CHL Award Finalists Announced

[VodkaFish]

Five finalists for each of four significant Central Hockey League awards have been determined, selected by the CHL front office following nominations from member clubs. Balloting will take place among CHL Head Coaches, team Communications Departments and selected media members to determine the recipients of the CHL’s Most Valuable Player, Most Outstanding Goaltender, Most Outstanding Defenseman and Rookie of the Year awards.

2007-2008 CHL Most Valuable Player candidates include Arizona’s Alex Leavitt (the CHL’s leading scorer), Laredo’s Jeff Bes, New Mexico’s Konrad Reeder, Rocky Mountain’s Brent Cullaton and Bossier-Shreveport goaltender John DeCaro.

DeCaro is also one of the finalists for the Most Outstanding Goaltender, an award he won last season. He is joined by Odessa’s Alexandre Vincent, Youngstown’s Andy Franck, Laredo’s Dustin Traylen and Rocky Mountain’s Scott Reid.

The selected finalists to receive Most Outstanding Defenseman consideration include Oklahoma City’s Mike Burgoyne, New Mexico’s Vladimir Hartinger, Laredo’s Adam Rivet, Arizona’s Chris Bartolone and Colorado’s Aaron Schneekloth.

Rookie of the Year honors will be determined amongst Bossier-Shreveport’s Tyrel Lucas, Amarillo’s David Nimmo, Laredo’s Andrew Desjardins, Arizona’s Mark Kolanos and Odessa’s Vincent.

Additional awards to be determined include Coach of the Year, Equipment Manager of the Year and Athletic Trainer of the Year, as determined by their CHL peers, along with six member All-CHL and All-Rookie teams. The CHL’s regular season point leader will receive the Joe Burton Scoring Champion award, while the CHL front office will determine the recipients of both the Man of the Year (for outstanding leadership and contributions to the community) and Rick Kozuback (perseverance, determination and commitment to hockey) awards based on nominations and supporting material from CHL member teams.