S85 Las Vegas Aces Team Awards

[animal74 1,803]

S85 Las Vegas Aces Team Awards

 

Welcome to the S85 Las Vegas Aces Award Ceremony presented by IKEA.

 

First of all, congratulations to the Aces who won their third consecutive Prime Minister's Cup as the VHLM’s top team in the regular season and made their third straight Founder’s Cup final only to be upended by the Philadelphia Reapers in six games. With Anthony Pratt @Shindigs stepping down as Las Vegas GM, I offered to host the team awards tonight. We have a few changes from the last few seasons. @Shindigs and the stats will contribute to most of the chosen winners but players and managers were asked to vote on two awards: the regular season MVP and the new Ace Up the Sleeve (Unsung Hero) Award. There is another award being presented for the first time - the 3-Stars Award. These three will be handed out last.

 

Here is the complete list of awards being handed out tonight:

Playoff MVP
Points Leader
Goals Leader
Assists Leader
Top Offensive Defenseman
Top Defensive Defenseman
Top Goalie
Lowest GAA Goalie
Top Rookie
Top Waiver Player
Top Two-Way Forward
Top Power Forward
Top TPE Earner
Most High Roller Awards
Top Leader (Juan Ceson Award)
Unsung Hero (Ace Up the Sleeve Award)
MVP
3-Stars Award

 

Let’s get the fanfare started! To begin the night, we’ll hand out the Aces’ MVP of the S85 playoffs.

Playoff MVP
Our nominees are:
Antoine Barksdale @CrookedAnt
Wann Kerr @VattghernCZ
Robert Overmeyer @RobBro34
Jens Lekman @Bobcat

 

The winner of the Aces Playoff MVP Award is… Antoine Barksdale @CrookedAnt!

This was a very tough decision as so many players found another level in the playoffs. Each of the nominees scored over a point-per-game and were instrumental in willing the Aces to the Final for a third consecutive season. But just as he did in the regular season, Barksdale led the team in points with 25 including a league-high 18 assists. He was also Top-5 in shots, face-off percentage and minutes played. 

Points Leader
Antoine Barksdale @CrookedAnt
110

Pure and simple, Barksdale was the straw that stirred the Ace’s drink and his 110 points (4th in the league) was nine more than his next teammate.  

 

Goals Leader
Antoine Barksdale @CrookedAnt
49

One of three Aces to score 40 or more goals (Larry Abass Jr and Wann Kerr were the others), Barksdale led the team with 49 which tied him for second in the M. That was also the third-highest single season mark by an Ace in eight seasons.

 

Assists Leader
Antoine Barksdale @CrookedAnt
61

Barksdale beat Robert Overmeyer by one for this award.

 

Top Offensive Defenseman
Nominees:
Jens Lekman @Bobcat
Sigma Freud @CODENAMEJIMMY

 

The winner of the Top Offensive Defenseman Award is… Jens Lekman @Bobcat!

With 24 more points than the next Las Vegas blueliner, Jens Lekman had a fantastic season. His 69 points were second among defensemen in the league and he led the Aces in power play assists and was second in power play points.

 

Top Defensive Defenseman
Nominees:
Jens Lekman @Bobcat
Sigma Freud @CODENAMEJIMMY
Juan Ceson @dylanjj37

 

The winner of the Top Defensive Defenseman Award is… Juan Ceson @dylanjj37

A runner-up last year for this award, captain Juan Ceson led the team in blocked shots (98), hits (254), and penalty minutes (108), the latter two numbers were both third in the league. He was dependable all season in his own zone and made the corners a nightmare to go into. 

 

Top Goalie
Nominees:
Joel Castle @animal74
Viktor Hasek @StackThePads

 

The winner of the Top Goalie Award is… Joel Castle @animal74

Returning after seeing how to win a Cup from the bench, Joel Castle took the crease reins from Cory Evans with something to prove. Even though he was outplayed in the Final, he was consistently solid in between the pipes during the regular season, leading all goalies with 41 wins and posting a 2.34 GAA and 6 shutouts. 

 

Lowest GAA Goalie

Viktor Hasek @StackThePads
After joining the team to give starter Joel Castle some relief, Viktor Hasek did more than just provide reliable backup minutes - he dominated when on the ice to the tune of a 1.68 GAA and 5 shutouts posting wins in every one of his 13 starts.

Top Rookie
Nominees:
Antoine Barksdale @CrookedAnt
Wann Kerr @VattghernCZ
Jens Lekman @Bobcat

 

With so many of the Aces first year players contributing to the team’s success, one player who has already been mentioned a few times stood slightly ahead of the rest. The Aces’ Rookie of the Year is… Antoine Barksdale @CrookedAnt! 

 

Top Waiver Player
Edward Traverse @Python_Starbuzz
Traverse came in halfway through the season and made an immediate impact. He notched 23 points in only 38 games as a defenseman and had the highest shooting percentage on the team and tied Lekman for best points per 20 minutes (0.65) among Vegas dmen.

 

Top Two-Way Forward
Nominees:
Antoine Barksdale @CrookedAnt
Larry Abass Jr @RileyL
Wann Kerr @VattghernCZ
Robert Overmeyer @RobBro34

 

The winner of the Top Two-Way Forward Award is… Antoine Barksdale @CrookedAnt

Barksdale tied for the league-lead with three shorthanded goals and led the team in time on ice on the penalty kill and a +49 (fourth in the league). While Larry Abass Jr won the equivalent of this award for the league, the Aces have different criteria and instead awarded him…

 

Top Power Forward
Larry Abass Jr @RileyL
LAJ was second on the Aces in goals (43), points (101),  plus/minus (+45) - all Top-6 in the league - hits (228), and penalty minutes (74) with the latter two numbers leading Vegas forwards. He wins the award for the second straight season.

Top TPE Earner
Wann Kerr (129) @VattghernCZ
Jens Lekman (114) @Bobcat
Joel Castle (99) @animal74

 

Wann Kerr @VattghernCZ burst onto the scene, worked insanely hard and never stopped. His work ethic helped him become a deadly sniper scoring 41 goals and co-leading the Aces with 9 power play goals.

 

Most High Roller Awards
The High Roller Award is awarded every week between the week ending after the VHLM draft and the last week of the playoffs. To the non-TDL recreate player on the team that earned the most total TPE that week

Wann Kerr (4) @VattghernCZ

No surprise that the winner of the previous award also won the most weekly High Roller Awards. 

 

Top Leader (Juan Ceson Award)
Nominees:
Joel Castle @animal74
Juan Ceson @dylanjj37
Larry Abass Jr @RileyL
Wann Kerr @VattghernCZ

 

The above names comprised the leadership group for S85 with one player (guess who) chosen as the capable, if not controversial, captain. Juan Ceson @dylanjj37(in maybe his final VHLM season?) wins the award named after him again.

 

Unsung Hero (Ace Up the Sleeve) Award
Nominees:
Edward Traverse @Python_Starbuzz
Grigoris Polyhronidis Jr @GP18
Jens Lekman @Bobcat
Joel Castle @animal74
Kobe Johnson @Vkobe-v
Viktor Hasek @StackThePads

 

The winner of the inaugural Ace Up the Sleeve Award is… Jens Lekman @Bobcat!

As a testament to the Aces’ depth and contributions from all across the roster, each of the nominees received at least one vote from their peers. As stated above, Lekman led the attack from the blueline and was the team’s workhorse all season long averaging 29:40 of ice time a night - over 1.5 minutes more a night then his closest teammate. He was second on the team in shot blocks and third with a +43 and 181 hits.

 

Aces MVP
Our nominees are:
Antoine Barksdale @CrookedAnt
Joel Castle @animal74
Wann Kerr @VattghernCZ

 

The winner of the Aces MVP Award is… Antoine Barksdale @CrookedAnt!

As voted by players and management. No surprise here as Antoine Barksdale was the Aces’ offensive catalyst all season long. He led the team in goals, assists, points, plus/minus, short-handed and game-winning goals.

 

3-Stars Award 
(1st Star = 30 points, 2nd = 20, 3rd = 10)
Nominees:
Antoine Barksdale @CrookedAnt
Larry Abass Jr @RileyL
Robert Overmeyer @RobBro34
Wann Kerr @VattghernCZ
Joel Castle @animal74

 

The winner of the Aces 3-Stars Award is… Antoine Barksdale @CrookedAnt!

Antoine Barksdale tied for the league lead for 1st Star selections and also led the team in 3rd Star selections, total selections (27) and points (580).

 

Below are the full 3-Star Standings for the S85 Las Vegas Aces:

 

Player	1st	2nd	3rd	Star Points	Total Stars
Antoine Barksdale	12	7	8	580	27
Larry Abass Jr	7	9	7	460	23
Robert Overmeyer	4	11	3	370	18
Wann Kerr	4	7	6	320	17
Joel Castle	6	4	5	310	15
Jens Lekman	4	2	3	190	9
Hayden Bromley	2	2	3	130	7
Kobe Johnson	2	2	3	130	7
Juan Ceson	1	3	2	110	6
Grigoris Polyhronidis Jr	0	1	5	70	6
Josh Leblanc	2	0	1	70	3
Sigma Freud	0	1	4	60	5
Edward Traverse	1	0	0	30	1
Kronchy Kardashian	1	0	0	30	1
Grunkle Stan-dingyouup	0	1	0	20	1
Viktor Hasek	0	1	0	20	1
Laytin Cupp	0	0	0	0	0

 

 

Congrats to all the winners!!

Wishing all the graduating players continued success in their careers and good luck to the returning players as they continue the Aces’ winning legacy. Thank you to @Shindigs and @TopTiddee2 for being amazing managers! Good luck to @Blazzerand @StephenCurry5806N as they look to put their mark on this proud franchise.

 

Thanks for reading and good night! 
 

Spoiler

Aces: @theBombster @Josh31 @Garsh @Big Newff @laytin

 

[dylanjj37 340]

b-lva-d1 didnt even get any nominations?!

[Youngbuck 34]

Congrats to all award winners!

[VattghernCZ 967]

Anty absolutely stole the show, you love to see that. What a beauty. Thank you Aces, it was a great season!

[animal74 1,803]

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