Just days after claiming the first Champions Cup in franchise history, the Vegreville Vipers gathered to hand out some more hardware. The team’s annual awards night took place on Thursday and gave the team the chance to thank everyone who was part of their memorable championship run. They also recognized their own including local product Dawson Bilyk who took home his third consecutive MVP award. Bilyk, who finished with 120 points in just 33 games, says it was an honour to win the award again.
Captain Braden Van De Kraats was also honoured as a co-winner of the team’s Top Defenceman Award alongside Ryan Drake. Van De Kraats put up 111 points from the blueline during the regular season before adding nine points in five playoff games. The Duchess, Alberta product says it was a season to remember and one that he’ll always look back on fondly.
The team also had the chance to showcase their CAJHL league awards which included Top Goalie for Bence Pal, Rookie of the Year for Andrej Zajaros, Top Defenceman for Braden Van De Kraats and MVP for Carson Pewarchuk.
Braden Van De Kraats (left) and Ryan Drake (right) are named co-winners of the Top Defenceman Award.
GM Bryan Brown presents Carson Pewarchuk with the CAJHL Most Valuable Player Award. Pewarchuk re-wrote the league record book this season, setting new records for goals in a season (77), assists in a season (106) and points in a season (183). He also led the team in playoff scoring with 18 points in five games, helping bring the Champions Cup to Vegreville.
Vipers owner Lori-Ann Cohoe presents Dawson Bilyk with his third consecutive team MVP award.
The Champions Cup makes an appearance at the Awards Night, to the delight of the Viper faithful in attendance.