The Langley Chiefs held their annual awards banquet for the 2009/10 season Sunday afternoon at the Langley Events Centre and the big winners on the day were Langley natives Colton Beck and Brad Bakken, who each walked away with numerous awards.
Bakken received the `Crunch of the Year’ Award for the year’s biggest hit (after he plastered ex-Chief Marcus Watson through the glass) as well as co-winning the Orland Kurtenbach award for Top Defenseman and sharing the Don Nicholls Sr. Community Player of the Year Award.
Also co-winning the Community Player of the Year Award was Colton Beck. Beck had the biggest day, winning the Joey Potskin award for top scorer (39 Goals, 47 Assists, 86 Points), First Star of the Year, Community Player of the Year, and the Most Valuable Player. Beck has had a steady progression from his rookie year to become the dominant force offensively the coaching staff expected he would.
Dennis Robertson was also recognized for his efforts, sharing the Kurtenbach award with Bakken and also winning the first ever Ross Beebe Educational Award for top scholar.
Fan Favourite this year was Josh Myers, the speedster from Colorado, while Brad McBride picked up some hardware as the teams Most Improved Player. Matt Cronin, a rookie defenseman also from Langley grabbed the Cliff & Bess Brew Award for Most Dedicated Player. This year’s Harmony Cup – for unsung hero – was awarded to the goalies, Mark Friesen and Wyatt Galley.
Finally, the Chiefs renamed their Rookie of the Year Award after former Langley Mayor Kurt Alberts, the Langley Chiefs Rookie season ticket holder (Kurt and his wife Brenda were the first Langley Chiefs season ticket holders and integral to their move into Langley); the Kurt Alberts Rookie of the Year was awarded to standout defenseman Tim Daly.
The afternoon was also utilized to recognize the wonderful work of the Langley Chiefs billets and volunteers and to acknowledge the popular Guardian Angel program in which fans adopt a player from the year and generously give `secret’ gifts every two weeks and are not revealed until the end of the season.
Finally, the Chiefs graduating players were recognized for their years of service with seven Chiefs leaving the team following the playoffs, Brad Bakken, Brad Goss, Colton Beck, Mark Friesen, Dennis Robertson, Jordan Sims and captain Mac Roy, who provided some motivating words reflecting on his four years in a Chiefs uniform. Roy recently became the all-time Chiefs leader in Regular Season Games Played with 226.
Congratulations to all the award winners on a successful season in which the Chiefs finished fourth in the Coastal Conference and will host Surrey in the first round of the playoffs for the second year in a row.
