More NAHL Awards

http://nahl.com/news/story.cfm?id=465


The North American Hockey League announced today that Fairbanks Ice Dogs forward Caleb Harrison has been named the recipient of this year’s Academic Achievement Award, while Topeka RoadRunners forward John Stoddard has been honored with the Community Service Award.

Harrison, from Fairbanks, holds a 3.9 GPA and received a 30 on his ACT. Currently excelling in his college courses this semester, the 21-year-old has committed to Holy Cross (Atlantic Hockey) for the coming fall.

“Caleb has been nothing short of outstanding in terms of balancing his athletics with his academics,” said Ice Dogs coach-GM Rob Proffitt. “His achievements in the classroom say a lot about his discipline and character.”

Stoddard, a La Mesa, Calif., native, has been actively involved in countless charitable efforts in and around the Topeka community this season, including spearheading the successful “Read With The RoadRunners” initiative.

The 20-year-old also participated in the Big Brothers program and “Skate With The RoadRunners” and “Learn To Skate” programs, in addition to assisting other youth and community development projects in various capacities.

“John exemplifies what the ideals of junior hockey are all about,” said RoadRunners operations manager Arch Ecker. “He’s a fiery, passionate leader on the ice, and he has a heart of gold off it. He’s grateful for the opportunity to represent his team in the community and views it as an honor rather than a chore.”

The NAHL Coach of the Year, General Manager of the Year and Organization of the Year will be announced later this week. The All-NAHL Team, Goaltender of the Year, Defenseman of the Year, Forward of the Year and Most Valuable Player will be announced at the Robertson Cup Championship Tournament banquet on Tuesday, April 29.

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Congratulations to both of these young men.

Re: More NAHL Awards

mctopeka wrote:

“Read With The RoadRunners” initiative.

What?!???

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xiQjePflxOI fast forward to around 2:30...

Or, here's a screen-shot...

Re: More NAHL Awards

Marc Foster wrote:

mctopeka wrote: “Read With The RoadRunners” initiative. What?!??? http://youtube.com/watch?v=xiQjePflxOI fast forward to around 2:30... Or, here's a screen-shot...

Cute

Not sure I like this dragging them out but

Dang on Caleb. It's hard enough sometimes to balance school work with your own life and obligations outside of school. Then a full hockey schedule and early morning practice routines and all that goes into being a part of one of these teams. I don't think some of the brighter students get enough credit sometimes.

And congrats to Stoddard too.

Goalie of the year should be interesting as you've got two really great options that deserve it.

Great job!! A 30 on the ACT !

I agree with you Smackles the good student sometimes gets overlooked. A lot of these players who are getting the scholarships are really outstanding students and quality young men but all that is talked about around here is their hockey abilities. One of the main reasons they are recruited is that they have demonstrated good character and hopefully will continue to represent themselves, their parents, coaches and teams in that manner. Most of the stories/threads/blogs highlight the the players who are a problem or have been involved in one.

Look no further than Jason Bacashihua with the Freeze. Sure he was an amazing hockey talent in this league but apparently dumb as a box of rocks and couldn't meet academic standards at Michigan and I'd assume several other schools.

Went in the NHL draft, surprise first round pick but yeah, I don't think we'll be hearing much from him outside of the AHL level anytime soon.

There's a lot more to getting these D1s than playing well.

Its kind of a shame that there's only one award for this. But flagging out the best of the best, that's amazing for Caleb. I wouldn't mind an all-academic team though.

Congrats to the Bandits coach (Coach of the year), Outlaws GM (GM of the year) and the Topeka organization (Organization of the year)!!
An extra congrats to Coach Cooper not only for winning the Coach of the year award but an extra helping of kudos to him for the job he did as GM too. To post the regular season record they did, playing arguably one of the leagues toughest schedules and all with only 5 returning players...Way to go Coach Cooper. Good Luck at the Robertson Cup!!

Smackles wrote:

Look no further than Jason Bacashihua with the Freeze. Sure he was an amazing hockey talent in this league but apparently dumb as a box of rocks and couldn't meet academic standards at Michigan and I'd assume several other schools. There's a lot more to getting these D1s than playing well.

With the way the NCAA is getting about graduation rates, the schools have to look for academic AND athletic ability.

I don't recall saying the opposite