Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Alums Claim AHL, ECHL MVP Honors

Yale’s O’Neill, LSSU’s Jakaitis headline award winners in AHL and ECHL for 2014-15.

Alums Claim AHL, ECHL MVP Honors
Brian O’Neill was a two-time first-team All-ECAC Hockey selection at Yale (Photo by Sam Rubin, Yale Sports Publicity).

Led by former Yale star Brian O’Neill and former Lake Superior State star Jeff Jakaitis, college hockey alumni were featured prominently in postseason awards for the NHL’s top developmental leagues, the AHL and ECHL.

O’Neill, a Los Angeles Kings prospect with the Manchester Monarchs, captured AHL Most Valuable Player honors, while Jakaitis claimed ECHL MVP honors while starring for the South Carolina Stingrays.

Former NCAA players were also named the best defensemen in both leagues (Miami’s Chris Wideman in the AHL; AIC’s Mike Little in the ECHL) and rookie of the year in the ECHL (Wisconsin’s Tyler Barnes).

Both league’s sportsmanship awards went to NCAA alums as well. Former Nebraska Omaha star Jeff Hoggan won the AHL’s Fred T. Hunt Award for sportsmanship, determination and dedication to hockey, while Chad Costello (Northeastern) won the ECHL Sportsmanship Award.

A complete look at alumni postseason award winners in the AHL and ECHL:

AHL

MVP: Brian O’Neill (Yale)
Eddie Shore Award: Chris Wideman (Miami)
Fred T. Hunt Award: Jeff Hoggan (Nebraska Omaha)
Yanick Dupre Award: Kyle Hagel (Princeton)

First-Team All-Stars
D: Brad Hunt (Bemidji State)
D: Chris Wideman (Miami)
F: Chris Bourque (Boston University)
F: Andy Miele (Miami)

Second-Team All-Stars
F: Brian O’Neill (Yale)

ECHL

MVP: Jeff Jakaitis (Lake Superior State)
Goaltender of the Year: Jeff Jakaitis (Lake Superior State)
Defenseman of the Year: Mike Little (AIC)
Rookie of the Year: Tyler Barnes (Wisconsin)
Sportsmanship Award: Chad Costello (Northeastern)

First-Team All-Stars
G: Jeff Jakaitis (Lake Superior State)
D: Mike Little (AIC)
F: Chad Costello (Northeastern)
F: Wade MacLeod (Northeastern)

Second-Team All-Stars
G: Jeff Lerg (Michigan State)
D: Cameron Burt (RIT)
D: Aaron Gens (Alaska)
F: Adam Brace (Robert Morris)
F: Brendan Connolly (Ferris State)
F: Gary Steffes (Miami)

All-Rookie Team
D: Justin Baker (St. Lawrence)
D: Steven Shamanski (Providence)
F: Derek Army (Providence)
F: Tyler Barnes (Wisconsin)