Victor

And the winner of the S36 Sterling Labatte Trophy is.... New York's CONNER LOW! What a start to a career! Three awards in Low's rookie season. Truly unbelievable stuff. This was insanely close, with Low receiving 5 votes to Valiq's 4 and Spud's 1. But while the latter two's stars are now dwindling, Low has been set up for glory.

Much like with the Boulet, the Sterling Labatte Trophy needs a consistent winner. Ryan Sullivan is gone, as is Clark Marcellin. Who will step into the void? LOW, Conner 72GP, 19G, 64A, 83P, +11, 188PIM, 288HIT, 178SB, 1GWG SPUD, Malcom 72GP, 17G, 72A, 89P, +44, 118PIM, 198HIT, 129SB, 5GWG VALIQ, Alexander 72GP, 29G, 66A, 95P, +37, 152PIM, 202HIT, 119SB, 7GWG Alexander Valiq is the top goal-scoring defenceman of all time, but hasn't previously put up strong defensive stats to garner recognition. Conner Low has done so from his very first season, but may be considered too raw by voters. Malcom Spud is the outsider, a hugely under-rated defenceman who will be leading Cologne's blue line for the rest of his career.

And the winner of the S36 Aidan Shaw Trophy is.... Toronto's REMY LEBEAU! Both those speculative questions were useless. The real one is: where will LeBeau rank in VHL history? Two Shaws in three seasons, two seasons to go with loads of TPE, a great team. Just need that one cup. Right now, he's dominant in the regular season, 10 votes out of 10 here. That's two sweeps for the goaltending awards in the VHLM and VHL.

The Aidan Shaw Trophy awarded to league's top goaltender is generally a strong indicator of the best goalies of all-time. We've got a mixture of old and new here looking to write their name into history. BAGELFACE, Eggly 31-27-6, .928SV%, 2.18GAA, 8SO, 1962SA LEBEAU, Remy 46-14-3, .930SV%, 1.80GAA, 8SO, 1624SA RIFT, Skylar 48-13-3, .929SV%, 1.85GAA, 13SO, 1675SA Both LeBeau and Rift are one-time winners and the leaders of an elite generation also featuring the much-maligned Tuomas Tukio. Can Rift take a second straight Shaw into retirement? Will Bagelface's strong performance for a weak team garner recognition?

And the winner of the S36 Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy is.... New York's (well duh) CONNER LOW! Few predicted it, but the Americans captain has two awards on the night! A late first-round pick in a top-heavy S35 draft, Low has truly proven his critics wrong and is off to a great start to be his agency's (one with a long history going back to S1) greatest ever player.

Remember when I mentioned Chris building a promising New York team? Well here is why. LOW, Conner 72GP, 19G, 64A, 83P, +11, 188PIM, 288HIT, 178SB, 1GWG WAHL, Brick 25-34-5, .911SV%, 3.23GAA, 2SO, 2355SA XIAO, Xin Xie 72GP, 29G, 43A, 72P, +12, 151PIM, 366HIT, 6GWG Yeah, all the candidates on the top rookie (Christian Stolzschweiger/Stolzy Trophy) ballot are Americans. You could make a case for any of them, though Conner Low is definitely a favourite based on his performance as a defenceman.

And the winner of the S36 Scott Boulet Trophy is.... Davos' ODIN TORDAHL! A convincing victory, 8 votes to Zhumbayev's 2. Tordahl is just entering his prime as the league's premier checking forward so things should only get brighter, albeit it remains to be seen how he fill fit on a young New York Americans squad. Now seems like a great time to once again thank Boom for his work in Davos for the one season he was here. The free agent signing last off-season will likely go down as the turning point of the rebuild.

#corcotradenegotiations

Onto the big individual awards then. The Scott Boulet Trophy was up for grabs going into the season with David Smalling having retired in Season 34 and last season's winner Volodymyr Rybak followed him shortly after. In the end, this appears to be a two-man battle between Odin Tordahl and Anatoli Zhumbayev. Both could become the next great two-way forward and both have a strong case to deliver the first blow. They are joined by an elite group of forwards but ones unlikely to spring a surprise. CLIFFORD, Doug 72GP, 41G, 52A, 93P, +44, 109PIM, 247HIT, 139HTT, 7GWG KELLINGER, Wesley 72GP, 37G, 62A, 99P, +38, 104PIM, 242HIT, 242HTT, 62.42FO%, 5GWG LANDRY, Thomas 72GP, 23G, 58A, 81P, +33, 141PIM, 348HIT, 178HTT, 5GWG TORDAHL, Odin 72GP, 49G, 57A, 106P, +48, 208PIM, 353HIT, 187HTT, 4GWG ZHUMBAYEV, Anatoli 72GP, 48G, 76A, 124P, +45, 131PIM, 264HIT, 244HTT, 8GWG

And the winner of the S36 David Knight Trophy is.... Davos' VICTOR ALFREDSSON! I had to announce Alexander Chershenko winning some awards two seasons back but it didn't feel as awkward. Someone else should do it. Anyone? OK. FYI, Alfredsson isn't my real name. Victor is. Uh, 6 votes to Chris' 2, which is interesting. Edgar got 1 and we had a write-in candidate, which is allowed btw, in Joey Kendrick of Cologne, who did a good job getting value in a mid-season sale.

Technically speaking, you were 2nd now too. or 5th

From leading players to leading General Managers. The David Knight Trophy is often a hotly contested trophy but this season was limited to just three candidates by the Board of Governors. There is one thing you can always expect: the two finalists' GM to feature. Chris Miller Tyler Edgar Victor Alfredsson Alongside myself and Edgar, both of whom made moves to secure a finals appearance, if Chris Miller of the New York Americans. He has built a promising team in little time, which, like for myself in S35, garners early recognition. The only non-finalist GM winner of the award, however, was back in Season 1.

And the winner, or in fact, winners of the S36 Grimm Jonsson Trophy are.... An unprecedented quartet of THOMAS LANDRY, CONNER LOW, ETHAN OSBORNE, AND KAMERON TAYLOR! My fault for not limiting the ballot? Maybe. But really, does either of the four not deserve it? Landry and Low broke through as leaders this season for young, active teams, while Osborne and Taylor were pre-season favourites and now 4th- and 2nd-time winners respectively. Prediction points galore!

The ballot of the Grimm Jonsson Trophy, the VHL's top leader, usually has less names, but forgetfulness increased its size and it includes six of the league's ten captains. That said, can you make a case against any of them? All six were and are vocal representatives of their teams in all facets, leading by example on and off the ice. BALL JR., Sebastian LANDRY, Thomas LEBEAU, Remy LOW, Conner OSBORNE, Ethan TAYLOR, Kameron

And the winner of the S36 Mikka Virkkunen Trophy is.... Toronto's CHICO SALMON! I am proud to say I predicted this award correctly! Salmon doesn't hit much and thus doesn't make himself vulnerable to penalty calls. He didn't score much and wasn't too active so one has to wonder if Brovalenko's rep caught up to him, but 2 PIM did their job. It was a close one: 5 for Salmon, 4 for Brovy, 1 for Kjellberg.

Brovalenko returns on the ballot of the Mikka Virkkunen Trophy, awarded to the VHL's most sportsmanlike player and known colloquially as the "Pussy Award". Nonetheless, it's a trophy and its winners include Virkkunen, Phil Rafter, Markus Strauss, Pavel Koradek, the great Scotty Campbell, and many more. Not a list to scoff at. BROVALENKO, Sergey 72GP, 36G, 68A, 104P, +46, 10PIM, 8HIT, 61.24FO%, 9GWG KJELLBERG, Jakub 72GP, 36G, 61A, 97P, +43, 17PIM, 61HIT, 57.85FO%, 9GWG SALMON, Chico 72GP, 35G, 46A, 81P, +38, 2PIM, 8HIT, 10GWG VALIQ, Tomas 72GP, 18G, 65A, 83P, +43, 14PIM, 29HIT, 54.98FO%, 4GWG It's hard to quantify sportsmanship in a sim league, but penalty minutes is usually something to go by. Activity and member reputation? Not as much. Brovalenko is joined by reigning winner Jakub Kjellberg, his teammate Chico Salmon and Valiq #3.

And the winner of the S36 Dustin Funk Trophy is.... Vasteras' EGGLY BAGELFACE! Goaltenders usually evolve into elite ones gradually, but Bagelface did it virtually overnight, almost single-handedly leading the Iron Eagles to a surprising playoff appearance. Almost. It wasn't left to chance in the voting for this award though, with Bagelface taking 9 votes to Brovalenko's 1.

The Dustin Funk Trophy is the newest trophy in the both leagues, having been first awarded in Season 21 when it was won, for the only time, by two players; Kevyn Hesje and Joey Clarence. Not a terrible pair but greater players have won the Funk since. Perhaps some of the candidates below will grace the Hall of Fame after retiring and this will be seen as the turning point of their careers. BAGELFACE, Eggly (VAS) - 22-37-5, .909SV%, 2.65GAA, 6SO, 1877SA - Season 35 BAGELFACE, Eggly 31-27-6, .928SV%, 2.18GAA, 8SO, 1962SA - Season 36 BROVALENKO, Sergey (SEA/DAV) - 70GP, 35G, 36A, 71P, -11, 26PIM, 67HIT, 60.78FO%, 5GWG - Season 35 BROVALENKO, Sergey 72GP, 36G, 68A, 104P, +46, 10PIM, 8HIT, 61.24FO%, 9GWG - Season 36 TORDAHL, Odin (HSK) - 72GP, 36G, 45A, 81P, +52, 116PIM, 215HIT, 6GWG - Season 35 TORDAHL, Odin 72GP, 49G, 57A, 106P, +48, 208PIM, 353HIT, 4GWG - Season 36 WEBER, Willie (HSK) - 72GP, 19G, 32A, 51P, +44, 101PIM, 180HIT, 96SB, 5GWG - Season 35 WEBER, Willie 72GP, 20G, 60A, 80P, +24, 174PIM, 207HIT, 125SB, 4GWG - Season 36 A bit surprisingly, no sophomores on this list. All four players have broken out a bit later than expected, with Weber replacing the void left by his idol Ryan Sullivan, Brovalenko and Tordahl leading the top line of an all-around improved Dynamo offense, while Bagelface was a bright spark in a depressing season for Vasteras.

GOOGLE HAS BEEN SPOTTED VIEWING THIS THREAD! Image found using Google.

With all due respect to the VHLM, there's only one reason most people are looking at this thread and that's for the VHL awards. It would be pretty bland near the end if I did this the other way around. As you're all aware, the HC Davos Dynamo won the Continental Cup in Season 36, one season removed from a five-game, first-round exit by an almost all-rookie roster and two seasons away from the worst team in the league by a large margin. About five people, if that, predict Davos would make the finals after the Davey Jones trade and I wasn't one of them because I'm too superstitious. Alas, before I get accused of gloating, let's get to the individual awards.

And now over to STZ for the 2nd annual awards ceremony interlude.

And the winner of the S36 Sakic Trophy is.... Bratislava's MARTIN BROOKSIDE! You can't stop him! That's a hat-trick and a historic win for a historic season by Martin Brookside. As he correctly stated during the season, people won't remember VHLM history in a few seasons, but the achievements aren't going to go away. Great season to start the career before graduating to the VHL.

The big one, el grande, il grandissimo, Die Grosse*, le grand, etc. The VHLM's Most Valuable Player and winner of the Sakic Trophy will be one of four players: Brookside, the leader of a watertight defensive team, Boone Cassidy, a mainstay on the IK J20 for several seasons, or the aforementioned Bern offensive squadron of Earl Parker and Matt Rielly. * - this may be grammatically incorrect. I might have just incurred the wrath of all of the VHL's Germans BROOKSIDE, Martin 66-5-1, .924SV%, 1.41GAA, 18SO, 1349SA CASSIDY, Boone :j20: 72GP, 71G, 65A, 136P, +43, 50PIM, 155HIT, 6GWG PARKER, Earl 72GP, 68G, 90A, 158P, +92, 55PIM, 154HIT, 11GWG RIELLY, Matt 72GP, 44G, 106A, 150P, +77, 49PIM, 98HIT, 105SB, 6GWG For what it's worth, the last goaltender to win the Sakic Trophy was Marek Van Urho back in Season 8. Odds against the active?

And the winner of the S36 Esposito Trophy is.... Bratislava's MARTIN BROOKSIDE! Nonetheless, Brookside prevailed. It was close, with 5 votes for the goalie, 3 for Fjorsstrom, and 2 for Latifa, but this was not a post-season of great offensive performance so naturally, the league's best goaltender prevails.