Many awards were presented to worthy recipients at the Powell River Kings’ awards banquet but none was more poignant than Volunteer of the Year.
Kings promote themselves as a society backed by volunteers and they embraced the opportunity to honour a man who gave countless hours to the organization.
Don Smisko died recently and Kings, sadly but proudly, awarded the volunteer honour in his name to mascot Rocco.
Rocco, in his new duds, is not only a fixture at games but is also Kings’ presence in parades, golf tournaments and several other events.
Coach and general manager Kent Lewis made the connection from Smisko to Rocco and the small army of volunteers to the tight family connection throughout the Kings’ society.
“I had kind of a revelation coming here and asked myself ‘what is a hockey season?’” Lewis said. “Last year I remember kicking myself in the rear after losing a league final and went to the banquet saying it would be nice to win one. Today I was coming in with a record under 500 and going out in the first round thinking ‘Jeez, now what do I say?’”
He looked out over the audience of 200 people gathered in the Arbutus Room at Powell River Recreation Complex. “It’s not about your coach. It’s not about hockey in particular. It’s really all about the people in this room.”
After the applause subsided Lewis began the process of recognizing his players for their achievements.
On offence JP Villeneuve, who came to Powell River in a January 10 trade last year, took home four awards including Most Valuable Player. On the blue line, Jordan Paddock earned three, including Best Defenceman.
Certainly one of the loudest ovations went up for Kings’ captain Teagan Waugh.
In three and a half years, Waugh has experienced many highs and lows with the club but never wavered in his hustle and dedication to his team.
“It feels like yesterday that I came to Powell River,” he said, “and now it’s my last day in town and it has just flown by. I couldn’t have chosen a better organization and I’m really sad to leave. I had great billets and great coaching and it’s a great community to play hockey in.”
As Waugh departs he passes the mantle to younger players such as rookie Brian Rideout, who suffered his share of injuries like several other Kings.
“It’s almost like a bad bounce that happens time and time again,” Rideout said of the Kings’ injury-plagued season. “It hurts team morale too and some guys were getting down just because they don’t have the opportunity to play. The guys coming back are getting pretty excited for next year. We know each other and we have a good time with each other and I’m pretty confident we can be successful next year.”
Twice as many players will return to camp in August and that is a good start for the team that hates to lose.
Kings Scroll:
Kings have deals with a couple of promising young players to the team next year.
Jarid Lukosevicius (95), leading scorer (31 goals, 34 assists in 38 games) for the Northwest Giants of the BC Major Midget League, has committed to the Kings for next year. On the back end, Kings also are pleased to report that Saskatoon Contacts’ big two-way defenceman Jeremy Leclerc (95) has also committed. He is the team’s captain (named to the AAA Midget Hockey Mac’s 2012 first all-star team). Lewis said, “We need size, character, leadership and first-year guys with that maturity in them and he has it.”
Awards were presented to the following Powell River Kings:
True Grit Award: Jordan Paddock
Unsung Hero: Drew Dorantes
Academic Player of the Year: Jordan Burns
Plus-Minus Award: Jarryd Leung/James Neil (+9)
Sportsmanship Award: Stephen Hiff
Most Improved: Matt Dupont
Armitage Men’s Wear Three Stars Award: Evan Richardson
Community Award: JP Villeneuve
Leading Scorer: Villeneuve/Evan Richardson
Most Popular Player: Villeneuve
Coach's Award: Teagan Waugh
Most Inspirational Player: Paddock
Top Defenceman: Paddock
Top Rookie: Jordan Burns
Most Valuable Player: Villeneuve
True Beauty: Norm Philip
Don Smisko - Volunteer of the Year: Rocco
