21-04-2025
Netminder takes the plaudits at Belfast Giants' end of season awards
The Great Britain international started the season as back-up to Tom McCollum at the SSE Arena but quickly won the starter's jersey and led the team to Elite League and Challenge Cup glory with a .923 save percentage and 2.17 goals against average in the regular season.
Whistle was in net as the Giants shut out the Cardiff Devils in the Cup Final last month and then produced two excellent performances on the final weekend of the season against the Nottingham Panthers to clinch the League.
The 29-year-old, who will now head off on World Championships duty where he will compete for the starter's job with Ben Bowns, also claimed the Official Supporters' Club's Player of the Year award and the Fans Favourite accolade.
Only two other players walked away with multiple awards on the night, with English forwards Scott Conway and Ciaran Long claiming two apiece at the awards do at the SSE Arena.
After a campaign that saw him score 33 goals and 72 points, Conway took home Forward of the Year to go along with his Leading Points Scorer crown, while Cup-winning goal scorer Long was awarded both the Players' Player of the Season and Unsung Hero gongs.
Defenceman of the Year went to Josh Roach as he combined strong defensive play with some key offensive contributions, too, chipping in with six goals and 39 points from the blue-line.
Only one player in his first season with the Giants was recognised at the awards do as, after finishing fourth in the League in +/- with a +35 rating, defenceman Bo Hanson was named Coaches' Player of the Year.
There was also recognition for two of the Giants' longest serving players as captain Mark Cooper and defenceman Jeff Baum were handed trophies on the night as well.
Second-year captain Cooper led from the front, recording 27 goals and 60 points including scoring in both championship winning games to lift his first two trophies as skipper, which saw him awarded the Ian Barton Award for hardest working player.
And Baum, last season's MVP, was given the President's Award in honour of the player that most embodies the values of the organisation, the American defenceman having been central to the team's prolonged success since first joining in 2021.
