Jakaitis Nominated for Man of the Year Award

March 15, 2011 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Dayton Gems News Release


DAYTON, OH - The Dayton Gems' Jeff Jakaitis has been named a finalist for the Central Hockey League's Man of the Year Award.

Jakaitis is one of just five players in the CHL to be named a finalist for the award. Each team in the CHL nominated one player from their organization for the award. The league selected five men from that list as finalist for the award.

A panel will announce the winner on Tuesday, March 22.

This season, Jakaitis has been involved with several different community functions. In the fall, Jakaitis helped build a house with Dayton's Habitat for Humanity. During the holiday season, Jakaitis was heavily involved with local community events, especially those that involved working alongside children.

In February, Jakaitis also spent time raising public awareness about breast cancer. The Dayton Daily News wrote a features article about Jakaitis and how his mother is a breast cancer survivor. The Dayton Gems end up raising and donating $3,000 to The Noble Circle Project and the Women's Wellness Fund at Kettering Medical Center.

Jakaitis has also proven to be a family man as well. He is a new father and - according to those who are close to Jakaitis - has done everything possible to spend as much time with his family during the season.

"He's been a great ambassador for this team and his willingness to be in the community is outstanding," said head coach Brian Gratz.

Also being named as finalist were Adam Hogg of the Colorado Eagles, Liam Huculak of the Allen Americans, Zak McClellan of the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees and Simon Watson of the Missouri Mavericks.

The Dayton Gems also announced that the shootout between Springboro and Centerville will no longer be taking place due to scheduling conflicts.

The Kettering Medical Center is proud to be the official title sponsor of the Gems for the 2010-11 season.



Central Hockey League Stories from March 15, 2011


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