CWHL Awards: Celebrating the Game’s Best

Les Canadiennes’ Marie-Philip Poulin Wins Three Awards, Including League MVP

SportsJordan Stoopler — Published March 5, 2017

It should, therefore, come as no surprise that the spotlight followed her off the playing surface, into an Ottawa theatre.

Poulin was awarded the league’s Most Valuable Player award for the second straight season at the Canadian Women’s Hockey League Awards, held at Carleton University’s Kailash Mital Theatre on Friday night. She was also bestowed the Jayna Hefford Trophy—MVP as voted on by the players—and the Angela James Bowl for leading the league in scoring, an honour she shared with Jess Jones of the Brampton Thunder.

“The awards reflect the season that we had,” said Poulin. “We had a couple of ups and downs as a team but we came out strong after Christmas and had a good playoff series against Brampton.”

She scored 15 goals and collected 22 assists—both of which were league-highs—in just 23 total games. She finished with a plus-24 rating on the season. Six of her 15 tallies were game-winners for her squad, further confirming her ability to come through when it matters most.

Poulin was happy to have won the awards, but had her sights set on the ultimate prize; Sunday’s Clarkson Cup final, that pits her Canadiennes against the Calgary Inferno.

“I know there are three trophies [that I won], but I don’t have the one that I really want,” said Poulin. “We are really focused on one mission right now, and that is to win the Clarkson Cup.”

Poulin was not the only member of Les Canadiennes to pick up some hardware.

Montreal netminder Charline Labonté earned her third consecutive Goaltender of the Year honor, thanks to her 11-4-0 record in net. Her eleven wins were tops in the league for that category.

“I am surprised,” said Labonté. “I didn’t have a speech ready because I didn’t think I was going to win. [Genevieve] Lacasse and [Christina] Kessler had amazing seasons. It’s really an honour.”

Labonté’s individual statistics were nothing short of spectacular. She had a 1.53 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage, to go with her league-leading five shutouts. Just like Poulin, Labonté preferred to acknowledge her team and their quest for a much-coveted championship.

“It’s classified as an individual award, but it shows the consistency that we have as a team,” said Labonté. “It’s very flattering to be honoured, but I am missing one trophy and that’s the Clarkson Cup.”

She achieved that by winning her first Clarkson Cup on Sunday by beating the Calgary Inferno 3-1.

The Inferno were also the subject of much individual fanfare. Jessica Campbell was given the Humanitarian of the Year award, thanks to her efforts in organizing and fundraising the team’s Start the Spark game in support of mental health.

Inferno defender Meaghan Mikkelson-Reid was given the Defenceman of the Year award, besting Canadiennes defender Cathy Chartrand. Mikkelson-Reid had a strong season, putting up 15 points in 22 games. She was also named co-captain of one of the league’s All-Star teams last month.

Her head coach—and husband—Scott Reid was presented with the Coach of the Year award, finishing ahead of Dany Brunet of Les Canadiennes. The Calgary bench boss led his team to a league-best 20-4 regular season record. Reid looked to his players as the main factors behind him receiving the award.

“This award is all because of the [players],” said Reid. “They are the ones that are out there putting their effort in and winning close games to make our record what it is. This is for them. This is theirs.”

“I know the countless hours that he puts in behind the scenes as a coach,” said Mikkelson-Reid. “As a player, I am very thankful for it.”

Brampton’s Laura Stacey rounded out the award winners, garnering Rookie of the Year honours.

The event, hosted by Sportsnet’s John Bartlett and former women’s hockey player Tessa Bonhomme, kicked off Clarkson Cup weekend in the nation’s capital, which culminated with Les Canadiennes’ Clarkson Cup victory.