Amherstburg Admirals hand out year-end awards

Award winners Dallas Kelly, Jadyn Brown, Ryan Clark, Brett Jones, Rory Sandison and Brooke Belanger were honoured Sunday night by the Amherstburg Admirals.

The Amherstburg Admirals officially brought their hockey season to an end Sunday night as they hosted their annual awards night.

Held at Shooters Roadhouse, club general manager Andrew Sykes said that the Provincial Junior Hockey League (Jr. C) team is moving in a positive direction.

“Our organization is in the midst of taking some big strides and it started this year,” said Sykes.

The Admirals improved over the previous season by 23 points and, for the first time in five years, won a playoff series, beating the Wheatley Sharks.

Sykes had a lot of kind words on the night including for club owners Greg Crain and Matt Fox.

“They make my duties so much easier and have stuck with me through some growing pains. They are in it because they love hockey.”

One of the pains the Admirals suffered this year was replacing dismissed head coach Beau Hunter with a somewhat inexperienced bench staff led by head coach Zack Gervais, who along with assistants AJ Ryan, Justin Toth and Gabe Gervais were named the Coaching Staff of the Year for the West Stobbs Division.

They were credited for pushing the Admirals past the Sharks in the post-season matchup.

“You could feel how thick the tension was after we lost Game 5. They did a great job calming the waters,” said Sykes.

Amherstburg’s support staff will look a little different next year as trainer Jenna Jardine will not be back. She was very well regarded the past two years for her ability and her commitment which meant driving from Wallaceburg for games and practices.

“I don’t think I could have done it with a better group of people. I know really great things are coming for this team and organization,” said Jardine.

The big winner on the night as far as awards was graduating Jadyn Brown who has worn the blue-and-white for four years. He was the recipient of both the Coaches Award and the Community Service Award.

Jack Bulmer was named the best defenceman and rookie goalie Russell Vaughn was the Naples Pizza 3-star winner. As far as rookies go, Rory Sandison was the top newcomer and both of his linemates Brett Jones (top scorer) and Drew Booker (MVP) were acknowledged.

“We knew he (Sandison) had a lot of potential,” said Gervais.

Dallas Kelly was the Most Improved and for his big overtime goal in the playoffs, defenceman Ryan Clark was the MVP in the playoffs. Brooke Belanger was the Volunteer of the Year.

Gervais who returns behind the bench in the fall, said all the players enjoyed coming to the rink every day.

“These guys decided from Day 1 that it was going to be a great year. They became close.”

Gervais praised the leadership of the graduating players of Brown, Bulmer, Clark and captain Darby Drouillard.

“You guys were the best leaders I’ve ever had on a team.”

Amherstburg Admirals hand out year-end awards

By Fred Groves