NWHL Awards Preview and Predictions!
We have our awards finalists! The league is set to announce the winners on April 28th on a special edition of NWHL Open Ice hosted by Katie Gaus, starting at 7 PM Eastern Standard Time. The finalists, as nominated by a selection committee of media and broadcasters representing all six NWHL markets plus national contributors. Those finalists are:
MVP:
Jillian Dempsey (Boston)
Kaleigh Fratkin (Boston)
Mikyla Grant-Mentis (Toronto)
Christina Putigna (Boston)
Defender of the Year:
Shannon Doyle (Connecticut)
Lindsay Eastwood (Toronto)
Kaleigh Fratkin (Boston)
Mallory Souliotis (Boston)
Goaltender of the Year:
Elaine Chuli (Toronto)
Carly Jackson (Buffalo)
Amanda Leveille (Minnesota)
Lovisa Selander (Boston)
Newcomer of the Year:
Sammy Davis (Boston)
Mikyla Grant-Mentis (Toronto)
Carly Jackson (Buffalo)
Haley Mack (Minnesota)
Denna Laing Award (awarded to the player who most exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to her sport):
Jillian Dempsey (Boston)
Shannon Doyle (Connecticut)
Brooke Stacey (Buffalo)
Saroya Tinker (Metropolitan)
Our Head Writer and Editor, Spencer Fascetta, was granted a nomination spot. In that vein, he asked some of our writing staff for their OWN picks.
MVP:
Spencer Fascetta: Mikyla Grant-Mentis (Toronto)
No one player made a greater impact on their team’s success than MGM. She was relied upon defensively, but her offensive contributions were spectacular. She tied for the league lead in scoring in her first full season and peppered the highlight reel in the process. She is the single most dangerous player in the league with the puck on her stick. More importantly, she gave the league’s newest franchise, in its most important new market, a legitimate superstar to build around moving forward.
Jess Belmosto: Jillian Dempsey (Boston)
Jillian Dempsey has earned the title. This season she earned her 100th point, being the first player in NWHL history to do so. Christina Putigna would be my runner up simply because of her performance on the ice and how heavily you could rely on her.
Oliver Antone: Mikayla Grant-Mantis (Toronto)
While technically it’s Grant-Mantis’ first season, her longer stint in the NWHL proved her dominant scoring touch, speed, and skill on the ice. Grant-Mantis remained a threat every time she was on the ice. Even when teams game planned for her, she found a way around. I said it several times throughout the season, always bet on MGM. Considering she’s the only non-Pride player in the running, there’s no doubt in my mind that she is most deserving of this award.
Newcomer of the Year:
Spencer Fascetta: Sammy Davis (Boston)
I don’t feel Mikyla Grant-Mentis should be considered a rookie, so let’s eliminate that possibility right there. That being said, I think Sammy Davis was outstanding. Quietly, she finished second in the league with four goals in 7 games, and actually became a legitimate line driver on Boston’s second line. It’s no coincidence that her breakout facilitated the breakouts of the other two rookies in the Pride’s middle six. Let’s put a pin in the trade that led to Boston acquiring her, because we have yet to see what Toronto does with this year’s 1st Round pick, but so far, the returns are more than promising.
Jess Belmosto: Mikyla Grant-Mentis (Toronto)
This is a name everyone needs to be watching. Grant-Mentis notched nine points in six games for the Toronto Six. She was never lost on the ice and her presence for the Six was crucial.
Oliver Antone: Sammy Davis (Boston)
With MGM taking home MVP (plus a lot of voters not realizing it was a rookie season for her), CJ taking Goaltender of the Year, one final rookie deserves her spotlight. Sammy Davis was electric this season once off the rookie line. Her first points came against Buffalo, then she went on hat trick watch against them a few nights later. Once Sammy got comfortable, her killer scoring ability rose to new heights. She looks to be one of the NWHL’s shining stars for years to come.
Defender of the Year:
Spencer Fascetta: Tori Howran (Connecticut)
Kaleigh Fratkin is going to get a lot of love for this award, but I find defenders rarely are evaluated in proper context. Yes, she tied for the league lead in points. But of the 9 points she tallied, all were assists – and 6 of them were secondary assists. To me, that’s a lot of potential noise. While Shannon Doyle is the Whale defender nominated for this award, I’m going a bit off the board with her defensive partner. Tori Howran was on the ice for the fewest shot attempts against at 5v5 per hour this season. In the league. As a rookie. On a team that struggled offensively. She also was on the ice for about 6 more attempts per hour than Fratkin. She had a better takeaway to giveaway ratio (Fratkin, despite leading the league in takeaways, also led it in giveaways). She was placed in a high leverage position and immediately succeeded, both offensively and defensively. To see her not only not win this award, but not even be nominated is a true shame.
Jess Belmosto: Kaleigh Fratkin (Boston)
This belongs to Kaleigh Fratkin. Boston could count on her for throwing herself in front of the puck from a block and protecting the puck, allowing only 1 giveaway this season. Fratkin had two assists in the playoffs this season, highlighting her playmaking skills.
Oliver Antone: Lindsay Eastwood (Toronto)
Right next to MGM was Lindsay Eastwood proving to be a deadly on-ice threat. Shannon Doyle carried Connecticut’s d-core, however Eastwood’s presence in game never went unnoticed. I knock her down a notch or two for the 5-1 comeback loss. Fratty and Souliotis make solid cases, especially considering the low scoring contests most of Boston’s losses were. However, more and more Eastwood’s play makes me pick her for the league’s best defender.
Goaltender of the Year:
Spencer Fascetta: Lovisa Selander (Boston)
This was a much, much closer goalie race than I think anyone realized it would be, but it comes down to one simple fact for me. Of the goaltenders that started the majority of their team’s games, Selander saved the most goals above average (only the Riveters’ Sonja Shelly was better, but she only played in two games). Better than Leveille, and much better than her backup in Victoria Hanson, who actually finished in the negative in GSAA. I acknowledge that this is probably a toss-up between her and Leveille, given that Lev stopped an additional goal above expected and had a more difficult workload than Selander, but the biggest difference is that 6-5 game between Minnesota and Toronto – Lev was in net for all five goals against. Selander didn’t have a single performance allowing more than two goals against until the league’s championship game – where she allowed only 3, the third of which came with only 19 seconds remaining in the game. That pushes Selander over the top for me.
Jess Belmosto: Amanda Leveille (Minnesota)
Her performance in the play-in game against the Connecticut Whale had everyone watching. Though the season was shortened, her stats were in line with a full-length season.
Oliver Antone: Carly Jackson (Buffalo)
Carly Jackson is my MVP. Period. No voter is telling me otherwise. Through each loss she stood on her head with poise and composure. Making valuable saves that kept Buffalo in every game. CJ shone every night in net, with hosts on “Tonight in the NWHL” consistently noting her high-level of play. She’s going to backbone Buffalo in their quest for a second Cup. Keep an eye on her, because if you blink, you’ll miss an amazing save.
Denna Laing Award:
Spencer Fascetta: Saroya Tinker (Metropolitan)
I can’t speak to everything Saroya Tinker has been through in her life. But I can recognize her for the incredible impact she has made on the entire sport in her short professional career. She has been fearless in her pursuit of equality, unwavering in the face of seemingly limitless hatred, and she should win this award in a walk. Nobody should have to deal with the level of crap she has over her career; but nobody has done it with as much grace and maturity.
Jess Belmosto: Saroya Tinker
Hands down. Her presence and voice means so much to so many. Tinker had to deal with harassment from larger entities while in the Bubble. Her strength never wavered and she continued to push through. Day in and day out she is fighting for justice.
Oliver Antone: Saroya Tinker (Metropolitan)
Enough said. Denna embodies resilience, overcoming, hard work, and never fearing. Saroya stepped into an interesting locker room, and I’ll leave it at that. Yet, she went out onto the ice every night. Played for the crest on her jersey with pride. Off ice she used her voice. Amid a tough social media blowout, Saroya spoke first. The rookie. Two games under her belt. Resilient in her words and activism. Overcoming each obstacle in front of her on and off the ice. Hard working when getting to the rink and giving it all for Metro. Never fearing what her teammates, or a bunch of angry followers of some chair-based sports blog think. We can only hope Metro introduces alternate Black Rosie jerseys next season, and Rosie bears a striking resemblance to Saroya Tinker.
What did you think about our picks? Be sure to let us know!