Tyson Barrie has been a workhorse for the Kelowna Rockets this season. So it came as no surprise on Monday night when the team named him the most valuable player at its annual awards banquet.
“He deserves a lot of credit for the time when we were severely depleted,” Rockets head coach Ryan Huska said of Barrie, who also won the top defenceman trophy and the top scorer award. The 18-year-old Victoria product led Kelowna‘s point parade this season with 72 points (19 goals, 53 assists), falling just shy of the franchise high for most points in a season by a defenceman. The record is 74, put up by Burt Henderson in 1995-96 (16-58).
“When we were hurt,” continued Huska, “he did a good job of helping our (locker-room) stay positive. That was a time of the season where not only his play elevated, but moreso his leadership.”
Barrie also shared the plus-minus award with forward Brandon McMillan. Both finished the 2009-10 regular season at plus-11, while defenceman Dallas Jackson was next in line at plus-10. Next season, the Rockets will lose Jackson to graduation and McMillan to the AHL/ NHL, while Barrie is projected to play a fourth-and-final season in Kelowna.
Another big winner on Monday night was McMillan, who picked up the most sportsmanlike trophy and the top defensive forward award. McMillan, an Anaheim Ducks draft pick (third round, 85th overall in 2008), set career highs this season with goals (25) and points (67). And he did so while playing in just 55 games, thanks to his December and early January stint with Canada at the 2010 world junior hockey championship.
“Brandon is a guy we use every situation,” Huska said of McMillan, who turns 20 next Monday. “He‘s played against all the top lines and all the top players in the league every night, and he does a very good job. He finished the season at plus-11, so that tells you he‘s very good at taking care of his own end.
“Now we‘re starting to see the offensive side of his game, and I think that comes from his time played on the back-end last season.”
Other award winners were Spencer Main (scholastic player), Brett Bulmer (most improved), Shane McColgan (rookie of the year), Lucas Bloodoff (humanitarian) and Mitchell Callahan (unsung hero).
In other WHL news, the Spokane Chiefs are hopeful that Kelowna product Kyle Beach will play this weekend in their first-round series against the Portland Winterhawks after getting hurt on the weekend. The 20-year-old forward, who has one season of junior eligibility left, was hurt during a type of knee-on-knee collision with Tri-City defenceman Tyler Schmidt in the Chiefs‘ 5-4 win. Beach was on crutches after the game.
“He‘s hurt and he‘s real sore and we‘ll be reevaluating on Wednesday,” Chiefs head coach Hardy Sauter said, adding the injury is above the right knee. “We should know more after the doctor sees him then.”
Schmidt was handed a clipping major and a game misconduct for the centre-ice incident.
“It was one of those (plays) where (Beach) went to go to his left and he was gonna get by Schmidt,” said Sauter, “and they went leg to leg. The good news is that there‘s no ligament damage. The bad news is that it‘s probably as bad as it could have been without that.”
Asked about Beach‘s availability for Spokane‘s upcoming series with the Winterhawks – which starts Saturday in Portland despite the Chiefs being the higher No. 4 seed, as Spokane‘s arena is booked with NCAA basketball – Sauter said he‘s “really really hoping he can manage to play Saturday, but, again, I won‘t have any idea until Wednesday.” Top of Page
