2025-26 Thunderbirds Awards Announced
WHL Seattle Thunderbirds

2025-26 Thunderbirds Awards Announced

Published on March 23, 2026 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Seattle Thunderbirds News Release


Humanitarian: Not just a physical presence on the ice, this year's Humanitarian has also been a presence in the community, whether it is reading to or playing floor hockey with kids at local schools, and other public appearances, he's always willing to engage with the community and the fans. Making an impact on and off the ice in his rookie season, this year's Humanitarian of the Year is Marcus Laraque.

Scholastic: As a rookie in his first season away from home, this 16-year-old best exemplifies a devotion to maintaining his high academic standards while adjusting to his first season in the WHL. He showed very mature time management skills while keeping his grades in the 90s. This year's Scholastic Player of the Year is Grayson Tash.

Most Dedicated: Voted on by his teammates as the most dedicated player, this Thunderbird fits the cliché first to arrive and last to leave. His dedication to improvement both on the ice and in the weightroom has not gone unnoticed by his teammates. Thunderbirds Most Dedicated Player year is Sawyer Mayes.

Top Scorer: Not only has this Dallas Stars draft pick been a top point producer with the T-Birds since being acquired at the trade deadline, but he has been among the league leader in goals and points all season long. Earlier this year he put together a 27 game point streak. Nine of his goals have been game winners. With two games to play he has 45 goals, 49 assists, for 94 points. The Top Scorer is Cameron Schmidt.

Most Improved: As a development league for the highest levels of hockey, players are always looking to show improvement from season to season in their WHL careers. A season ago this T-Bird produced 14 points on 5 goals and 9 assists. With two games remaining this season, this player has already tripled his goal output from last season. With 17 goals and 12 assists, this year's most improved Thunderbird is Sawyer Mayes.

Rookie: Producing at such a high level as a first-year player is no easy task. For a 16-year-old just getting into the lineup every night is an accomplishment. Earlier this season this rookie won a gold medal with Team Canada Red at the U-17 World Hockey Championships. He is currently the highest scoring 16 year old rookie in the WHL. His 20 goals this season are the most by a 16 year T-Birds rookie since Patrick Marleau scored 32, exactly 30 seasons ago. Currently with 20 goals, 30 assists, 50 points and a +10 rating. This year's rookie of the year is Brock England.

Defenseman: The defenseman of the year was a top ten pick in last summer's NHL Entry Draft, taken 10th overall by the Buffalo Sabres, the second T-Bird defenseman to be selected in the top ten of the draft in the last four years. He won a silver medal this past winter with Czechia at the World Junior Championships and is a minutes eater on the blue line for the Thunderbirds, This year's top defenseman is Radim Mrtka.

MVP: The most valuable player award goes to the Thunderbird who has been deemed most instrumental in providing the team with an ability to compete all season. Sometimes you can't pick just one! These two players have been instrumental in the Thunderbirds second half push for a playoff berth. One is the only T-Bird player this season to be selected for a weekly award when he was named WHL Goalie of the Week in February. His is 5-2-0-1 in his last eight starts with a 2.05 GAA and a .943 SVPCT. The other is 4-0-2-0 in his last six starts with a 1.66 GAA and a 948 SVPT and played in the WHL Prospects All-Star Game. Your 2025-26 Co-Most Valuable Players are goaltenders Grayson Malinoski and Marek Sklenicka.

Booster club awards for 2025-2026

The Thunderbirds Hockey Booster Club is committed to supporting the Seattle Thunderbirds and its players throughout the season, on and off the ice. A majority of the funds raised at the desk contribute to the player's education fund. We would like to thank all the young men on this team for their time and commitment. We love to watch you play and visit with you at the various club events throughout the season.

The Booster Club is pleased to recognize players for their accomplishments on and off ice and say thank you to those players graduating and moving on in their careers.

Our first award is for Hat Tricks. As many of you know, a Hat Trick is when a player scores 3 goals in a game. This season the booster club would like to recognize two players for getting hat tricks:

#9 Coster Dunn, who scored 3 goals on 11/21 against Victoria

#91 Cameron Schmidt, who scored 4 goals on 12/18 at Victoria and 3 goals on 12/28 against Kamloops. While both of these hat tricks occurred before joining the Thunderbirds, we would like to recognize Cameron's accomplishment here today.

Our next award is for goalie shutouts. It's quite an accomplishment for any goalie to achieve a shutout in any game. We have two shutouts to recognize this season. On 12/19 against Kamloops in a shootout win, Marek Sklenicka turned away all 36 shots he faced. Also, on 3/10 against Victoria, Marek stopped 22 shots faced. The Booster Club is pleased to recognize Marek's shutouts.

This season, we have one 19-year-old player to recognize. Although he may be back next season, the Booster Club would like to thank him for all his hard work and dedication, on and off the ice, during his time here in Seattle. Once a Tbird...always a Tbird. Our sincerest thank you and best wishes to:

#22, Captain Simon Lovsin

This season, we have three 20-year-old players who have completed their WHL career with the Thunderbirds. The Booster Club would like to take the opportunity to honor them and let them know how much their time as a Tbird has meant to all of us.

#3 Ashton Cumby has been a fierce presence on the team since his arrival. He's been intimidating on the ice, always smiling in the middle of a scuffle, and a friendly face to fans off the ice. Wishing you well on what is to come.

#9 Coster Dunn - He very quickly caught fans attention with his speed and smooth approach on the ice. We will forever remember you skating around the ice in your cowboy hat. We wish you well and thank you for your time here in Seattle.

#23 Joe Gramer has been a noticeable leader on and off the ice since becoming a Tbird. He has been a steady presence during his short time with the Tbirds, connecting with his teammates and fans alike.

To all three of you - Oh, how we wish our time together could have been longer!

At the completion of each game, 3 players are chosen to receive the 3 Stars awards. Tonight, we are honoring a Tbird who was awarded 14 three stars awards throughout the season. The Booster Club would like to recognize #89 Antonio Martorana. It has been wonderful to recognize your incredible 3-star status throughout the season.

Finally, the Fan Favorite Award. For the past two weeks, fans have been submitting their votes at the Booster Club desk for their "fan favorite." Countless times fans told us how difficult it was for them to select just one player on any given night because the fans have so many "favorites". Each player on the team received fan favorite votes. The Booster Club is pleased to present the Fan Favorite award to...our Captain, #22 Simon Lovsin.

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Western Hockey League Stories from March 23, 2026


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