Western Conference MVP: Adam Beckman (Spokane Chiefs)
Beckman ran away with this vote. Wolf was the closest to him but regardless the MVP for the Western Conference stays in the U.S. Division. Mathew Barzal (Seattle-2017), Carter Hart (Everett-2018) and Joachim Blichfeld (Portland-2019) were the previous winners of this award for DN.
The forward was recently signed by the Minnesota Wild and is the first winner of this award by us that should be able to come back to the WHL to defend his title.
Eastern Conference MVP: Dylan Cozens (Lethbridge Hurricanes)
Cozens also is eligible to come back next season. A lot of the high-end players in the WHL may well come back, making for a must-watch 2020-21 season that has us very excited.
Cozens is also the second player from a Central Division team to win this award. Trey Fix-Wolansky (Edmonton-2019), Jayden Halbgewachs (Moose Jaw-2018) and Sam Steel (Regina-2017) were the previous winners. Medicine Hat’s James Hamblin came the closest among the other vote-getters.
Western Conference Goalie of the Year: Dustin Wolf (Everett Silvertips)
For the second season in-a-row, Wolf takes home our award for top goalie in his conference. Joel Hofer (Portland) came closest and if he had kept up his hot start to the season, he may have been the first U.S. Division goalie not playing in Everett to win it. Unfortunately, he could not quite keep up with Wolf, who is our first two-time winner.
Eastern Conference Goalie of the Year: Sebastian Cossa (Edmonton Oil Kings)
Our very first rookie to take home goalie of the year. The Edmonton netminder held off Mads Sogaard (Medicine Hat), Jiri Patera (Brandon), Max Paddock (Prince Albert) and Liam Hughes (Winnipeg) in a crowded field. Only in his 17-year-old season, Cossa is primed to make a run at this for the next couple of seasons as well.
Western Conference Defenseman of the Year: Ty Smith (Spokane Chiefs)
After just barely being edged out by Bown Byram (Vancouver) last season, Smith’s second-half surge was enough to get him enough votes and hold off Johnny Ludvig (Portland) and Byram.
Eastern Conference Defenseman of the Year: Calen Addison (Lethbridge Hurricanes)
Addison just barely sneaked by teammate Alex Cotton in voting. Cotton played more games and had more points, but Addison was flashier and more of a game-breaker. That was enough for our voters to give him the edge.
Western Conference Rookie of the Year: Logan Stankoven (Kamloops Blazers)
This was tight as our player votes got. Stankoven won by just a single vote over Kelowna Rockets forward Pavel Novak. The lengthy suspension Novak received may have been just enough for the 16-year-old Stankoven to win the award. Stankoven is the second Kamloops player to win this award with Rudolfs Blacers (2017) being the other.
Eastern Conference Rookie of the Year: Dylan Guenther (Edmonton)
This vote was more spread out across different players, but Guenther got just enough to edge out Cole Sillinger of Medicine Hat and Carson Lambos of Winnipeg. This was a loaded rookie class for the Eastern Conference with Cossa and Guenther leading the way. The Oil Kings are well set up for future runs.
