Clague claims WHL top defenceman, Halbgewachs runner up for MVP, receives top scorer trophy
The Moose Jaw Warriors were well represented at the Western Hockey League awards ceremony on May 2, with a trio of players and staff from the team nominated for awards and three walking away with league-best honours.
Warriors forward Jayden Halbgewachs capped off his four years in a Tribe uniform in style, picking up the Bob Clarke Trophy as the Western Hockey League’s top scorer for the 2017-18 season.
The 21-year-old product of Emerald Park, Sask., scored an astounding 70 goals and 129 points to also lead the entire Canadian Hockey League in scoring. His 70 goals serve as the first time a WHL player has reached the 70goal plateau since Pavel Brendl achieved the feat by scoring 73 goals with the Calgary Hitmen during the 1998-99 campaign.
The incredible season earned the former free agent a three-year, entry-level contract with the NHL’s San Jose Sharks.
Halbgewachs was also the Eastern Conference nominee for the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as the WHL player of the year, but was runner up to Everett Silvertips and Team Canada standout goaltender Carter Hart. When the Moose Jaw Warriors traded for Kale Clague at the WHL trade deadline in January, they knew they were getting one of the league’s best rearguards from the Brandon Wheat Kings.
The WHL Awards ceremony made it official as Clague, 19, won the Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy as WHL defenceman of the year. In his fourth full season, Clague came to the Warriors after racking up 10 goals and 47 points in only 28 games with the Wheat Kings. In 54 regular season appearances, the product of Lloydminster, Alta., posted a career-high 71 points (11G-60A), good enough to finish in a tie for third in scoring among all WHL defencemen. Selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the second round (51st overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft, Clague helped Canada to a gold medal at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship in Buffalo, N.Y. Clague was originally selected by the Wheat Kings in the first round (sixth overall) of the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft. In 195 career WHL games, Clague has 167 points (26G-141A) to his name. Kelowna Rockets defenceman Cal Foote was runner up. Warriors general manager Alan Millar was the Eastern Conference nominee for the Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy as WHL Executive of the Year, but saw the honour go to Garry Davidson, general manager of the Everett Silvertips.
The Warriors also officially accepted the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as the WHL regular season champions. Their record of 52-15-2-3 (109 points) represents the best in franchise history and the first time the club has surpassed the 50-win plateau.