Firebirds Announce 2024-25 Team Award Winners

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OHL Flint Firebirds

Firebirds Announce 2024-25 Team Award Winners

March 25, 2025 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


FLINT - The Flint Firebirds held their annual Players Award Banquet on Monday evening following the conclusion of the 2024-25 regular season. Head Coach Paul Flache and the rest of the team announced the winners of eight team awards with the entire roster, coaching staff, support and business staff, players' families and billet families in attendance.

Flint named goaltender Nathan Day its team MVP. Day appeared in 59 games and finished the season with a record of 26-25-2-3 while tallying a 3.07 goals against average and a .894 save percentage. The Edmonton Oilers prospect recorded his first two OHL shutouts during the 2024-25 season and became the franchise's all-time leader in wins by a goaltender, surpassing his former teammate, Luke Cavallin.

Sam McCue was honored as the team's top scorer. McCue finished the season with 36 goals and 19 assists for a career-high 55 points in 55 combined games between the Firebirds and the Owen Sound Attack. Acquired at the trade deadline, the Toronto Maple Leafs prospect scored 18 goals and handed out six assists in 20 games played as a Firebird.

Overager Blake Smith was named the Top Defenseman. Smith played in 64 games and set new career-highs with 10 goals, 22 assists and 32 points while leading the team with a +15 plus/minus rating. In his final year in the OHL, Smith more than doubled the career goal, assist and point totals he had carried into the season.

For the second consecutive season, the Firebirds named Rylan Fellinger their Student Athelete of the year. The second-year defenseman appeared in 64 games and finished the season with three goals and four assists while also consistently achieving top grades in the classroom.

Alex Kostov was given the Most Improved Player award. Kostov had a breakout season in his third season in the OHL and his second as a Firebird. He totaled 16 goals and 29 assists and his 45 points were tied for the fifth-most on the team, also representing a significant jump from his 26 points during the 2023-24 season. Kostov also led the Firebirds with three shorthanded goals while serving as a mainstay on the Flint penalty kill.

Connor Clattenburg was given the Blue Collar Player award. The Flint captain and Edmonton Oilers prospect played 46 games and tallied 16 goals and 19 assists while leading the team with 108 penalty minutes. Edmonton drafted Clattenburg in the fifth round of the 2024 NHL Draft and signed him to an NHL entry-level in December.

The Firebirds named Karlis Flugins as the team's Rookie of the Year. Flugins led Flint rookies with 14 points on five assists and nine points in 52 games. The Latvia native was selected by the Firebirds in the second round of the 2024 CHL Import Draft and will be eligible for the NHL Draft in 2026

Kostov, Day and Matthew Wang shared the Iron Man Award. Kostov and Wang were the only two players to appear in all 68 regular season games, while Day led all OHL goaltenders in minutes played with 3,401, 220 more than any other netminder.

The Firebirds finished the regular season with a record of 29-34-2-3 and earned the sixth seed in the Western Conference. Flint will take on the Kitchener Rangers in the first round of the OHL Playoffs, beginning with Game 1 on Friday at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium at 7 p.m. The Firebirds will play their first home game of the series with Game 3 on Tuesday, April 1 at 7 p.m. at the Dort Financial Center. Playoff tickets are on sale now at the Dort Financial Center box office and online at ETIX.com.

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