Washington Hockey Insider has no direct affiliation to the Washington Capitals, NHL or NHLPA
Capitals prospect wins OHL's William Hanley Trophy awarded for greatest sportsmanlike
Photo credit: AM 800
The trophy is awarded annually through a vote by the OHL's 20 general managers. Each team submits a nominee, but GMs are not permitted to vote for their own player.
The OHL announced Tuesday that Washington Capitals prospect and Windsor Spitfires forward Ilya Protas has been awarded the William Hanley Trophy, which is given each year to the league's most sportsmanlike player.
Chris Cerullo from RMNB writes that Protas ranked second in OHL scoring this season, tallying 124 points (50 goals, 74 assists) over 61 games while accumulating just 34 penalty minutes. The runner-up for the William Hanley Trophy was fellow Washington Capitals prospect Patrick Thomas of the Brantford Bulldogs.
Here's what Protas had to say in his press release.
«I'm grateful to be recognized for demonstrating good sportsmanship as it is a reflection of my commitment to competing at the highest levels of the game. I'm honoured to follow in the footsteps of fellow Windsor Spitfires Wyatt Johnston and Kyle Wellwood who won this award. It's a special award and it is great to win in this league with a lot of very talented and high character players.» -Protas
Cerullo also writes that the previous recipients of the award include current NHL players Wyatt Johnston, Nick Suzuki, Mike Amadio, Dylan Strome, Connor McDavid, and Brandon Saad. Protas is set to receive the William Hanley Trophy officially at the OHL's Awards Ceremony this June at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
Spitfires GM Bill Bowler had this to say following the news.
«What a great honour for Ilya. He plays the game the right way with an unbelievable hockey IQ. Ilya is able to compete and play at such a high level with such sportsmanship, which is a credit to his character. He is a great representative of the Windsor Spitfires and the Ontario Hockey League.»
Protas and the Windsor Spitfires remain active in the OHL playoffs, holding a commanding 3-0 lead in their second-round series against the Kitchener Rangers. The 18-year-old forward is tied atop the postseason scoring leaderboard with linemate Liam Greentree, as both have racked up an impressive 24 points through just eight games.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 15 | 56 ANSWERS Capitals prospect wins OHL's William Hanley Trophy awarded for greatest sportsmanlike Do you think Capitals prospect Ilya Protas will crack a full time NHL roster someday? | ||
| yes | 55 | 98.2 % |
| no | 1 | 1.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
