Carolina Hurricanes Announce Internal Team Awards

The Carolina Hurricanes announced several team awards

The Carolina Hurricanes have announced the winners of various individual team awards. Who is taking home what?

The Carolina Hurricanes have officially announced the winners to their various individual team awards this season. With a trio of awards up for grabs lets take a look at who won what.

For the third straight season, Sebastian Aho takes home team MVP honors. An award given out by the North Carolina chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, it goes to the player voted most valuable to the team, just as the name states. Aho joins former captain and longer time Hurricane, Eric Staal, as the only player to win three times.

Improving on his production every year, Sebastian led the Canes team in both goals and points. Tied for the NHL’s lead in short handed goals, he has become more defensively reliable ever since his shift to center ice full time. A true number one center, he had a shot at hitting the 40 goal mark for the first time in his career before abrupt end to the season.

Also voted on by the Hockey Writers Association, the Josef Vasicek Award is given to the player deemed to have “outstanding cooperation with the local media.” Named in honor of former Carolina Hurricane Josef Vasicek who unfortunately passed away in the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash in 2011, this years recipient is Jordan Martinook.

Martinook is vocal guy both on and off the ice. You can tell that his teammates love the energy he brings into the locker room and plays with each and every shift. Named an alternate captain at the start of the season, it is clear he is well respected throughout the organization. His arrival in Raleigh was one of the more under the radar moves that has gone a long way in establishing a strong winning culture.

A very sociable team first guy, it comes as no surprise that he’d be the same way with the media as well. He joins Justin Williams and Jordan Staal as the most recent recipients of the award.

The Hurricanes have also announced that Andrei Svechnikov is this years winner of the Steve Chiasson Award. Unlike like the other two, this award is voted on by the Carolina Hurricanes players themselves.

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Given out to the guy who “best exemplifies determination and dedication while proving to be an inspiration to his teammates through his performance and approach to the game,” it speaks volume to how Svech is viewed in the room. Becoming the youngest player to ever win the award, it is rather apparent that the guys love him.

As Rod Brind’amour put it, Svech is someone who loves coming to the rink everyday and has a strong desire to improve. He has done anything and everything you ask from him, and as a young player this is really encouraging. While just paraphrased, this is high praise coming from someone who put together a Hall of Fame worthy career and won the awards himself a record five times.

Justin Williams and Jordan Staal are the two most recent recipients of the Chiasson Award, with Bryan Bickell and Manny Malhotra among the other notable names.

Although not a team award, it announced a while back that James Reimer was Carolina’s nominee for the Masterton Trophy this season. Although not among the NHL’s finalist, this award is given out to the player who “qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.”