Rat Trick Staff Mid-Season NHL Awards Picks- Part 2
By Editorial Staff
With the midseason point reached the Rat Trick Staff submits their NHL Awards picks so far…
LADY BYNG TROPHY (most gentlemanly player):
Josh: Brian Campbell –4 penalty minutes…Brian Campbell plays a lot of ice time and every other guy mentioned below has more penalty minutes. He is a fantastic player and very deserving of this award. Not to mention he deserved his All-Star appointment
Frank: Sometimes I’m not so sure you want to win this award, but someone has to. For me, it’s Phil Kessel. Only 10 PIM’s and 8 hits. I’ve never seen him do anything to agitate or instigate a situation. He goes out and just plays his game, and this year he’s putting up the points as well.
Dave: Martin St Louis -10 PIM for a guy that plays as hard as he does?
Scott: Henrik Sedin -The talented Swede plays a ton of minutes, but just can’t find his way to the penalty box
Paige: Pavel Datsyuk
Cameron: Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit Red Wings)
David: Pavel Datsyuk
Patrick: Marty St. Louis
Gabby: Datsyuk- Again. The guy’s a class act.
CALDER TROPHY (rookie of the year):
Josh: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Frank: Adam Henrique -Out of nowhere this player has quietly scored 34 points in 39 games, putting him on pace to be very close to 70 points. A hard working kid, who seems to be in the right place at the right time. With Ryan Nugent-Hopkins injured, this is Adam’s award.
Dave: Adam Henrique -Has stolen the rookie thunder from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and his own teammate Adam Larsson. Has four shorthanded goals for the league’s top penalty killing team while also chipping in three game winning goals.
Scott: Adam Henrique -If RNH can come back from his shoulder injury soon, he could snag this award. But for now, Henrique’s surprising point totals put him in the lead.
Paige: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Cameron: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Edmonton Oilers)
David: Nugent-Hopkins
Patrick: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Gabby: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -The speedy 18-year-old has shown the NHL why he deserved to be the first overall draft pick. Precision and agility have been big factors in scoring 13 goals and 22 assists for the Oilers before going down with a shoulder injury earlier this month. A couple extra pounds wouldn’t hurt him though.
Adam: Adam Henrique – The trophy was RNH’s for taking but a shoulder injury has all but taken him out of the running, while Henrique has been very consistent in producing for the Devils
JACK ADAMS AWARD (coach of the year):
Josh: Kevin Dineen – See Below :)
Frank: Kevin Dineen -A rookie coach with no NHL experience gets the nod in a landslide for what he’s done with this Florida Panther club. Finding the right mixture, installing a never say die attitude, and completely changing the culture in the room. No contest!
Dave: Kevin Dineen -Has kept the Panthers atop the Southeast Division for over 50 days and counting despite a new roster, and a slew of injuries to his forwards and goaltenders. His team has shown a knack for scoring the big goals either to tie or take the lead that has put rescued points from where there were none.
Scott: Ken Hitchcock -Big ups to Dineen, but Hitchcock’s job in St. Louis has been equally impressive. His record in the ultra-competitive West speaks for itself.
Paige: Kevin Dineen
Cameron: Paul MacLean (Ottawa Senators)
David: Kevin Dineen
Patrick: Kevin Dineen
Gabby: Ken Hitchcock -Took over a very talented St. Louis team about a month into the season, at a point when the Blues were a mere 6-7-0. Most recently, they’ve won four straight under Hitchcock and sit relatively comfortably in the 2-seed in the West.
Adam: Paul MacLean – No doubt Dineen has done a great job in Florida, but Maclean has taken a team which has been so bad over the past couple of seasons, a team which on paper was not suppose to contend this season, a team which was off to a terrible start and turned them into a team with a great chance for a playoff spot. Also, MacLean is doing it while handling all the pressure and media coverage in Ottawa very well
BEST GENERAL MANAGER:
Josh: Dale Tallon – See Below….but seriously he is a lock for this in my opinion…
Frank: Dale Tallon -He cleaned house last season, and signed and traded for now 14 new players. All with one thing in common. Winning. He’s not afraid to make changes, and has brought in the kind of players that play his way. His moves have completely turned around the Panthers in one season. Quite the accomplishment.
Dave: Dale Tallon -The Florida Panthers are in first place in the Southeast Division and have been for almost two months. End of explanation.
Scott: Dale Tallon -The Panthers GM put together a remarkable team from free agents and what was left of the last regime. He surprised almost everyone: Tallon should be a shoe-in.
Paige: Dale Tallon
Cameron: Dale Tallon (Florida Panthers)
David: Dale Tallon
Patrick: Dale Tallon
Gabby: Dale Tallon -Many might criticize this as biased, but no other GM made quite the program-changing moves in the off season that have proven to make the biggest differences within a franchise. Cats have led their division for over two months… that didn’t happen on its own.
Adam: Dale Tallon – Tallon went out this past summer and added 13 new faces to the roster. 13 guys who would gel to form a very strong team that would end up leading the SouthEast division and finally give fans in southern Florida something to cheer about. A brilliant hockey story to say the least.
Thanks for reading. Your comments are always welcomed and appreciated.
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