KIRKPATRICK NOMINATED FOR LEAGUE AWARD

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League today announced the eighteen candidates for the Marcel-Robert Trophy, which will be awarded to the Scholastic Player of the Year at the Golden Puck Awards Gala on Wednesday, March 31.

Each team’s candidate will receive a $400 bursary. The five finalists, who are expected to be announced in the next few days, will earn an additional $400.

Finally, the award-winner will receive the Marcel-Robert Trophy as well as a $500 grant.

Michael Kirkpatrick was nominated for the Saint John Sea Dogs this season. Along with being a good student, the Cape Breton native leads the Sea Dogs in scoring with 71 points in 55 games this year.

Sea Dogs forward Payton Liske won the award last season but came up short at the Canadian Hockey League awards program. He is the only Sea Dog to win major player award.

"Each team submitted a very detailed portfolio of their candidate and the task of selecting the five finalists will certainly be difficult," said Natach Llorens, the QMJHL Education Advisor. "Each candidate has an excellent résumé. The efforts deployed by our organizations to support our student-athletes have never been better and we’re seeing the fruits of their labour with these candidates. I would like to congratulate them for their selection."

The five-member committee is comprised of four members of the QMJHL’s staff: Valérie Monette, Natacha Llorens, Marcel Patenaude and Denis Arsenault and includes a former Marcel-Robert Trophy winner (2002-03), Éric L’Italien.

Here is the list of the other candidates:

Acadie-Bathurst Titan – Éric Faille
Baie-Comeau Drakkar – Mike Villeneuve
Cape Breton Screaming Eagles – Logan Shaw
Chicoutimi Saguenéens – Dominic Jalbert
Drummondville Voltigeurs – Marc-Olivier Vachon
Gatineau Olympiques – Hugo Laporte
Halifax Mooseheads – Pascal Amyot
Lewiston MAINEiacs – Pierre-Olivier Morin
Moncton Wildcats – Daniel Pettersson
Montreal Juniors – Vincent Bourgeois
P.E.I. Rocket – Jean-Philippe Mathieu
Quebec Remparts – Mikaël Tam
Rimouski Océanic – Patrick Delisle-Houde
Rouyn-Noranda Huskies – Mickael Audette
Shawinigan Cataractes – Pierre-Alexandre Vandall
Val-d’Or Foreurs – Cédric Henley
Victoriaville Tigres – Joël Chouinard