Its been a few weeks since the season was paused, then canceled due to the current pandemic but that hasn’t stopped the news and headlines from coming out of the Hurricanes front office. Let’s get you caught up on all things surrounding the team.
All-Star Selections
The WHL handed out its first and second-team all-star nods. Three members of the Hurricanes found themselves amongst those named. Forward Dylan Cozens and Defencemen Calen Addison received first-team honors while Alex Cotton who led all defenceman in scoring this season was named to the second team.
WHL Awards
The Lethbridge Hurricanes received three awards from the WHL over the last few days.
Firstly the front office staff was named for the second straight season as the Eastern Conference Business Award winners. They are winners of the award for their work in the community and making the game day experience unforgettable for the fans.
The second award from the league was given to GM Peter Anholt, honored with being named the Eastern Conference Executive of the Year. Being given this award also means Anholt is a nominee for the Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy which is awarded to the WHL Executive of the Year, the winner will be named at a later date.
This is Anholt’s fifth full season in charge of the Hurricanes and in all five of those seasons the team has collected 30 or more wins while making the playoffs in each of those years and appearing in two eastern conference finals.
The third award from the league went to defenceman Calen Addison who was named the WHL Eastern Conference Defenceman of the Year which also makes him a nominee for the Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy (WHL Defenceman of the Year)
Addison, who is now a prospect for the Minnesota Wild, finished seventh in scoring amongst blueliners with 52 points in 50 games played. Those points included 42 assists as he helped power the Hurricanes offense. With 14 multipoint games, the Brandon, MB native now has a third-straight season of attaining double-digit goals, 40-plus assists, and 50-plus points.
Contract signings
On April 15th, the Hurricanes announced the signing of defenceman Easton Kovacs to a standard player agreement. The 2004 born rearguard went undrafted in the WHL bantam draft and attended the 2019 Hurricanes rookie camp. The Delta, BC product played in 34 games for the Delta Hockey Academy Elite of the CSSHL. He finished third in defenceman scoring with 16 points and 39 penalty minutes.
Recently graduated Hurricanes defenceman Koletraine Wilson also signed a deal this past week, inking a one year deal with the Stockton Heat of the AHL. Wilson is coming off his best statistical season, setting career highs across the board with 25 points, eight goals and 90 penalty minutes in 62 games played.
The product of Edmonton, AB was a fourth-round bantam draft pick of the Hurricanes back in 2014 and played all of his 190 WHL career games for the Windy City. He collected 63 points and 233 penalty minutes over his time in the Western Hockey League.
NHL Central Scouting Rankings
The final rankings from NHL central scouting were recently released and four members of the Lethbridge Hurricanes made the cut.
Alex Cotton at 79th, Oliver Okulair at 154th, Noah Boyko at 201st, and goaltender Bryan Thomson ranked at 11th among North American netminders.
The NHL draft was originally scheduled for June of this year but with the NHL on pause, the date has been postponed to a date yet announced.
Awards Night
Over the past few days, the Hurricanes took to social media to announce their own 2019-2020 season award winners.
The Three Stars Award is given to the Hurricane who earned the most three-star nominations during the regular season. Winner: Dylan Cozens. Selected as a star of the game 20 times this season including eight first-star awards.
The Top Scorer Award is given to the Hurricane player who collects the most points during the regular season. Winner: Dylan Cozens, With 85 points in just 51 games this season
The Herman Elfring Community Relations Award is given to the Lethbridge Hurricane that best represents the team in the community. Taking pride in their work in the community. Winner: Dino Kambeitz. Kambeitz visited numerous schools to read with students, run class activities with students, share his hockey experience, talk about bullying, concussion awareness, and attended many other events has a representative of the team.
The Hockey Hounds Scholastic Player of the Year Award is given to the Hurricanes’ top student-athlete each season. Winner: Alex Thacker.
The Joan Kobal Memorial Award given to a player who best demonstrates perseverance, dedication, and sportsmanship both on and off the ice. Winner Ty Prefontaine. named co-captain this past season, Prefontaine lead by example both on and off the ice, Coach Brent Kisio called him “Everything a Hurricane should be” following his announcement of being named a captain.
The Carl Trentini Memorial Award is giving to the teams Rookie of the Year, Winner: Zack Stringer. There was little doubt about this award. Stringer is a local product and led all Hurricane rookies with 34 points that included 11 goals in 48 games played. He finished fifth amongst 16-year-olds in WHL scoring.
The Harry Ingarfield Memorial Award given to the team MVP of the season. Winner: Dylan Cozens. His 85 points this season lead the team in scoring and had him place fifth overall in WHL scoring this season. Cozens also was named co-captain this season. The Yukon native was a driving force for the Hurricanes, His 35 goal set a new career-high.
Cozens came into this season after being selected seventh overall in the 2019 NHL entry draft and collected a goal medal with Team Canada at the World Junior Championships in Slovakia. Cozens also was named to Team WHL in the Canada-Russia series.
US Prospect Draft
Lethbridge selected two American born players in the first-ever US prospect draft.
With the 10th overall pick, the Hurricanes selected Nathan Tobey. The 2005-born defenseman appeared in nine games with the Dallas Stars Elite 14’s where he registered three points, scoring a single goal. The Oklahoma City rear-guard stands at 5-foot-11 and tips the scale at 137-pounds.
With the 35th overall pick, the Hurricanes took Riley Bassen. The product of Frisco, Texas played four league games also with the Dallas Stars Elite 14’s where he collected one goal with two penalty minutes. The 2005-born forward stands at 5-foot-6 and weighs 115-pounds. Bassen is the son of former NHLer Bob Bassen.
