With the 2019-20 WHL regular season officially over with six games remaining on the Giants’ schedule due to the COVID-19 outbreak, it is prematurely that time of year…..
Player awards.
I have picked through the list of the team’s awards that are performance-based and not pre-determined by statistics, here are my choices:
Most Improved Player: Tristen Nielsen
If there wasn’t a certain star defenceman on the team (spoiler alert), Tristen Nielsen would be the team’s MVP…but he’s also vastly improved himself throughout the season at the same time. He turned into one of the premier goal scorers around the league, hitting the 30-goal plateau; the first Giant to do so since Ty Ronning scored 61 goals in 2017-18. His 30-point improvement from last year’s total leads the team — by a lot, including more than doubling his goal total from 14 to 30. The Fort St. John, BC native’s exciting style of play has made him a fan favourite since being acquired early last season. In 61 games this season, he had 30 goals, 35 assists and an impressive +28.
Most Sportsmanlike Player: Tyler Preziuso
After coming over in a blockbuster trade in early December, Preziuso displayed his quick, skilled style of play right away to Giants fans when he scored two goals in his debut. He only took six minor penalties in 34 games with Vancouver along with two more in Medicine Hat for the overage forward. More impressively, in his 327 career WHL games (which led all active WHLers) he accumulated just 99 penalty minutes. Preziuso was also a key factor in the Giants power play completely turning things around, chipping in eight goals and six assists on the man-advantage. In 34 games with Vancouver, he had 29 points (17G, 12A) to close out his regular-season career.
Rookie of the Year: Cole Shepard
The younger of the two Shepard brothers on the Giants, Cole was the team’s most high profile signing during last off-season, forgoing a scholarship to Harvard to join his hometown team. Shepard had somewhat of an abbreviated rookie and NHL Draft season, missing the first dozen games while still recovering from off-season hip surgery. He burst onto the scene with five points in his first six games, including a goal in his WHL debut. The 17-year-old has game-breaking speed and can get up the ice with ease when he has the puck. His 29 points (11G, 18A) in 50 games was good for seventh in team scoring.
Defenceman of the Year: Bowen Byram
This is the first of two awards on this list for the Colorado Avalanche prospect and would be the second year in a row earning this honour. After being returned to the Giants by his NHL club in late-September, himself as well as the team was struggling as a whole — until he returned from the World Juniors, along with some extra rest afterward. He rattled off a 13-game point streak, averaging over two-points-per-game with 27 points (8G, 19A) in that span and we saw vintage Bowen Byram return that takes over hockey games both offensively and defensively. In 50 games this season he had 52 points (14G, 38A) and as long as he’s a Giant, he will be the team’s best defenceman and most valuable player.
Unsung Hero: Seth Bafaro
In his first full season with the Giants, the 19-year-old defenceman developed into a top pairing guy and was leaned on heavily with the team trading veteran defenceman Dylan Plouffe and Bowen Byram missing 10 games mid-season due to playing for Team Canada at the World Juniors. He thrived during that time and showed his value to the team that usually went unnoticed. The Vancouver coaching staff rewarded the fourth-year defenceman and paired him with Bowen Byram when the team’s star returned, something that was a common fixture on the team’s back-end for a majority of the remaining season. Bafaro had 22 points (4G, 18A) playing in all the team’s 62 games with a +16 rating.
Most Valuable Player: Bowen Byram
Yet another award that would be his second straight win, Bowen Byram is the Vancouver Giant’s most valuable player. Along with what was mentioned above, the Giants go with how Byram goes. He makes the players around him better and does it with such ease. The Cranbrook, BC native has improved his game defensively since being returned by Colorado, even when the offense wasn’t working for him in the first half of the season. When Bowen Byram is at his best, he is a world-class talent that Giants fans should be thankful to have witnessed growth over the years into a top NHL prospect. He has made a compelling argument to be in the conversation with one of, if not, the best Giant of all time.
