SYDNEY, N.S. — Leading scorer Mitchell Balmas and team captain Declan Smith shared the Cape Breton Beverages Ltd. Trophy as most valuable player at the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles’ annual awards banquet on Monday at the Membertou Trade and Convention Centre.
Sydney’s Balmas also took home the Casino Nova Scotia Trophy as the regular season scoring champion. Balmas set career highs in goals (42), assists (35) and points (77) in his final Quebec Major Junior Hockey League season.
Antigonish native Smith was also honoured with the Greg Lynch Memorial Trophy for leadership and the 94.9 The Cape Fan’s Choice Award. Smith has 10 goals and 24 assists for 34 points in 48 games this season.
Blue-liner Leon Gawanke won the Eastlink Trophy as top defenceman. Gawanke leads all defenceman on the team with 15 goals and 39 assists for 54 points in 59 games and boasts a plus/minus of +9. Gawanke also earned the Tim Hortons Trophy for outstanding community involvement.
The Rudderham’s Source for Sports Trophy as the team’s rookie of the year went to goaltender William Grimard. He sports a 10-10-0-1 record with a 2.87 goals-against average and a .867 save percentage.
Fellow goaltender Kevin Mandolese also took home some hardware. He won the Jim Hawkins Memorial Trophy as the humanitarian of the year.
Other award winners included Félix Lafrance who claimed the MacLeod-Lorway Insurance Company Trophy as the most improved player; Wilson Forest was handed the Bobby Joe Ryan Memorial Trophy presented by Molson for best sportsmanship; Gabriel Proulx was handed the Cape Breton University Trophy for academic player of the year; and Antoine Crête-Belzile claimed the Tokyo Lloyd MacDonald Memorial Trophy for outstanding work ethic.
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