It’s in the record books. Bomber forward Tristan Lemyre is this season’s SJHL Rookie of the Year.
The 18-year-old from Mirabel, Que. led the way for all rookies in the league offensive rankings. While Lemyre only managed to finish fourth in team scoring, he did finish atop the rookie scoring chart by a mile, scoring 61 points in 43 games as of Feb. 28. Lemyre outscored the other two rookie of the year candidates, Humboldt’s Karter McNarland and Griffin Asham-Moroz of Estevan, by 12 and 16 points each while playing at least 10 fewer games than both players.
In a season where no other rookie player with 20 games played or more hit a point-per-game this season, Lemyre was scoring at a 1.42 point per game clip.
Only Yorkton forward Chantz Petruic, who led the league in scoring, had scored more points in the SJHL since Dec. 1, 2019.
Lemyre has signed a scholarship offer with Denver University, currently a nationally top-10 ranked college program in the NCAA, for either the 2021-22 or 2022-23 season.
“He is one of the most committed players to the game that I have coached in my 13 years here in Flin Flon. His speed and nose for the net is tremendous. He has been a huge part of our success this year and we feel he has a very bright future in front of him,” said Bombers head coach and general manager Mike Reagan in an SJHL statement.
Elsewhere in the league, Petruic earned both the SJHL’s Most Valuable Player and Player of the Year awards. Petruic ran away with the SJHL scoring title this year, logging a whopping 55 goals and 106 points in 50 games. The Terriers’ top scorer logged a total of 25 points in only 10 games after New Year’s.
The 20-year-old Petruic, who played a season of major junior hockey in Moose Jaw, is not eligible for an NCAA scholarship next season.
A pair of Bombers were nominated in each of the two categories Petruic won. Cole Rafuse, who sits second in SJHL scoring behind only Petruic, was nominated for league MVP as the Sherwood division MVP. Alec Malo, who was named the Sherwood division’s player of the year, was nominated for the league-wide honour after a season where he led the SJHL in assists and powerplay points.
The honour of the SJHL’s top defenceman went to Matthew Fletcher, captain of the Battlefords North Stars. Fletcher, who was the D partner of former defenceman of the year Cody Spagrud last season, had 46 points through 55 games. Fletcher, who is NCAA eligible for next season and does not have an announced scholarship deal, beat out Melfort’s Alex Rondeau and Estevan’s Devan Harrison to win the award.
Berk Berkeliev of the Melville Millionaires won the SJHL’s Top Goaltender honour, capping off a dramatic comeback from suffering a severe concussion two games into the season and missing two months of play. The Calgary native was a lone bright spot for a Melville team that finished distantly at the bottom of the standings, finishing with only 11 wins but still pulling off the league’s best save percentage at .928 and a 2.83 goals against average. Berkeliev is eligible to return to the Mils’ net next season. Other candidates for the award included Liam McGarva of La Ronge and Notre Dame’s Riley Kohonick.
