Oil Kings Wrap Season In Style
1 Comments
Edmonton, AB - The WHL Champion Edmonton Oil Kings wrapped an historic season on Wednesday with a pair of end of the year events. The team held their annual awards night with several players adding to their 2011-12 hardware. The Greg Tomalty Trophy for the Oil Kings MVP was awarded to New York Rangers draft pick Michael St.Croix. St.Croix was also the recipient of the Oil Kings Top Scorer award with a modern franchise record 105 points in the regular season.
Past Greg Tomalty Memorial Trophy Award winner Mark Pysyk was selected as the Oil Kings Top Defenseman for the fourth straight year. Pysyk, a Buffalo Sabres draft pick, was also selected as the 2011-12 Humanitarian of the Year.
The Oil Kings also had the opportunity to say goodbye to three graduating overage players Rhett Rachinski, Jordan Peddle and Tyler Maxwell. Rachinski was the recipient of the 2011-12 Scholastic Player of the Year award as well as the 2011-12 Blue Willow Unsung Hero Award.
Not on hand for the awards presentations were Griffin Reinhart, Henrik Samuelsson and Mitch Moroz who are currently in Toronto attending the 2012 NHL Draft Combine.
2012 Oil Kings Award Winners
Greg Tomalty Memorial Award (MVP) - Michael St.Croix
Top Rookie Award - Curtis Lazar & Martin Gernat
Top Defenseman - Mark Pysyk
Top Scorer Award - Michael St.Croix
Blue Willow Unsung Hero Award - Rhett Rachinski
Scholastic Player of the Year - Rhett Rachinski
Humanitarian of the Year - Mark Pysyk
The 2011-12 season of Oil Kings hockey was the most decorated in modern franchise history and included several team accomplishments:
- 2012 WHL Champions
- 2012 WHL Scholastic Team Of The Year
- 50 Wins, 107 Points to lead the WHL and capture the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as the WHL Regular Season Champions
- Led the WHL in playoff attendance with 99,835 fans
- Regular Season Central Division and Eastern Conference Champs
- New regular season, single-game attendance record of 16,651
- A franchise best 22-game winning streak
In the afternoon the Oil Kings were invited to City Hall for a special celebration in their honour. Mayor Stephen Mandel and other dignitaries took part in the event as May 30, 2012 was officially proclaimed Oil Kings Day in Edmonton. After the formal part of the event, Oil Kings players and students from Donnan Elementary School’s hockey program took part in a fun street hockey game on 102A Avenue.
"We want to thank the Mayor and council and the City of Edmonton for this honour." said Head Coach Derek Laxdal "As an organization, we know that this is a day that our players will always remember."
Players will now be released for the summer. Believe it or not, the 2012-13 season officially starts this weekend. The Oil Kings will host their annual Summer Rookie Camp this weekend in Leduc.
Follow these links for photos:
CITY HALL CELEBRATION / OIL KINGS AWARDS
