The Bonnyville Pontiacs celebrated their successes on and off the ice on Friday night with their annual awards banquet.
The evening included dinner, a season recap by Head Coach and General Manager Rick Swan, a recognition of last year’s award winner since there was no opportunity for a banquet then, and the handing out of the 2021-22 team awards.
The graduating players of Kash Rasmussen, Will Hilfiker, Nick Traggio, Austin Saint, Michael Fairfax, Alex Danis, AJ Macaulay, and Alex Power were presented with canvasses to remember their time as Pontiacs by, while given a send off by Coach Swan. Captain Kash Rasmussen then responded with a message to the players who will be returning next season.
There was a 50/50, a silent auction for desserts, and also an autographed team picture plus a 30th anniversary jersey live auctioned at the event as well.
Despite exiting in the first round of the post-season, the Pontiacs highlighted the bundles of good news that occurred since players arrived for training camp in late August.
Here are the 2021-22 Bonnyville Pontiacs team award winners:
Most Gentlemanly Player: Matteo Giampa
Most Improved Player: JR Ashmead
Top Rookie: Charlie Russell
Matt Cook Unsung Hero Award: Austin Saint
Top Defensive Forward: Trey Funk
Top Defenceman: AJ Macaulay
President’s Award: Will Hilfiker
Neil Crawley Memorial +/-: Sebastian Tamburro
Top Scorer: Sebastian Tamburro
Regular Season MVP: Kash Rasmussen
Playoff MVP: AJ Macaulay
3 Star Award: Matt Hennessey
Ma Hebert Award: Nick Ozero