SWHL and CRHL announce nominees for 2025–26 season awards
By Kate Winquist
The Sask West Hockey League has announced its nominees for the 2025–26 season awards, recognizing top performances by players, coaches and contributors from across the league. Several teams are well represented on this year’s list, with Kindersley, Wilkie, Edam, Macklin, Biggar and Asquith all featuring prominently.
The League Most Valuable Player nominees are Logan Drackett of Kindersley, Derek Keller of Wilkie and Jaxon Georget of Kindersley. In the Top Defenseman category, Wilkie’s Daniel Hilsendager and Derek Keller are joined by Tyler Baier of Macklin. Keller also appears among the Most Gentlemanly Player nominees alongside Wilkie teammate Ryne Keller and Tayor Bucsis of Biggar.
Ryne Keller is also a nominee for Best Defensive Forward, along with Jonathon Redlick of Biggar and Joel Blaquiere of Edam. The Rookie of the Year nominees include Evan Vanderveer of Asquith, Noah Gowen of Biggar, Rhett Partington of Macklin and Nate Poole of Edam. Nominees for the Harvey Somerville Memorial Award are Al Neufeld, Jerome Ehry and Ken Kernohan.
All-Star Team nominations were also announced, with forwards Blake Young and Rick Cey of Wilkie; Jaxon Georget and Shayne Neigum of Kindersley; Jonathan Redlick of Biggar; Keegan Tiringer and Owen LaClare of Edam; Linden McCorristor and Talon Thomas of Asquith; Tyler Robertson of Macklin; and Ryne Keller of Wilkie earning recognition. The All-Star defensemen nominees are Daniel Hilsendager and Derek Keller of Wilkie; Jordan and Kendall Fransoo of Edam; Tyler Baier and Jared Hillis of Macklin; and Carson Grolla, Kade Jenson and Brody Ryberg of Kindersley.
The All-Star goalie nominees are Logan Drackett of Kindersley, Trevor Martin of Macklin, Taryn Kotchorek of Edam, and Wilkie’s Jared Herle and Joel Gryzbowski. Coaching honours are also up for grabs, with Coach of the Year nominations going to Derek Argue and Coady Dehr of Biggar, Ryan Cey and Derek Keller of Wilkie, and Les Aylward and Gary McManus of Kindersley.
Award winners will be announced at a later date.
The Cross Roads Hockey League (CRHL) has announced the nominees for its 2025–26 season awards, recognizing standout players, coaches and rookies from across the league. Winners will be revealed Friday, Jan. 30, through team social media channels and will be presented on the ice during the playoffs.
The Most Valuable Player race features a strong field led by Rosetown’s Noah Martens and Jordy Johnston, alongside Dodsland’s Carson Dobson, Luseland’s Kyle Heintz and Kerrobert’s Cole Kissick.
On the blue line, Brandon Kelly of Dodsland headlines the Best Defenseman category. He is joined by Cole Kissick of Kerrobert, Ethan Scherr of Unity, Eric Robbie of Rosetown and Dodsland’s Adam Bradley.
Nominees for Best Defensive Forward include Jon MacDonald of Dodsland, Steve Gottfried of Luseland, JD Knutson of Kindersley, Dustin McAleer of Unity, John Hill of Rosetown and Dalyn McCubbing.
Sportsmanship is highlighted in the Most Gentlemanly category, with Darrell Kraft of Luseland, Troy Joyce of Dodsland, Drake MacKinnon of Kerrobert, Colby Ralston of Unity, Kyle Heintz of Luseland and Christian Vogel of Kindersley earning nominations.
Between the pipes, the Best Goalie nominees are Noah Gumpinger of Unity, Kaden Elliott of Kindersley, Noah Martens of Rosetown and Conner Kidd of Dodsland.
The league’s top first-year players are also being recognized, with Kerran Amola of Kerrobert, Chase Douglas and Jayden Holland of Kindersley, and Noah Gumpinger of Unity named as Rookie of the Year nominees.
Behind the bench, Coach of the Year nominations include Curtis MacDonald of Rosetown, Connor Kingwell of Dodsland, Curtis McLean of Unity, Tyson Mullen (trainer) of Kindersley and Ryan Schell of Kerrobert.
Scoring leaders are featured in the Top Scorer category, led by Rosetown’s Jordy Johnston with 32 points. He is followed by Kyle Heintz of Luseland with 22 points, Eric Robbie of Rosetown with 20 points, Brayden Schultz of Unity with 19 points and Hunter Sperle of Unity with 18 points.
The CRHL awards are sponsored by Supreme Source for Sports in Kindersley and Samazon.