The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Kelly Carrington Staff Writer Little did Flin Flon Bomber fans know that they would spend the season watching two of the league's top players. Brett Boehm and Josh Roach have become popular names around not only the Whitney Forum, but rinks throughout the SJHL. Now the two Bombers have been honoured as two of the league's best _ Boehm as Rookie of the Year and Roach as Defenseman of the Year. Both players were presented with their awards at the Whitney Forum last Friday night, Feb. 22, by SJHL president Bill Chow. Before the Bombers took on the La Ronge Ice Wolves, the red carpet was drawn and the players' accomplishments were announced. Boehm and Roach each received a plaque from Chow. The Bombers and the Melville Millionaires each had two players win league awards. Melville's Alex Wakaluk was named league MVP while teammate Ian McNulty was Player of the Year. Matt Hrynkiw of the Humboldt Broncos took the Goaltender of the Year honours. The SJHL provided the following biographies of the five award recipients. Most Valuable Player _ Alex Wakaluk, Melville Millionaires 1993 G Alex Wakaluk (Bellevue AB) backstopped the Melville Millionaires to one of the best records in the SJHL, all the while being one of the busiest netminders in the SJHL. Wakaluk goes into the final couple of games having appeared in 44 of the team's 52 games and he sits third overall in goals against average with a 2.31-ledger, all the while being the last line of defense on a club that has struggled to put together a blue line worthy of being considered comparable to the other elite teams in the league. Wakaluk has as 2.31 GAA and a SPCT of .929, which ranks second in the league. His back-ups this year have posted a combined GAA of well over 3.00 and a SPCT well under .900; further illustrating Wakaluk's importance to the success of the Millionaires. He leads all goalies in wins and is second in minutes played and is also second in shutouts with five. He has faced more rubber than any other puckstopper in the league, seeing an average of well over 32 shots a night. Player of the Year _ Ian McNulty, Melville Millionaires 1992 F Ian McNulty (Airdrie AB) is poised to win the SJHL scoring championship as he leads teammate Russell Trudeau by three points with two games to play. McNulty, who has a scholarship to the University of Connecticut for this Fall, fell five points shy of a scoring championship last season. McNulty is a well rounded player, further evidenced by the fact that despite leading the league in points, he is not amongst the top five in power play points, which is the easiest way for skilled players to register offensive production. McNulty's 25 goals are only four off the league leader and just four of his tallies have come with the man advantage. He does have four game winning goals and he also leads the league in assists despite missing five games earlier in the year due to injury. See 'Most...' on pg. 7 Continued from pg. 4 In the five games McNulty was absent, the Mils struggled to score and win hockey games. Defenseman od the Year _ Josh Roach, Flin Flon Bombers 1992 D Josh Roach (Saskatoon SK) closes out his final season in the SJHL in fine style as he was the most prolific offensive blueliner by a long shot and also, vastly, improved his defensive game and stepped up his leadership qualities as well, lending his experience from last year as a member of the 2012 Canalta Cup champion Humboldt Broncos. Roach was dealt to Flin Flon as future considerations over the summer in the 2011 trade that saw the Bombers send Andrew Johnston to Humboldt. Roach helped make Mike Reagan's patience paid off as he not only led all defensemen in most major categories; but he also came up just one vote shy in the SJHL MVP race. With 13 goals and 41 assists in 52 games, Roach put up over a point per game in a year where offensive production was hard to come by for SJHL skaters. In addition to leading all defensemen in goals, assists, and points, he also finished tied for the lead in power play points. Goaltender of the Year _ Matt Hrynkiw, Humboldt Broncos 1992 G Matt Hyrnkiw (Saskatoon SK) has been, virtually, unbeatable all season long playing on a team that is extremely well rounded and asks its goaltender to make the first save. Well, Hrynkiw makes every save it seems. While he isn't often peppered with shots, Hrynkiw has shown great mental toughness with incredible focus by going through stretches of games where he isn't busy; but still manages to make a tough stop. In addition to leading the league in goals against average (1.80) and save percentage (.940), Hrynkiw also leads the league in shutouts (six), and is second in wins (26) and fourth in minutes played. Rookie of the Year _ Brett Boehm, Flin Flon Bombers 1994 F Brett Boehm (Saskatoon SK) was a runaway winner for the award as he, like teammate Roach, led all players eligible for the award by a wide margin. While Boehm continues to refine the intangibles of his game, his offense is already at an elite level. So much so, that the National Hockey League has taken notice and is on the radar for, potentially, going in the 2013 Entry Draft. Boehm scored 24 goals and 27 assists in 47 games (as Tuesday's game had not yet been played as of press time), leading all first year players in each of those three categories. In fact, he's 15 points better than the second highest scoring rookie. Boehm has a scholarship to attend Minnesota-Duluth.
