Plymouth Whalers Complete 2008-09 Season With Awards Banquet

Published on April 20, 2009 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Plymouth Whalers News Release


PLYMOUTH - The Ontario Hockey League's Plymouth Whalers finished the 2008-09 season tonight with an Awards Banquet held tonight at CJ's Brewing Company at Compuware Sports Arena. The following players received awards:

REGULAR SEASON MOST VALUABLE PLAYER, LEADING SCORER, ACADEMIC PLAYER and HUMANITARIAN of the YEAR: Captain Chris Terry, who led the Whalers with 39 goals and 55 assists for 94 points and was +25 during the regular season. Terry is third overall in franchise career scoring with 114 goals and 175 assists for 289 points in 253 games. Selected by the Carolina Hurricanes in the fifth round (132nd overall) in the 2007 National Hockey League Entry Draft, Terry may be well signed by the Hurricanes by this summer's NHL Entry Draft. Terry has been a leader in the Whalers' Community Relations efforts over the past three seasons and is Plymouth's nominee for the Ontario Hockey League's Dan Snyder Award as Humanitarian of the Year.

ROOKIE of the YEAR: Center Tyler Seguin, who scored 21 goals with 46 assists for 67 points and was +14 in 61 games.

DEFENSEMAN of the YEAR: Defenseman Michal Jordan, who scored 12 goals with 30 assists for 42 points and was a team-leading +28 in 58 games. Jordan - a fourth round pick (105th overall) of the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft - has played for the Czech Republic in the 2008 and 2009 World Junior Championships.

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER of the YEAR: Goaltender Matt Hackett, who won the lead goaltender's position with the Whalers in November and posted a career-best 3.04 goals against average, .913 save percentage, two shutouts and a 34-13-3-0 record in 55 games for the Whalers this season. Hackett continued his fine work through the playoffs, posting a 3.01 goals against average and .930 save percentage in 11 playoff appearances. Hackett is rated by the National Hockey League's Central Scouting Bureau as top prospect among all North American goaltenders for this summer's NHL Entry Draft.

UNSUNG HERO of the YEAR: Center Matt Caria, who came to the Whalers in December in a trade with Sault Ste. Marie and scored 34 goals with 58 assists for 92 points and was +14 in 67 games this season. Currently a free-agent, Caria is playing for a professional contract next season.

LABATT BLUE COLLAR PLAYER of the YEAR: Veteran center Joe Gaynor, who enjoyed career highs with 12 goals and 18 assists for 30 points and was +7 in 68 games this season. Gaynor is one of the best defensive forwards in the OHL and could return to the Whalers next season as an overage player.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER IN THE PLAYOFFS: Hackett, who posted a 3.01 goals against average and .930 save percentage in 11 playoff appearances.

LEADING SCORER IN THE PLAYOFFS (tie): Terry, who scored seven goals with nine assists for 16 points; and Seguin, who tallied five goals with 11 assists for 16 points.

WHALER BOOSTER CLUB AWARDS: Barb Mohrlock Award as Fan Favorite - Chris Terry; Player of the Month of April, Matt Caria; Academic Player of the Month, Tyler J. Brown; Grinder of the Year, Joe Gaynor.

WHALER OFF-ICE OFFICIALS: Alice Iafrate Award as Overage of the Year - Brett Bellemore. Certificates and Cash Awards to Matt Caria and Scott Fletcher.

Next up for the Whalers? The annual Ontario Hockey League Draft, held on Saturday, May 2.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Ontario Hockey League Stories from April 20, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central