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”. As has sort of become a thing here lately on 210Sports, we split these awards up into two posts because, inevitably, I’ll have missed a few the first time around.
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: It’s unusual for the Railers to have multiple candidates for this award, and even more unusual for two of them to have the last name, but of the three, and two, it’s Anthony Callin that wins this year.
Best Defenseman: I’m not sure why Savannah decided to get rid of Michael Suda, but Railers fans should be happy for the Ghost Pirates’ mistake because Suda was an easy choice for this one.
Tough Guy Award: The winner here isn’t always the guy who has the most fights on the team, which Lincoln Hatten does, but it can also go to the guys that are the hardest to play against. And Hatten is near the top of that list, too.
Best Single-Game Performance: There were four hat tricks and a Gordie Howe hat trick this season, along with four shutouts and two 40-save games. But this year the award is going to a guy with just a two-goal game, as Gleb Veremyev‘s game-tying goal and overtime winner April 19 against Adirondack, in a game that was for nothing but pride, may have meant more than any of those other games.
Most Improved: With a few more weeks in the season, Veremyev might have stolen this award, but since the middle of the season, no player showed greater improvement than Max Dorrington. Once he figured out what his role was, he excelled at it. And that’s how it’s supposed to work here in the ECHL.
Seventh Player Award: Matt DeMelis more than doubled his goals from last season, nearly equaling his five-season NCAA total in 72 games this season. I don’t think anyone expected that great an improvement from last season.
Best Mid-season Addition: If you think it’s anyone other than MacAuley Carson, you weren’t paying attention. Nineteen points and three shorthanded goals in 36 games to go along with a plus-9 rating.
The “Mike Moore Award”: For the player that gives 100% every single shift, no matter the score or the situation, Lincoln Hatten. Second year in a row, he’s the winner here. For the same reasons.
Rookie of the Year: On a team with more than its share of rookies, it’s Michael Suda who was the best.
Most Valuable Player: There’s a handful of really good candidates, but only one great one, and that’s Drew Callin. Led the Railers in goals and power play goals, and set a new franchise record with eight game winners.
The 210Sports Player of the Year: We had a tie this year, with both Michael Suda and Anthony Repaci being named eight times. Because this is more of an “unsung hero” type of award for each game, the tiebreaker is the fewest three-star points, and that gives Suda the win.
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”: These point totals might change a bit as Bill Ballou and I work out a couple of technical issues (mostly because the scorers in Trois-Rivières can’t seem to press the right buttons), but the player’s order won’t change as Drew Callin is the #1 star with 53 points, Parker Gahagen is second with 40, and Anthony Repaci is third with 33. Callin set franchise marks by being named the #1 star 8 (or 9) times and most points in a season with 48 (or 53).
The “Two-By-Two Award”: Cam McDonald wins this award, which goes to the player with the most penalty minutes without receiving a major or misconduct, with 32 PIMs.
The “Iron Man Award”: We have dual winners this season, and both Anthony Repaci and Matt DeMelis played all 72 Railers games this season. It’s the second season in a row that two Worcester players accomplished the feat after five seasons of just a single player, Barry Almeida, doing it.
The “Man In The Box Award”: For being in the penalty box for the most power play goals scored against the team, we have another tie as Riley Piercey and Adam Samuelsson were both in the penalty box five times when the Railers surrendered a power play goal. Worcester also had five bench minors that resulted in power play goals against, which is more evidence of how undisciplined this team really was.
The “Dead-Eye Award”: for having the lowest shooting percentage of any player with 50 or more shots on goal at 1.1%, it’s Adam Samuelsson, who went 1-90 this season.
The “Buzzer Beater Award”: Michael Suda, for his goal at 19:58 of the opening period, December 17th in Norfolk. Oddly, the second-place finisher for the season was in the third period of that same game when Gleb Veremyev scored at 19:57. For a total headshaking stat, Matt Demelis had a second-period goal at 19:50.
We’ll have part two later this week.
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