Mulling over the TBRW Awards

[Greg Berge]

Well, excitement over the season has reached a high point as we head into the final RS weekend.  We've had a chance to see the players develop and perform.  Although the management of TBRW? reserves the final right of bestowing our awards (http://www.members.cox.net/tbrwmisc/tbrwAwards/tbrwAwards.html ) I'm always interested in hearing what people -- especially people who have seen the team play 12+ games -- have to say.

So, by all means, have at it.  These are not formal nominations, but make your case for the "best fit" for the awards (and for the ever popular dark horse candidates).

Subjective Awards:

+ Peter Natyshak Award, Career Improvement. This award is open to seniors or in the very rare case when no senior has demonstrated above average career improvement, juniors. The award measures how well the player has improved since starting at Cornell.

+ Randy MacFarlane Award, Transcendent Beauty and Skating Prowess. Title says it all.  Anne's favorite award.

+ Dave Shippel Award, Scrappiness and Effort. This award, which is associated with the longest-running typo in TBRW? history ("scappiness"), generally goes to a player who plays bigger than his size or "better than his talent."

+ Terry Gage Award, Determination in a Supporting Role. This award generally goes to an athlete whose contributions do not show up in the box score. It often goes to an unexpected player who comes out of the pack to really contribute a particular skill as a role player.

+ Mike Schafer Award, Leadership and Passion. This award needs no explanation.

+ Pierre Belanger Award, Most Loathed Referee. Nor does this one.

+ John Carter Award, Most Respected Opponent. This award generally goes to an opposing player who has both ferociously skewered Cornell and who we would take in a heartbeat for one of our own. It is based on his performance against us only in games this year.

+ Kevan Melrose Award, Least Respected Opponent. This award goes to the guys who, when you scream "Sucks!" you really mean it. The bad and the ugly. The goon, the cheap shot artist, the whiner, the showboat. The asshole.

+ Doug Dadswell Award, Most Valuable Freshman. Define it however you want. Open only to freshman, not transfers.

+ Joe Nieuwendyk Award, Most Valuable Player. Again, define it however you want, as long as you consider only this year's performance.



Post Edited (02-27-04 12:27)

[atb9]

I've got to drive to Ithaca soon so I'll do the easy ones now...

+ Kevan Melrose Award, Least Respected Opponent:
Hugh Jessiman.  He's a head case and showed a lot of class by flicking us off.  Good luck in the Garden.

+ Doug Dadswell Award, Most Valuable Freshman:
David McKee.  He wasn't supposed to be at Cornell this year and he wasn't supposed to start.  In the beginning he showed a lot of nervous energy--flipping the puck out of his glove asap, not skating around, etc--but has started every single game for us and leads the conference in GAA.

+ Joe Nieuwendyk Award, Most Valuable Player:
Ryan Vesce.  He hasn't scored as much as Moulson and he hasn't played every single game but he does it all for us.  He wins countless faceoffs, he takes the puck out of the defensive zone, he is the leader.  When he was out of the lineup there were glaring holes in the teams game.  I would never feel comfortable with him out of the lineup while I feel we could replace everyone else, even McKee now that Marr is able to dress.

[Section A]

After seeing, in person or on TV, 20 of our 27 games this season....

+ Peter Natyshak Award, Career Improvement: I've only been watching Cornell hockey games since the current junior class were freshmen, and so I'd give this to Mike Iggulden, despite the fact that he isn't a senior. He's worked his way back into the lineup following injury and is one of the best penalty-killers on our team. (Second choice: Hornby, for maintaining his level of intensity, while also cutting down his penalty minutes).

+ Randy MacFarlane Award, Transcendent Beauty and Skating Prowess. It's a tie: Charlie Cook & Ryan Vesce (Maybe Mark McCutcheon in the future)

+ Dave Shippel Award, Scrappiness and Effort. Easy - Hornby.

+ Terry Gage Award, Determination in a Supporting Role. Are there allowed to be ties? I suppose, if not, I can edit this later, but I'd give this to Pajerski and Marr. Pajerski, after not playing a minute for the past 2 and a half seasons, came in and played in 4 games. The only two I remember him getting decent ice time in were the games @ Colgate and @ Union, during both of which, he was on the penalty kill and did a great job. Marr deserves it too though. He made some really big saves @ Dartmouth to help us keep a 4-2 lead late in the third, and proved that he's ready to play if McKee isn't.

+ Mike Schafer Award, Leadership and Passion: [/BRyan Vesce[/B]. He's the captain, and he means everything to this team.

+ Pierre Belanger Award, Most Loathed Referee. There are 3 candidates here: Jack Dunn, for not seeing Moulson's goal @ Union :-(, Scott Hansen, for his awful calls in both games of the Colgate series (especially the game DQ to Moulson. The other guy was perpendicular to the boards when he was hit!!), and Joel Dupree, for blatant missed calls in the RPI game at Lynah. That said, I'm going with Dupree. Plenty of early whistles around the RPI net nullified scoring chances for us. And as Schafer said, "We've got an official who calls 'obstruction interference' when one of our best players, our leading scorer, gets hit head first into the boards. What the fuck is obstruction interference when a guy is hit head first into the boards? That's not obstruction interference, it's a damn hit from behind."


+ John Carter Award, Most Respected Opponent. A couple candidates include opportunistic Adam Mitchell from Colgate, who scored 2 of the 4 goals against Cornell this season, and Kris Mayotte, who played brilliantly at Lynah and then shut us out at Achilles Rink last week. But we all know we actually did score on Mayotte @ Union, so he's not getting this award. Instead, dark-horse choice Jordan Sigalet from Bowling Green, despite only playing us once, had an unbelieveable performance in goal to earn a 1-1 tie at Lynah early this season. 36 saves, many of them amazing.or one of our own.

+ Kevan Melrose Award, Least Respected Opponent. Hugh "::flipa::" Jessiman. Cheap shots during both games against Dartmouth this season, and the most amazing display of classlessness (is that a word?) I've ever seen from an opposing player. It's one thing to shush the crowd or to wink at them after you've won at Lynah. It's gut-wrenching, but fine. But for the most overrated player in the ECAC to lower himself to that was just embarassing for the entire Dartmouth team.

+ Doug Dadswell Award, Most Valuable Freshman. David McKee has been incredible in goal. Who would have thought, in a league with Danis, Grumet-Morris, Silverthorn, Marsters, etc., that we'd have the number 1 statistical goalie in conference play. AND he's from Texas. Come on!

+ Joe Nieuwendyk Award, Most Valuable Player. Adam said it; Ryan Vesce adds so much to the team when he's in the lineup, not just in the form of scoring. He's the team leader, he wins faceoffs, and he has just as much energy as the members of the AHA line do. McKee is going to win this award in the future.



Post Edited (02-27-04 13:42)

[Will]

I've seen all but four (@Princeton, @Yale, and Everblades) Cornell games this season, so I think I should chime in on what I think.

+ Peter Natyshak Award, Career Improvement - With only four seniors, including one who came in a transfer, this category is made much simpler.  I think it goes to Greg Hornby, who in my mind has beaten the untrue "goon" rap to become the heart and soul of this great team, not to mention a key forward in creating scoring chances.  Honorable mention: Ben Wallace (for improving his defensive play over the years).

+ Randy MacFarlane Award, Transcendent Beauty and Skating Prowess - Charlie Cook, when he's healthy, has always been a great skater in my mind.  I'm frequently impressed by him.  Honorable mention: Ryan Vesce (always a great center).

+ Dave Shippel Award, Scrappiness and Effort - Greg Hornby, hands down.  When everyone else is tiring out, he's still out there, putting everything on the line for the team.  Honorable mention: Mike Iggulden (who has improved over the season to become a key part of the penalty kill and is a great choice to usually center the third line).

+ Terry Gage Award, Determination in a Supporting Role - Jeremy Downs is a key reason why Cornell's defense is as great as it is.  He should be ECAC (Co-?)Defensive Defenseman of the Year, IMHO.  Honorable mentions: Jon Gleed (for improving his defense immensely), Mike Iggulden (for being awesome on the penalty kill).

+ Mike Schafer Award, Leadership and Passion - I'm not quite sure what happens off of the ice, but it would seem to me this is Ryan Vesce's award alone.  One would think this award would always go to the captain (or one of the captains if there are more than one).  Honorable mentions: Ben Wallace (for doing the same job when Vesce was injured), Greg Hornby (for the 'passion' part of the award).

+ Pierre Belanger Award, Most Loathed Referee - Joel Dupree, hands down.  In a season full of officiating ranging from mediocre to horrible, this guy takes the cake.  Honorable mention: Jack Dunn (for a few bad calls or lack thereof in the @Union game, though he didn't do as poorly in other games I've seen him ref).

+ John Carter Award, Most Respected Opponent - Adam Mitchell of Colgate, for scoring two important goals against Cornell in our worst weekend.  Honorable mentions: Brian Ihnacak of Brown (for being too good of a forward), Nathan Marsters of RPI (for shutting us out at Lynah for the first time in a while), Steve Silverthorn of Colgate (for effectively shutting us out at Lynah, even though he didn't get credit for it :-P).  I think I could be easily talked into putting Ihnacak in for the award instead.

+ Kevan Melrose Award, Least Respected Opponent - Hugh Jessiman of Dartmouth.  The epitome of the word "frustrated"--get off of our guys!  Honorable mentions: Kris Mayotte of Union (he knows it was a goal), Yann Danis of Brown (you don't deserve your own web site!).

+ Doug Dadswell Award, Most Valuable Freshman - Seriously, could this award really go to someone who isn't Dave McKee?  Honorable mention: Byron Bitz (for playing--and scoring--like a sophomore).

+ Joe Nieuwendyk Award, Most Valuable Player - Dave McKee, who kept us in every single game for the entire game.  Honorable mentions: Matt Moulson (obviously for offense, with 1.15 points per game thus far), Jeremy Downs (for being a damn good defenseman).

Perhaps some of these are the "obvious" choices, but I think they are still deserving.



Post Edited (02-27-04 13:45)

[Will]

Did I misinterpret what the Terry Gage award is supposed to honor?  Maybe I misread the description; if it's supposed to be as Avash tells it, then I would switch my vote to Jan Pajerski as well.

[CowbellGuy]

Natyshak's kind of tough this year. Wallace has improved a bit, but he's always been a dependable defensive defenseman. Hornby's become more responsible while retaining his impact (pun intended). In light of that, I'd actually be inclined to give it to Vesce. Improvement can be good to great, not just mediocre to good, right? Ryan's become our best faceoff guy, obvious leader, and had significant point and goal improvement every year (except this year, where injuries hampered production). Adam mentioned Iggy, which I don't think is really fair. He started great his freshman year until he broke his wrist at Princeton. If anything, I'd say he's just getting back to his original form.

[CUlater 89]

I guess I don't see Vesce as a possible Natyshak winner.  He was already the team's best forward as a junior and one of the 2 or 3 best since he arrived on campus.  Although his scoring increased over time, so did the team's offense, perhaps reflecting an opening up of the offense as better supporting players blossomed.  I thought of him as a dominant player even as a sophomore -- I'm not sure how much more dominant he is today.

[Greg Berge]

The Gage is intended for guys who play regularly in unglamorous roles but work hard and get it done.  Downs is (IMHO) a good example.  Sometimes I think *everybody* on this year's team is a good example.  Often, they sacrifice personal numbers to fulfill a defensive role.  Neither Marr nor Pajerski have really played enough to qualify for the Gage, although arguably there is no more unglamorous role on the team than the guy who makes practice every day, never complains, but almost never sees the ice.

Improvement can indeed be good to great, as past Natyshaks to Derraugh, Chad Wilson and Sammy attest.  That said, Vesce started out pretty damn good.

Players' scoring histories can be obtained here: http://www.members.cox.net/tbrwreports/rptPlayer/rptPlayerFrame.html



Post Edited (02-27-04 14:59)

[calgARI \'07]

+ Peter Natyshak Award, Career Improvement.  
Ben Wallace

+ Randy MacFarlane Award, Transcendent Beauty and Skating Prowess.
Charlie Cook

+ Dave Shippel Award, Scrappiness and Effort.
Cam Abbott

+ Terry Gage Award, Determination in a Supporting Role.
Mike Iggulden (slightly edging Hornby)

+ Mike Schafer Award, Leadership and Passion.
Ryan Vesce

+ Pierre Belanger Award, Most Loathed Referee.
They all suck for all the same reasons.

+ John Carter Award, Most Respected Opponent.
Travis Russell

+ Kevan Melrose Award, Least Respected Opponent.
Noah Welch

+ Doug Dadswell Award, Most Valuable Freshman.
David McKee (without question)

+ Joe Nieuwendyk Award, Most Valuable Player
Jeremy Downs (only other player even worthy is Ben Wallace)

[profudge]

I agree with almost all posts so far with one exception:   for the John Carter Award, Most Respected Opponent -  I like #24  Seney, Scott, (C, So   6-3   220)  from Union...  He won the big faceoffs for them even against Rayn a fair amount.   He was tough, he skated well, he checked hard and he scored.   Given a choice I'd like to see him centering for us!   Although Mayotte would be a close second.

[calgARI \'07]

Downs has been the team's best defenseman and likely leads the team in ice time.  Wouldn't say he has supporting role.

[calgARI \'07]

I'm gonna disagree on Wallace.  He was absolutely brutal his freshman year.  Guys would go around him with ease off the rush.  I couldn't bare to see him out there.  Although the common conception is that he only played six games his sophomore year because of injuries, the reality is that he wasn't good enough.  He improved a lot last year and is one of the top five defensive defenseman of the ECAC this year.  But again, he was not at all dependable his first two seasons.

[Will]

calgARI '07 wrote:

Downs has been the team's best defenseman and likely leads the team in ice time.  Wouldn't say he has supporting role.

The reason I chose Downs is because he is a great defensive defenseman, and a person who hasn't seen any games and only looks at the box scores from USCHO or CHS won't necessarily know that.  The box scores seem to only indicate three big things--scoring, goaltending, and penalties.  Defense is just as important as any of those things, if not moreso, but it's a less tangible, less enumerable part of the game, and is hard to judge good individual defensive efforts (except perhaps with the ice time statistic as you said, if one has access to that).  Individual defense is somewhat subjective and really requires watching the game in order to judge.

As you can see, I'm really interpreting the wording of the Gage award literally.  I will say, however, that Downs isn't "an unexpected player who comes out of the pack to really contribute a particular skill as a role player", since we all knew Downs was a fairly good defenseman last year.

[CowbellGuy]

And to that end, I suggest you look at +/- numbers here

http://db.elynah.com/playerseason.php?season=2004&sort=plusminus

While I think the world of Jeremy, he's middle-of-the-pack at +4, while Cook is head-and-shoulders above everyone else at +18

[calgARI \'07]

Without even having to think about it, Downs is my MVP.