DeFazio Named the Team's IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year
April 2, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Utica Comets News Release
The Utica Comets are proud to announce that Brandon DeFazio has been named the team's winner of the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year award for his outstanding contributions to the Utica community during the 2013-14 season. This is the third consecutive year that DeFazio has been named his team's Man of the Year after receiving the nomination with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers last season and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins as a rookie in 2011-12.
In the club's inaugural season, DeFazio led the Comets effort to make an impact in the Mohawk Valley community. Always friendly and a great ambassador for the team, DeFazio quickly became a fan favorite. In his first few weeks in Utica, DeFazio and four teammates joined Mayor Robert Palmieri in his Quality of Life Sweep to help clean up some of the Utica streets. He has volunteered his time at local schools, libraries, and hospitals and has taken the ice with the Utica Jr. Comets to assist at their practices.
In February, the Clarkson University product and native of Oakville, ON, spent an evening preparing and serving food at the Rescue Mission of Utica. The Comets also donated over $32,000 to the Rescue Mission following their game on March 7.
DeFazio is now one of 30 finalists for the AHL's 2013-14 Yanick Dupre Memorial Award, honoring the overall IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year. The league award is named after the former Hershey Bears forward and AHL All-Star who died in 1997 following a 16-month battle with leukemia. The winner of the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award will be announced by the American Hockey League later this month.
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