Five local rookies among Prince Albert Timberjaks year-end award recipients

The Coach’s Award was presented to assistant captain and graduating player Ryan Lepitzki. The Prince Albert product began his PJHL career in Fort Knox in 2022, but spent the last three seasons with the Timberjaks.

“He was just a huge asset being one part of the leadership group and we’re going to miss him. He was great helping the young guys out and kind of like an unsung hero as the Coaches’ pick.”

Lonnie Leptizki – Volunteer of the Year (Image Credit: Submitted/Prince Albert Timberjaks)

Lonnie Leptizki, Ryan’s father, was named Volunteer of the Year.

“He’s been involved with our team for all three years as a game day volunteer who manages the penalty box for us and anything else that needs to be done. He’s just a great guy to have and did a fantastic job for us.”

Top Scorer – Brody Anderson (Image Credit: Submitted/Prince Albert Timberjaks)

The Timberjaks Top Scorer was Shellbrook’s Brody Anderson who finished the season with 38 points (18G – 20A).

“He’s just a hard-working kid with lots of speed. He’s been playing a couple of games with the Mustangs recently in Junior A, which shows the development side of things for our group, but yeah, he’s a great kid. And he’ll be back as a 19-year-old unless he cracks a Junior A lineup. He just had a great year.”

Playoff MVP – Josh Henry (Image Credit: Submitted/Prince Albert Timberjaks)

The remainder of the team awards all went to rookies from Prince Albert. Playoff MVP was netminder Josh Henry.

“We had a short playoff season, but Josh’s goals against average was 2.00 and he played phenomenally in a short series where unfortunately, we just had trouble putting pucks in the net. We probably had one of the top goalie tandems in the league with Josh and 20-year old Brayden Lyons.”

Defensive Player of the Year – Ryan Pidborochynski (Image Credit: Submitted/Prince Albert Timberjaks)

The Defensive Player of the Year was Ryan Pidborochynski.

“He’s just a two-way, 200-foot player who took lots of key draws for us. He’s a great penalty killer and probably one of our top shot blockers, and in our zone, he’s just really responsible, so well deserved there for Ryan.”

Most Valuable Player – Gareg Painter (Image Credit: Submitted/Prince Albert Timberjaks)

Gareg Painter received the Most Valuable Player Award.

“As a defenceman, he’s a value-added player for us. He had 18 goals this year and was undoubtedly our MVP. Without him, we probably would have had a few less wins.”

Rookie of the Year – Trey Mudry (Image Credit: Submitted/Prince Albert Timberjaks)

Timberjaks Rookie of the Year was Trey Mudry.

“Another kid who leaves it out on the ice every shift. He is very, very aggressive on the forecheck and comes back hard. You wouldn’t think he was a rookie the way he played throughout most of the year. He doesn’t back down from anybody. He’s not as big in stature, but I tell you, there’s a big heart in that chest and that award was well deserved for him.”

Hardest Working Player – Owen Willie (Image Credit: Submitted/Prince Albert Timberjaks)

The Timberjaks Hardest Working Player award was presented to Owen Willie.

“He started the year kind of finding his way. Once he figured out the strength and speed of the league, he was probably one of our top forecheckers. He just left it all on the ice every night and he wasn’t afraid to chuck ‘em when needed as well.”

In addition to their strength on the ice this season, Malenfant said the team added a valuable asset to the coaching staff when Tim Leonard joined the bench as an assistant coach.

“From an x’s and o’s perspective, he’s got so much experience in dealing with guys in the dressing room and he’s won at various levels, including AAA, where he won a couple of Canadian championships and he worked really well with coach Steph Corfmat and Kim Issel. The three of them worked very well together.”

Leonard coached the Prince Albert AAA Mintos for more than a decade, leading the team to back-to-back Telus Cup Championships in 2006 and 2007. He was also an assistant coach for the Prince Albert Raiders in the WHL.

Looking ahead to next season, Malenfant said the team will have a couple of tough decisions to make; they have five 20-year-olds and they can only bring back two of them as 21-year-old players. With the core group being relatively young, however, he said there is a lot to build on.

“I think it will probably be our strongest team in four year, so we’re just looking to build on it and have some fun and I know some of the guys said this was their best year of hockey ever. So, kudos to my coaching staff who really make all that happen. It’s a fun time and we’re just happy to be involved and have these guys come play with us.”

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panews@pattisonmedia.com

by paNOW Staff

Five local rookies among Prince Albert Timberjaks year-end award recipients

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