GALLANT NAMED CHL COACH OF THE YEAR

Saint John Sea Dogs Head Coach Gerard Gallant was named the Canadian Hockey League’s Old Dutch Coach of the Year this afternoon at the league’s awards show in Brandon, Man.

The former Detroit Red Wing tough guy beat Dale Hunter of the London Knights and Mark Holick of the Kootenay Ice to capture the award.

It is the first Sea Dog won CHL award in the clubs five-year franchise history.

Gallant, along with Hockey Operations Director Mike Kelly, was hired by the club on April 24, 2009 following the firing of head coach and general manager Jacques Beaulieu.

The two made an immediate impact, drafting the likes of Pierre Durepos, Jonathan Huberdeau, Stanislav Galiev, and Tomas Jurco among others.

Gallant led the Sea Dogs to a franchise first Atlantic Division and regular season title. Saint John finished atop the league with a record of 52-15 for 107 points and a 0.776 winning percentage.

The Sea Dogs set a number of team records including most points (109), most wins (52), and longest winning streak (22 games).

In the post-season, Gallant led his young squad all the way to their first birth in the President’s Cup Final. Despite falling in six games to the Moncton Wildcats, Saint John finished with a strong 14-7 record in the playoffs. The Final series featured “Turk” trying to climb over the median that separated the two team’s benches at the Moncton Coliseum.

The former Columbus Blue Jackets Head Coach defeated Danny Flynn of the Wildcats and Mario Duhamel of the Drummondville Voltigeurs to win the QMJHL’s Coach of the Year award in March.

Sea Dogs sniper Mike Hoffman fell short of capturing the two awards he was nominated for. The Ottawa Senators prospect was nominated for both the CCM Player of the Year Award and Husky Sportsman of the Year.

Jordan Eberle and his clutch goal scoring skills captured the Player of the Year honor. The Regina Pat forward was not present to accept his award because he has been participating at the World Hockey Championships in Cologne, Germany.

Jordan Bast of the Western Hockey League’s Moose Jaw Warriors was named Sportsman of the Year.

In other awards, Tyler Seguin of the Plymouth Whalers was given the Top Prospect award, Brandon Kozun of the Calgary Hitmen was awarded the Top Scorer trophy, Ryan Hayes of the Whalers was named Humanitarian of the Year, Dominic Jalbert of the Chicoutimi Sagueneens was named the Scholastic Player of the Year, Matt Puempel of the Peterborough Petes was named Rookie of the Year, Jake Allen of the Voltigeurs was named Goaltender of the Year, and David Savard of the Wildcats was named Defenseman of the Year.