Hayes, Seguin win coveted
awards at OHL ceremony

BY PETE KRUPSKY
May 27, 2010, 9:15 p.m.

  BRANDON, MB — The Canadian Hockey League today announced ten national award winners for the 2009-10 season including two players from the Plymouth Whalers, forwards Tyler Seguin and Ryan Hayes. Winners were presented with their awards at the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium on Saturday afternoon, as part of the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup festivities.

  Seguin was named the Jack Link's Top Prospect of the Year. He is the number one ranked player for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft as determined by NHL Central Scouting. He finished the OHL regular season tied for first overall in league scoring with 106 points including 48 goals and 58 assists in 63 games for the Whalers, with a plus-minus rating of plus-17 and 54 penalty minutes.

  An 18-year-old from Brampton, ON, he recorded 29 multi-point games and tallied five hat-tricks, captained Team Orr at the 2010 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, and was named the OHL's Most Outstanding Player. Also considered for the award was Brett Connolly of the Prince George Cougars and Brandon Gormley of the Moncton Wildcats.

  Hayes followed up winning the Dan Snyder Memorial Trophy as the OHL's Humanitarian of the Year by being named the Home Hardward Humanitarian of the Year for the CHL. He led the Whalers organization in his third OHL season with 54 official community appearances representing participation in nearly a quarter of the team’s total community events.

   This season Hayes took on a leadership role for the Whalers in the “Friends of Jaclyn” program which supports the non-profit charitable organization that improves the quality of life for children with pediatric brain tumors. He also showed extensive participation with Special Olympics Michigan at their annual hockey tournament cheering on the participants, passing out the medals, and staying afterwards to pose for pictures and sign autographs.

   Also considered for the award was Matt Fraser of the Kootenay Ice, and Nick MacNeil of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.

  Seguin and Hayes are the first Whalers to win a Canadian Hockey League Award since James Wisniewski was named the CHL's Defenseman of the Year in 2003-04.

   Other Whalers who have won CHL awards include David Legwand (1997-98) and Bryan Berard (1994-95), who both won the CHL Rookie of the Year Award, while Berard also was named Best Defenseman in 1995-96. Pete DeBoer was named CHL's Coach of the Year in 1999-00, while Rob Zepp was named the CHL's Scholastic Player of the Year in 1998-99. Pat Peake captured the franchise's first CHL Award when he was named the CHL's Player of the Year in 1992-93.