The AIHL is excited to announce the annual AIHL Award winners.

The League is committed to recognising excellence amongst our players and coaching staff and we do so via the annual AIHL Awards, which highlights top-performing players and coaches across a range of categories.

The AIHL Award categories are:

• Best Defenceman
• Rookie of the Year
• Goalie of the Year
• Coach of the Year; and the prestigious:
• Most Valuable Player

How the Awards are decided

Only the teams participate in nominating and voting. Each team provides two Team Delegates; these delegates nominate a player and Coach from their club for each of the Award categories. Delegates then allot points (3,2,1) to nominees for each category – Teams cannot vote for their own nominees. The nominee with the most highest tally of points is the winner of that category.

2017 AIHL Award Nominees

Best Defenceman

Robert Malloy – Newcastle Northstars

Casey Babineau – Adelaide Adrenaline

Matthew Beattie – Melbourne Mustangs

Lliam Webster - Melbourne Ice

Andrew White – Sydney Ice Dogs

Robert Haselhurst – Perth Thunder

Dominic Jalbert – CBR Brave

Nick Rivait - Sydney Bears

Rookie of the Year

Zane Jones – Newcastle Northstars

Marcel McGuiness – Adelaide Adrenaline

Byron Tschuma – Melbourne Mustangs

Darcy Flanagan - Melbourne Ice

James Marino – Sydney Ice Dogs

Lynden Lodge – Perth Thunder

Bayley Kubara – CBR Brave

Tim Rye – Sydney Bears

Goalie of the Year

Charlie Smart – Newcastle Northstars

Matt Murphy – Adelaide Adrenaline

James Kruger – Melbourne Mustangs

Dayne Davis – Melbourne Ice

Damien Ketlo – Sydney Ice Dogs

Peter Di Salvo – Perth Thunder

Aleksi Toivonen – CBR Brave

Anthony Kimlin – Sydney Bears

Most Valuable Player

Joe Harcharik - Newcastle Northstars

Cam Critchlow - Adelaide Adrenaline

Anton Kokkonen - Melbourne Mustangs

Matt Armstrong - Melbourne Ice

Grant Toulmin - Sydney Ice Dogs

Jessyko Bernard - Perth Thunder

Dominic Jalbert - CBR Brave

Jackson Brewer - Sydney Bears

Coach of the Year

Andrew Petrie – Newcastle Northstars

Sami Mantere – Adelaide Adrenaline

Michael Flaherty – Melbourne Mustangs

Charles Franzen – Melbourne Ice

Chris Foster – Sydney Ice Dogs

Dave Ruck – Perth Thunder

Rob Starke – CBR Brave

Ron Kuprowsky – Sydney Bears

2017 AIHL Award Winners

Most Valuable Player

Cameron Critchlow – Adelaide Adrenaline

Cameron Critchlow came into the AIHL off the back of captaining the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds after their second straight U-Sports Championship, and continued his exceptional form throughout the AIHL’s 2017 season. Registering 43 points in 26 games, including two game-winning goals for the Adelaide Adrenaline, Critchlow led his team in points, goals and assists, as and proved a driving force within the team after being granted the title of Alternate Captain mid-way through the season.

Check out Cameron’s stats.

Best Defenceman

Rob Haselhurst – Perth Thunder

Haselhurst is an elite skater who can contributes at both ends of the ice. He appeared in all 28 games for the Perth Thunder this year, recording 17 points (8 goals, 9 assists). The diminutive blue liner is well known for his physicality, and his hip checking ability has become a trade mark of Haselhurst’s game. This year was Haselhurst’s’ fifth season with the Thunder and he was selected in the Australian National Men’s tour of New Zealand.

Rookie of the Year

Bayley Kubara – CBR Brave

Brave team governor Warren Apps said Bayley made steady progress throughout the season and ultimately became a key member of the CBR Brave defensive unit.

“He was positionally sound, made smart decisions in all three zones and evolved into a reliable stay at home defenceman,” said Apps.

“As a 6-2 185 lbs 18 year old, he has already represented Australia on the National Youth Team and National Junior Team and is one of the youngest players in the AIHL.”

Goalie of the Year

Damien Ketlo – Sydney Ice Dogs

Damien Ketlo performed outstandingly throughout the 2017 season, back-stopping the Sydney Ice Dogs for a total of 28 goals allowed having faced more than 1000 shots on goal. With a 0.923 save percentage, Ketlo stopped over 924 pucks during the course of the season. Ketlo also recorded two shutouts sharing the lead in that AIHL feat.

Check out the 2017 Goalie stats. 

Coach of the Year

Dave Ruck – Perth Thunder

Dave Ruck has had a phenomenal season after taking over as the coach of the Perth Thunder. The team established a dominant presence in the 2017 season, taking a commanding hold over second place in regular season, and finishing with 57 points: the highest ever recorded in their history. With a relatively young team, Dave Ruck has managed to create in West a serious contender – a team that will only get stronger as their young core develops.