Thunder Talk: February 26th

The Prairie Junior Hockey League announced it's Award Winners for the 2008-2009 season and our organization was represented well again this year.



Captain Matt Minshull was a Co-Runner Up for the Most Sportsmanlike Player award that went to Fort Knox's Jarrett Waldbauer. This distinction for Matt couldn't be more deserved. Matt's character and leadership both on the ice and off has been a tremendous example for his teammates as well as other captains throughout the league. Matt finished 8th in league scoring with 57 points and 5th in goals with 29 to go along with his minuscule 6 penalty minutes over 38 games..... seriously Matt, 6 minutes?? How is that possible in this league!!!



Rookie goaltender and local product Jay Hudon was named Runner-Up Rookie Of The Year behind Fort Knox's Dane Bonish. One of a handful of 16 year olds playing in the league this season and the leagues youngest goaltender Jay was 2nd behind PJHL MVP and Top Goaltender winner Curtis Timmerman of Fort Knox in Wins with 17 in 26 starts this season. That type of workload on a 16 year old is impressive in itself and when you factor in his 2.94 GAA, which made him one of only 3 goalies with an GAA under 3.00 and at least 20 starts this season, the other 2 being Timmerman(2.33) and Nathan Unrau(2.62) of the Quakers, it is obvious that Jay has proven himself to not only be one of the best rookies this season but one of the best goaltenders and players in the PJHL.

Lastly, I was fortunate enough to be honored with the Peter Dittmann Memorial Coach-of-the-year Award. This is the second straight year that a Thunder coach has won this award with Gavin Holcomb winning last season. I believe that the leadership exhibited by the board, in management and within the the dressing room is the reason for the organizations success in this regard. The Thunder organization's past successes and reputation as a stand out franchise in Jr hockey sets expectations high every season, and that was a major reason for me signing on this spring. I am very proud that our team has met these expectations through the regular season and look forward to meeting them in the post season beginning Friday night.

On behalf of the Thunder I'd like to extend our congratulations to all PJHL award winners and runner-ups for this season.

Keep Your Stick On The Ice
Coach Kingwell