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Okotoks gala awards banner season

To borrow a line from head coach Mike Glawson not too many MVPs score one goal in a year, but this guy did.

To borrow a line from head coach Mike Glawson not too many MVPs score one goal in a year, but this guy did.

Then again there was nothing usual about Bantam AA netminder Gage Alexander who walked away as one of the big winners at the Okotoks Oilers Athletic Association Awards Gala May 2 at the Foothills Centennial Centre.

“There is so much you can say about this guy,” Glawson said. “He garnered a lot of attention this year. Not just because of his height, but what he did on the ice.”

The 6-foot-5 Okotokian’s meteoric rise saw him walk away as the South Central Alberta Hockey League’s (SCAHL) Top Goaltender and MVP of the Bantam AA Oilers while leading his squad to the league and provincial championship along with the Alberta Cup title.

Alexander, who capped off the week by being selected in the WHL Bantam Draft in the seventh round by the Kootenay Ice, finished the season with an 11-1-4 mark while posting a .930 save percentage.

He wasn’t the only one to take home some league hardware.

Okotoks Peewee AA captain Liam Watkins earned acclaim not only for prodigious point production, but for his decorum.

Watkins, who potted 57 goals in 31 games, earned the SCAHL’s Most Exemplary Player honour as voted on by coaches in the Peewee division.

Elsewhere, Rocky Mountain Bantam AAA Raiders captain Anson McMaster earned the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League’s Top Defenceman honour in the South Division.

McMaster, selected 23rd overall by the Ice in the Dub draft, was named the Raiders MVP and Top Defenceman.

Rearguard award winners would be a major theme all night.

Okotoks Midget AA Black blueliner Kale Hawryluk was the MVP of his squad as was defenceman Cole Haberlack of Okotoks Midget AA Green and Ryan Conroy from the Rockyview Raiders.

Coaches from the Rocky Mountain Midget AAA Raiders had a near impossible task selecting one standout from the provincial host and silver medallists.

Okotoks workhorse centre Breanne Trotter earned the honour while graduating captain Kennedy Brown deservedly took the Oiler Award.

The first-season of the Rocky Mountain Midget Elite squad saw the team select versatile forward Lindsay Aitken as its first team MVP.

Likewise for Bantam Elite forward Kaia Borbandy, the first MVP in the history of the squad.

All told, the association sent nine of ten teams to the post-season while picking up one league and one provincial championship.

The association also celebrated the addition of an Okotoks based Midget AAA squad to add to the fold for the 2017-18 season.

The full list of winners will be attached to the web article at westernwheel.com

Award Winners

Midget AAA Female Raiders

MVP – Breanne Trotter

Top Scorer – Nicole Fry

Top Defenceman – Catherine Longchamps

Most Improved – Stephanie Gross

Oiler Award – Kennedy Brown

Midget Female Elite Raiders

MVP – Lindsay Aitken

Top Scorer – Bryana Sharkey

Top Defenceman – Quinan Stang

Most Improved – Morgan Vandergaag

Oiler Award – Mckenna Eagleton

Bantam Female Elite Raiders

MVP/Top Scorer – Kaia Borbandy

Top Defenceman – Sydney Trotter

Most Improved – Kristin LeDuc

Oiler Award – Ainsley Olson

Midget AA Oilers Black

MVP/Top Defenceman – Kale Hawryluk

Top Scorer – Jackson Kobelka, Ryan Partaker

Most Improved – Cade Blindkilde

Oiler Award – Ryan Bedard

Midget AA Oilers Green

MVP – Cole Haberlack

Top Scorer – Brandt Black

Top Defenceman – Jayson McCarthy

Most Improved – Evan Woods

Oiler Award – Shawn Grobowsky

Midget AAA Rockyview Raiders

MVP/Top Defenceman – Ryan Conroy

Top Scorer – Jaevon Buschlen

Most Improved – Benjamin Kruse

Oiler Award – Joel Dawson

Bantam AAA Raiders

MVP/Top Scorer/Top Defenceman – Anson McMaster

Most Improved – Daxton Budd

Oiler Award – Nathan Fox

Bantam AA Oilers

MVP – Gage Alexander

Top Scorer – Kai Uchacz

Top Defenceman – Caden Scott

Most Improved – Nathan Sager

Oiler Award – Calder Eagleton

Peewee AA Oilers Green

MVP – Jaden Yue

Top Scorer – Conyr Hellyer, Gavin Schmidt

Top Defenceman – Avery Greig

Most Improved – Conyr Hellyer

Oiler Award – Kaleb Brown

Peewee AA Oilers Black

MVP/Top Scorer – Liam Watkins

Top Defenceman – Trevor Bonham

Most Improved – Owen McFarlane

Oiler Award – Aidan McArthur

Graduating Players – Isaiah Betinol, Brandt Black, Brendon Borbely, Ty Budai, Carter Harris, Kale Hawryluk, Dakota Krebs, Jack McArdle, Michael Lang, Ryan Partaker; Kennedy Brown, Kate Lloyd, Catherine Longchamps, Hailey McCallum, Ashley Sutherland, Ava Thiessen.

Markus Lavallee Award – Benjamin Kruse, Daniel Walsh

Craig Kletzel Award – Lucas Watkins

Volunteer of the Year – Dean Trotter

Ralph Brown Award – Brad Beebe


Remy Greer

About the Author: Remy Greer

Remy Greer is the assistant editor and sports reporter for westernwheel.ca and the Western Wheel newspaper. For story tips contact [email protected]
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