!

Tartan Shield - Defensive Player of the Year
As opposed to the Claymore, the Shield is synonymous with defense, keeping safe and parrying your opponent's blows. Moreso, the Shield is synonymous with Scottish heritage as it is the foundation to family crests, the cornerstone of an identity. The Tartan is our colors, what separates us and what makes the Ottawa Highlanders who they are. Defend our identity, defend who we are, on and off the ice. DPotY was always going to be more of a one-horse race as Demir Bellona came in through the expansion draft as a J veteran ready to take on the challenge ahead. He lived up to the expectations and despite a generally rocky season stood fast and provided much needed reliability on the blue line. in a season where goals against were more frequent, a +4 with 34 points in contribution is a feat to be recognized. Demir Bellona (@Kalakar) wins the inaugural Tartan shield for S76!

Cameron Trophy - Best Two-Way Player
The team draws inspiration from the historical Cameron Highlanders, a storied unit in Canadian Armed Forces history. Being a strong unit requires strategy, that both anticipates attacks and can dish them out. Proficiency at both is what made the Cameron Highlanders so potent, and why the Two-Way award is named as is. This season, one player stood above the rest in how they contributed on both sides of the ice. With a CF% Rel of 1.9%, good for best on the team, 40 points on the season, 106 hits and a -2, they proved able to provide much needed offensive output and a responsible defensive game as a rookie. More remarkable is that this was done despite 18:30 ATOI a night, a commendable season for Hockey Player (@Ruggsy) who is this season's Cameron Trophy recipient!

Best Rookie
Coming into a team isn't easy as you try to navigate a pre-existing culture, defined social groups. Add to that a new team with much to be done still and you get a really interesting challenge for anyone joining the team, let alone a rookie whose game still needs to be honed. Despite all that, leadership on and off the ice proved to be natural for this season's recipient as they came out swinging as soon as they could. Without diving deeper into their specific successes as they were already mentioned, congratulations Hockey Player (@Ruggsy) for yet another award!

Most Dedicated
Dedication comes in a variety of ways and is often hard to define in absolutes. What is certain is that dedication is a result of passion, hard work and a deep love for the team. Despite not being around for the entire season, the S76 recipient of the Most Dedicated award came in the LR without any restraints, made the LR their home and has been constant in their efforts to improve morale, culture, performance and the general experience of their teammates. Congratulations to Jacob Maccabees (@~~Missjmt~~) on taking this award home!

Team's Choice MVP
Last but not least, and perhaps an all-encompassing, all-important one. This could arguably constitute the holy grail of Ottawa Awards. You can be proficient in any of the above categories, and that's something to be applauded. But what about being great in all, perhaps not the greatest, but great, nonetheless. Being consistent in every aspect of a team's life is something special, and this season's recipient did just that. In each of the awards besides from Rookie of the Year and the positional ones, they were up there in the conversation. They are the first player in Ottawa history to have an award named after them, and as such, a worth recipient of the team choice MVP, a consecration from their peers. An immense and well-deserved round of applause for Cob O'Corn (@SloppyPainter), MVP of Season 76!

Congratulations to all winners and thanks for an incredible inaugural season! Airson glòir! For glory!
Highlanders

@"jason kranz" sig elite / @sulovilen elite sig

*Ruggsy* · 06-03-2024, 12:10 PM

Honored

SloppyPainter · 06-03-2024, 03:21 PM

I am not deserving of the award named after me or the MVP award, however, thank you Smile

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