MONTREAL – Four members of the McGill University men's hockey team, were among the laureates as the OUA East all-stars and major awards were announced by the league, Thursday.
Scott Walford merited first-team all-star status and was named as the True Sport Award recipient. Mikisiw Awashish received the Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Award, while William Rouleau was voted a first-team all-star and collected all-rookie honours, along with Maxime Blanchard.
Walford, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound native of Coquitlam, B.C., was the second-leading point-getter among OUA defencemen this season with a 3-21-24 record in 23 games. Despite averaging over 25 minutes of ice time per game, he was only penalized twice, both of them minors. A 23-year-old economics junior, he earned Academic All-Canadian status and made the Principal's Student-athlete Honour Roll. Walford, a third-round draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens in 2017, missed three league contests while helping Canada win gold at the 2023 FISU World University Games in Lake Placid, N.Y., where he tallied five assists in seven tourney appearances. Among Walford's off-ice contributions was organizing team participation in a "Run for the Cure" fundraiser, in honour of his roommate's mother who passed away from cancer (Oct., 2022). An alternate captain, he served as team mentor for freshmen and volunteered for a McGill Athletics "thank-a-thon", calling donors to thank them for their support. Also, during the COVID-cancelled season (2020-21), while studying remotely from B.C., Wolford stepped in as an assistant coach of a local under-15 hockey team after his former coach/mentor tragically took his own life.
Last year, Walford received the Dr. Bobby Bell Memorial Bowl, which has been presented since 1950 to the Team MVP. He also played for a university all-star squad in a preseason contest against the Montreal Canadiens rookie team in the fall of 2021.
Awashish, a 21-year-old civil engineering freshman, hails from Mashteuiatsh, Que., an Innu community near Chicoutimi. He serves as a mentor/coach in the Mashteuiatsh Hockey Academy. Earlier this season (2022), he spoke as a mentor to the Cree Bears hockey team when they visited Montreal from Mistissini Cree Nation and attended a McGill hockey game. Awashish was recently the subject of a documentary by Radio-Canada (February 2023) as an inspiration for indigenous teens in Quebec. He was also featured by Caisse Desjardins (September 2021) for the National Day of Reconciliation, highlighting his profile as a leader in the indigenous community. Recruited from the QMJHL's Baie Comeau Drakkar, he was a 2020 recipient of that league's Alec Reid Award, presented to a student-athlete that is most engaged in the community. On National Aboriginal Day in 2019, he was featured by the Amnesty International Campaign, which highlighted his profile as a leader in the indigenous community as an example of a person that excels at a high level in school and sport (June 21, 2019).
In his first season of OUA hockey, the six-foot, 181-pound Centre dressed for 22 of the team's 26 regular season games. He was McGill's seventh-highest scoring forward with 10 points, including four goals. He collected four of his points on the power-play, two of them goals -- and only had four penalty minutes.
Rouleau, a 22-year-old management freshman from St. Basile de Portneuf, Que., was McGill's leading scorer and ranked 13th in the OUA scoring race with 26 points, including a dozen goals, in 26 regular season games. The six-foot, 166-pound centre added four goals and two assists in four playoff contests. Including non-conference play, he finished with a team-leading 19-21-40 record and just 10 penalty minutes in 35 games overall. Rouleau was recruited to McGill from the QMJHL's Chicoutimi Sagueneens.
Blanchard, a 21-year-old management freshman from Pelham, Ont., was McGill's second-highest scoring defenceman (behind Walford) with 12 points, including five goals, in 23 regular season games. The six-foot, 176-pound rearguard tallied twice on the power-play and was flagged for only eight penalty minutes. Blanchard added a pair of assists in four playoff contests and finished with a 7-12-19 record and eight PIMs in 33 games overall. He is a product of the QMJHL's Sherbrooke Phoenix.
All the award winners and all-stars are among the nominees for the U SPORTS hockey awards, which will be announced next week.
2022-23 OUA Men's Hockey Awards & All-Stars
OUA East Division Major Awards
Most Valuable Player – Simon Lafrance, UQTR
Rookie of the Year – Jonathan Lemieux, Concordia
Coach of the Year – Marc-Etienne Hubert, UQTR
Defenceman of the Year – Justin Bergeron, UQTR
Goaltender of the Year – Jonathan Lemieux, Concordia
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Award – Mikisiw Awashish, McGill
True Sport Award (Most Sportsmanlike) – Scott Walford, McGill
Randy Gregg Award Nominee (Academics & Leadership) – Duncan Campbell, Queen's
OUA East First Team All-Stars
Forward – Simon Lafrance, UQTR
Forward – Parker Aucoin, Carleton
Forward – William Rouleau, McGill
Defence – Justin Bergeron, UQTR
Defence – Scott Walford, McGill
Goaltender – Jonathan Lemieux, Concordia
OUA East Second Team All-Stars
Forward – Julien Tessier, UQTR
Forward – Isiah Campbell, Concordia
Forward – James White, Ontario Tech
Defence – Jacob Paquette, Queen's
Defence – Kyle Havlena, Concordia
Goaltender – Alexis Gravel, UQTR
OUA East All-Rookie Team
William Rouleau, McGill
Simon Lafrance, UQTR
Nick McCarry, Carleton
Samuel Desgorseilliers, Concordia
Maxime Blanchard, McGill
Jonathan Lemieux, Concordia
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OUA West Division Major Awards
Most Valuable Player – Jacob Roach, Brock
Rookie of the Year – Josh Van Unen, Lakehead
Coach of the Year – Andrew Wilkins, Lakehead
Defenceman of the Year – Jake Gravelle, Western
Goaltender of the Year – Nathan Torchia, Windsor
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Award – Troy Williams, Lakehead
True Sport Award (Most Sportsmanlike) – Kyle Pettit, Western
Randy Gregg Award – Kyle Bollers, Toronto Metropolitan
OUA West First Team All-stars
Forward – Jacob Roach, Brock
Forward – Kyle Bollers, Toronto Metropolitan
Forward – Spencer Blackwell, Lakehead
Defence – Jake Gravelle, Western
Defence – Cole Thiessen, Brock
Goaltender – Nathan Torchia, Windsor
OUA West Second Team All-stars
Forward – Franco Sproviero, Western
Forward – Dan Walker, Waterloo
Forward – Anthony Stefano, Windsor
Defence – Kyle Auger, Lakehead
Defence – Ryan Barbosa, Toronto
Goaltender – Christian Propp, Wilfrid Laurier
OUA West All-Rookie Team
Forward – Josh Van Unen, Lakehead
Forward – Anthony Tabak, Guelph
Forward – Connor Bowie, Toronto Metropolitan
Defence – Eric Van Impe, Western
Defence – Colin Campbell, Wilfrid Laurier
Goaltender – Christian Cicigoi, Lakehead
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
@EarlZukerman (twitter)
