CCHL 2019-2020 Mid-Season Awards Nominees

Hello, sports fans. Today I am coming to you from warm Novosibirsk, where the locals are tanning in this warm 32 degrees F (0 Celsius) weather. I had a chance to meet with local sportswriters about the current CCHL season. We will be looking at early nominees for most of the major awards this CCHL season. 

The voting is based on nominations by the Siberian Hockey Writers Association...but mostly by Kate Upton. While there were many viable candidates, the nominees below were chosen based on how they have performed thus far, as we are a little more than halfway through the CCHL season. With that, let's get to the awards and the mid-season nominees!

Lady Byng - given to the most gentlemanly player. These guys are practically nuns!

 Matthew Barzal - ISL: 6 PIM in 49 games
 Jakub Vrana - MIN: 2 PIM in 48 games
 TJ Brodie - POR: 4 PIM in 47 games
 Brandon Saad - VIC: 2 PIM in 48 games
 and finally, William Karlsson - SUD: 0 PIM in 40 games! "Excuse me, I don't mean to bump into you, but would you mind letting me pass so I can score this goal?"

Selke - given to the best defensive forward

 Gabriel Landeskog - ISL: tied for the league lead with a +20, while scoring 56 points in 48 games
 Jonathan Huberdeau - SPR: tied with Landeskog, scoring at almost a PPG
 TJ Oshie - SPR: the other part of that fabulous line for Springfield, is a +19 with 52 points in 49 games
 William Karlsson - SPR: completing out the trio is William Karlsson, who is tied for 2nd in the league at +19 with 63 points in 49 games
 Mark Stone - SIB: Siberia's top winger is a +14 while averaging a PPG

Calder - given to the best rookie (min 20 games played in NHL 2017-18 season to qualify)

 Elias Petterson - WIS: The Swedish wiz has put up 30 points in 47 games for last year's runner up Donuts
 Jordan Binnington - GEO: The rookie netminder has 12 wins and a .901 S% for the rebuilding Millers
 Anthony Cirelli - LAS: The young 2-way forward has 18 points in only 29 games
 Devon Toews - MIN: This young defenseman has not been able to consistently be in the lineup, but when he does, he is a dynamo, scoring 15 points in 19 games
 Zach Aston-Reese - GIL: The only nominee with 2 last names, he has quietly put up 26 points in 43 games for the Sharks

Norris - given to the best defenseman
 Brent Burns - SIB: the Siberia rearguard leads the league with 69 points in 50 games

Unrestricted
 Morgan Rielly - FOR: the slick skating defenseman leads the Falcons with 58 points in 50 games
 Jacob Trouba - VIC: this tough, 2-way dman is also having a great year, scoring 55 points in 47 games
 Ryan McDonagh - WIS: the veteran defender is second on his team in scoring with 54 points in 47 games
 Mattias Ekholm - SEA: the stalwart defenseman is also second on his team in scoring with 52 points in 47 games

Vezina - given to the best goaltender

 Ben Bishop - SPR: The veteran netminder has been traded, but he is helping lead one of the best teams, Springfield, with a league leading .916 S%
 Pekka Rinne - DAY: the big, Finnish netminder has helped Dayton be one of the best this year, leading the league in wins with 30
 John Gibson - FOR: this unsung hero in net has backstopped one of the best defensive teams this year, with a league leading 2.73 GAA
 Frederik Andersen - SUD: Frederik has been solid for Sudbury, helping them win games and is currently 3rd in the league with a 2.82 GAA
 Andrei Vasilevskiy - HAM: this perennial Vezina candidate is having another solid season and is currently 2nd in the league with 28 wins

Jennings - given to the team/goalies with the fewest goals against thus far

 DAY: currently sit atop the league with 136 goals against
 SPR & SUD: tied for 2nd with only 141 goals against
 FOR: in 4th place with 145 goals against
 CLG & GEO: in 5th place with 147 goals against

And finally, we have the grand-daddy of the awards, the Hart Trophy, given to the player who is the most valuable to his team

 Connor McDavid - SIB: the young captain has taken this team on his shoulders and has helped them to the top of the Canosa conference, with 78 points in 48 games
 Patrik Kane - HAM: the veteran winger is leading the surging Tigers (who are currently 2nd in the Canosa conference) with 68 points in 50 games
 John Gibson - FOR: the young netminder has backstopped the Falcons into a tie for 1st overall in the league, and leads the league with a 2.73 GAA
 William Karlsson - SPR: the young center is leading Springfield and making people notice with 63 points in 49 games
 Pekka Rinne - DAY: the Finnish wall has helped make Dayton the best defensive team in the league

Unrestricted

Well sports fans, there you have it, the mid-season nominees for the coveted CCHL awards. Come back at the end of year to see who Kate Upton...I mean the Siberian Hockey Writers Association votes for these awards. Until then, stay cold!