AHL Rochester Americans

Amerks Announce 2010-11 Award Winners

Published on April 11, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


(Rochester, NY)... The Rochester Americans announced the club's 2010-11 award winners during a pregame ceremony Sunday night prior to the Amerks' regular season home finale against the Lake Erie Monsters at The Blue Cross Arena.

Defenseman Mike Kostka was presented with two awards Sunday evening, as he was named Scoring Champion and the Richo USA Most Valuable Player. The third-year pro finished the campaign with a team-high 55 points (16+39) and tied for second in overall scoring among AHL blueliners. He also led American Hockey League defensemen with 16 goals, 11 of which were scored on the power-play, the most among any other player at his position. After playing in all 80 regular season games, and the only one to do so this year, Kostka becomes the first defensemen in the 55-year history of the franchise to lead the team in points and win the Scoring Champion award.

Fellow rearguard Paul Baier was also presented with two awards. Baier was awarded the Upstate National Bank McCulloch Trophy and was also named the AHL Amerks Man of the Year. Both awards were given to Baier based on his outstanding community and humanitarian contributions, as he spent much of the season teaching kids about reading, healthy living, achieving goals and the game of hockey.

Clay Wilson, who returned from a stint with the Florida Panthers prior to yesterday's finale, was given this year's Fairand/O'Neil Sportsmanship Award. Selected by the club's crew of Offf-Ice Officials, this award is given to the player who exemplifies the best sportsmanship both on and off the ice.

In addition to selecting their Most Valuable Player, the Amerks players also select the team's Most Improved Player. This year, the award was given to defenseman Michael Caruso. In his third season with Rochester, Caruso recorded a career-high five goals scored and played in 75 regular-season games. Caruso was also presented with the Rob Zebleny Unsung Hero Award, as selected by the Rochester media. The award recognizes the player that exhibits courage, enthusiasm and love for the game of hockey.

The Amerks Booster Club also presented the team with three awards Sunday evening. Forward Chris Taylor was recognized for his team-leading three game-winning goals. Entering Sunday, Taylor had recorded 50 points on 10 goals and 40 assists. The veteran continued to climb the various "all-time" categories with the Amerks over the course of the season, as Sunday's contest marked his 518th as an Amerk. The feat put Taylor past Darryl Sly into fourth on the Amerks all-time games played list.

The Booster Club also recognized goaltender Tyler Plante as the team's Most Popular Player. Plante recorded career-highs in total wins, appearances for one team in a season and consecutive games played. The netminder played in 15-straight games from February 9th to March 11th and was also named the Reebok/AHL Player of the Week in February.

To close out the list of honorees, fellow goaltender Jacob Markstrom was also named the 2010-11 Booster Club Rookie of the Year. In his first season of North American hockey, Markstrom compiled a 16-20-1 record with a 2.98 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage before being sidelined for the remainder of the season with a knee injury.

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