Each year, the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League presents seven awards for on-ice excellence: Most Valuable Player, Top Scorer, Top Defenceman, Top Goaltender, Rookie of the Year, Most Sportsmanlike Player and Coach of the Year. Winners are named from each of the league’s four divisions prior to the start of KIJHL Playoffs, with overall league award winners named prior to the Teck Cup Finals.
- Monday, February 13 – Eddie Mountain Division
- Tuesday, February 14 – Neil Murdoch Division
- Wednesday, February 15 – Bill Ohlhausen Division
- Thursday, February 16 – Doug Birks Division
Today, we honour the award winners for the Eddie Mountain Division.
| Most Valuable Player Luke Chakrabarti Creston Valley Thunder Cats  |
Chakrabarti led the league with 78 points in 41 games and was held off the scoresheet in just seven games. The White Rock, B.C. product hit 100 career points on Jan. 18 against the Columbia Valley Rockies. He finished second overall in goals (39) and fifth in assists with 39. He was plus-27 and had two game-winning goals. |  |
| Top Scorer Luke Chakrabarti Creston Valley Thunder Cats |
Chakrabarti formed a dynamic duo with Blake Anderson, helping him claim the league scoring title. The 5-9, 140-pound forward had 27 primary assists. After putting up 33 points with the Osoyoos Coyotes and Thunder Cats last season as a rookie, he more than doubled his offensive production this season. He scored 10 of his 39 goals and totalled 23 points on the power-play. |  |
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Top Defenceman
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Reid has enjoyed a tremendous season with his hometown Dynamiters. He led all defencemen with 15 goals and was fifth in assists with 25. Of Reid’s 15 goals, six were winners and he had 24 power-play points. Reid has also contributed to the Dynamiters being among the top defensive teams as they finished with the third fewest goals allowed with 106. Reid was a plus-16 while playing an average of 24:26 a game. |  |
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Top Goaltender
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The Calgary product had the second most wins in the division with 16, which also had him tied for second overall in the league. He was fourth in save percentage at .926 and fourth in goals against average at 2.15. Self played the fifth most minutes in the KIJHL with 1,563. In 26 games played, Self stopped 700 of the 756 shots he faced. |  |
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Rookie of the Year
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The Calgary product led all KIJHL rookies in goals (43) and assists (31) for 74 points in 41 games, averaging 1.80 points per game. His totals also placed him second overall among point-producers. He had 14 power-play goals and five game-winners, and added a short-handed goal. He averaged 17:02 of ice time per game, including 3:56 on the power-play. Ingram represented Team KIJHL in the BCHC Prospects Game. Ingram was held without a point in five games. His longest point streak was 14 games in which he had 18 goals and 12 assists. He finished the regular season on a six-game points streak with six goals and eight assists. |  |
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Most Sportsmanlike Player
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The Calgary product was acquired from the Kelowna Chiefs before the start of the season and in 44 games spent eight minutes in the penalty box. Morin also had six of his 41 points come on the power-play. Morin averaged 17:57 of ice time per game, including 3:44 on the power-play and 1:16 short-handed. Morin was fourth on the Rockets in points with 41 in 44 games for a .93 points per game average. In 79 career games spent with Grand Forks, Kelowna and the Rockets, Morin has 20 penalty minutes. |  |
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Coach of the Year
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In his second full season with the Rockets as Head Coach & GM, Wight has guided them to the playoffs for a second straight season with the second oldest team in the league. The Rockets won 25 of their 44 games and nearly doubled their wins from last season in which they had 13 in 42 games. When the Rockets scored first, they won 12 of their 16 games. On special teams, the Rockets had the second best penalty-kill in the division at 83.8 per cent. Wight had Jordan Lario, Levi Lamotte and Ethan Aebly all finish averaging more than a point-per-game this season. Wight joined the Rockets as an assistant coach in the 2019-20 season and had his first season behind the bench in 2020-21 impacted by COVID-19. |  |
