Once again, the Worcester Railers’ season ended without making the playoffs, so as we do when the Railers fail to make the second season we get an all-too-early posting of the “210 Awards”. In a tradition that started last season, if it’s possible to call something that happened two years in a row a tradition, we’ll split this post into two parts.
For those new to the “210 Awards”, they are a mix of serious and (hopefully) slightly humorous awards named for the moniker this writer used to use on many message boards. Just remember, for the most part, these are just one man’s opinion and I like to spread these around a little so one player doesn’t get every award.
This season’s winners are…
Best Forward: Jake Pivonka gets the nod here in a tight race. Third on the team in goals (21), fourth in points (45), and the best rating of any forward (plus-5), Pivonka was on the ice for just about every “must-win” faceoff the Railers had over the second half of the season, and he won many more of them than he lost.
Best Defenseman: Trevor Cosgrove is this year’s winner. One of the best two-way defensemen the Railers have had, his 27 assists ranked 4th on the team and he finished in the top five in scoring. His plus-1 rating was lower than it might otherwise have been because he was on the ice for many empty-net goals against.
Tough Guy Award: After two seasons of this award sitting on the shelf collecting dust Artyom Kulakov becomes just the second Railers player to win this award.
Best Single-Game Performance: Ashton Calder‘s five-goal, two-assist game on April 7, 2024, against Maine is the no-brainer winner. His seven points set a new Worcester pro hockey single-game record, and his five goals in a game tie John Carter’s mark.
Most Improved: From last season to this season, it’s hard to argue any player on the Railers roster improved his overall game more than Trevor Cosgrove. I’m not sure there’s even another candidate.
Seventh Player Award: Jack Quinlivan is the easy choice here. There’s a reason head coach Jordan Smotherman gave him an “A” when the team needed more alternate captains, and it doesn’t take much to picture him wearing the “C” for the Railers if he sticks around here.
Best Mid-season Addition: On a list that’s far too short, John Muse is the easy winner here. It would be hard to imagine anyone else winning this award even if general manager Jordan Smotherman had regularly tried out new pieces to add to make the team better, but at least there might have been another candidate or two to think about.
The “Mike Moore Award”: For the player that gives 100% every single shift no matter the score or the situation, we’re going to give this one to Anthony Callin.
Rookie of the Year: There are three good picks for this, but only one of them was on a Railers contract and that’s Anthony Callin.
Most Valuable Player: John Muse is the winner here, and there is no second choice. The Railers would have been dead and buried midseason without him.
The 210Sports Player of the Year: Anthony Callin was the 210Sports “Player of the Game” eight times last season, the most of any Railers player. The scary thing is that “nobody” won ten times, which explains Worcester’s not being in the playoffs yet again this season.
So now that we’ve gotten the serious awards out of the way, here are a few that this writer thinks should be handed out…
The “Three Stars Award”: Using 5-3-1 scoring, Blade Jenkins (5-2-4, 35) is the first star, Ashton Calder (4-3-2, 31) is the second star, and Anthony Repaci (5-1-2, 30) is the third star.
The “Two-By-Two Award”: Connor Welsh wins this award that goes to the player with the most penalty minutes without receiving a major or misconduct.
The “Iron Man Award”: No player was in the lineup for all 72 games during the season, so once again we’ll put this one back on the shelf. Connor Welsh was the closest, playing 70 games.
The “Man In The Box Award”: For being in the penalty box for the most power play goals scored against the team, Trevor Cosgrove‘s five make him the “winner” here.
The “Dead-Eye Award”: Zsombor Garat, for having the lowest shooting percentage of any player with 50 or more shots on goal at 2.6% (2 for 77).
The “Buzzer Beater Award”: Ashton Calder for his goal listed at 19:59 on December 22, 2023 vs Trois-Rivières. The replay shows it was 19:57, but that would be a winner in either case.
The “Whose Jersey Is This? Award”: Ken Appleby, Josh Boyko, Cole Ceci, Kaden Fulcher, and Joe Spagnoli for all wearing the #35 sweater this season.
The “72 Award”: The award that goes to the only media outlet to cover all 72 of the Worcester Railers regular season, and for the second year in a row that would be me.
Part 2 is Friday!
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