As the Western Hockey League regular-season champions, it’s no surprise the Victoria Royals were nomination-heavy for the 2015-16 league awards.
The Royals came away from the ceremony Wednesday in Calgary with Dave Lowry named WHL coach of the year for the second time in three seasons, Matthew Phillips the league top rookie and Tyler Soy most sportsmanlike player.
But Royals captain Joe Hicketts, the Western Conference nominee for both WHL MVP and best defenceman, was beaten in those respective categories by Dryden Hunt of the Moose Jaw Warriors and Ivan Provorov of the Brandon Wheat Kings.
“[Lowry] is the best coach in the WHL and proved that again with this group, which many [in the media] in the pre-season predicted could maybe make the playoffs or maybe not,” said Royals GM Cam Hope.
Lowry guided the Royals to 50 wins and 106 points, both franchise records.
“It’s an honour, and a byproduct of the season we had, and our team effort,” said former NHLer Lowry, who has compiled a record of 162-85-17 in his four seasons on the Victoria bench.
“Matthew Phillips had a dynamic first year in the league [with a WHL rookie-leading 37 goals and 76 points]. Matthew did what we expected of him, times two. Tyler Soy [with 46 goals and only 27 penalty minutes] played an honest, hard-working game,” Hope said.
“Joe [Hicketts] was deservedly the Western Conference MVP and had an outstanding season,” said Hope. “But it’s hard to argue against the two award winners when you look at their exceptional seasons [the 20-year-old over-age Hunt scored 58 goals with 116 points, while Russian junior national-team player Provorov was plus-64].”
Hope, the Western Conference executive of the year, had no quibble with that award for the entire league going to Peter Anholt of the Lethbridge Hurricanes. While Victoria’s season success was built on the bedrock Hope laid in past seasons, Anholt in his first season turned around a miserable Hurricanes franchise to 46-24-2.
“[Anholt] took Lethbridge’s past position in the standings and turned it on its head . . . a 26-point turnaround from the previous season is unheard of,” said Hope.
The Royals — who drew large crowds late in the regular season and first two rounds of the playoffs before their premature exit in the last-millisecond Game 7 collapse against Kelowna — won the WHL Marketing/Business Award for 2015-16.
“That was a very gratifying award because the people of Victoria came out to support the Royals,” said Hope.
The Royals averaged 4,860 fans per game this regular season, ninth best in the 22-team WHL.
