Lucas Punkari
They were roommates a year ago, and are close friends away from the rink.
So for Fort Frances Lakers’ forward Byron Katapaytuk and goalie Tyler Ampe, it made perfect sense that they shared Most Valuable Player honours at the team’s annual awards banquet Friday night at the Adventure Inn.
“Tyler’s the one guy on the team that I would want to share an award like this with the most, so I’m really happy for him right now,” said Katapaytuk, who also won the team’s MVP award last season.
“Byron’s one of the guys that I’m close to on the team, so it’s pretty cool to be able to share something like this with him,” echoed Ampe.
Ampe, in his second season with the Lakers, was a stalwart between the pipes during the regular season, finishing with a 22-9-0-5 record and a 2.80 GAA.
“A big difference for me this year was probably my positioning and my focus out there on the ice,” noted Ampe, who shared the team’s rookie-of-the-year accolades with Ryan Wildman last season.
“The league was a little bit more faster-paced I found than what it was last year, but I was able to see a lot more out there and I think that helped a lot,” he added.
As for Katapaytuk, in his third SIJHL season, the 20-year-old from Moose Factory set career highs in goals (32) and assists (53) en route to capturing the league scoring title with 85 points—one more than Andrew Wolfe of the Sioux Lookout Flyers.
The team MVP accolades capped off a very successful day for the Lakers’ forward, who found out Friday morning that he had won the SIJHL’s player-of-the-year award.
“It’s a great honour, and to be recognized by the entire league for your efforts is pretty amazing,” Katapaytuk smiled.
“I think one of the big things for me this year was being physical down low, as I feel that part of my game played a huge role in what I was able to accomplish,” he added.
Joining Katapaytuk in receiving year-end league honours was first-year forward Jordan Larson, who was named the SIJHL’s rookie-of-the-year earlier in the week, in addition to winning the same honour from the Lakers.
“It’s pretty exciting to receive that award from the league,” Larson said.
“To join great players such as Jameson Shortreed and Mitch Cain, who have won that award here, is a great feeling and I’m very honoured to be named alongside of them,” he added.
The 16-year-old from Fort Frances led the league in scoring among first-year players with 69 points in 56 games, which also put him second in team scoring behind Katapaytuk.
“I was a little bit nervous coming into the start of the season, especially with coming back to play for my home team, so I didn’t try to have my expectations too high,” admitted Larson.
“I just wanted to come in and try and play my best hockey, and I was able to do that with my two-way game and that allowed me to put up a lot of points at the start of the year,” he explained.
“In the second half, I didn’t quite put up the amount of points that I would have liked, but I’m hoping that I can just continue to play a solid game in the playoffs.”
One of Larson’s linemates, Davis Smith, also was rewarded for his efforts at Friday night’s banquet—but not in the way he expected.
The second-year forward from Atikokan was the inaugural recipient of the team’s P.I.T.A. award, given to the player who is the biggest pain in the opponents’ backside.
“To be the first guy to win an award like this has to be an honour,” Smith laughed.
“Being an agitator is just something I try do every game,” he added. “I just try and chirp the guys here or there to try and get them off of their game and get them to react a little bit.”
On the other side of that coin is forward Merritt Rysavy, who received the team’s most gentlemanly player award Friday night.
“I try to go out and play that kind of game,” Rysavy remarked. “I’m not the type of guy that tries to talk trash and that sort of thing.
“I just want to go out their and play the game.
“But if I need to play a gritty role, I can do that, as well, if I have to do,” he stressed.
Rounding out the forwards who received accolades Friday night was Wildman, the second-year forward from Timmins who took home the award as most improved player.
“I trained really hard during the off-season as I knew I wanted to bring something to the table this year, and it paid off,” noted Wildman, who increased his point total from 33 a year go to 57 this season.
“I did a lot of everything during the summer, but I paid close attention to my cardio, and that was a huge difference for me.
“On the ice, I found this year that I was a lot more calm with the puck, as well, and I wasn’t finding myself having to rush things,” he added.
Meanwhile, second-year blueliner Connor Hady was rewarded for his team-best 35 points on the back end, earning the best defenceman award.
“This feels pretty good right now,” Hady smiled. “This year I was a lot stronger out there than I was a year ago, and that allowed me to be more physical in my game.
“In front of our net, I was able to play a lot better defensively, and being on the power play helped me to improve on offence,” he added.
Rounding out the award recipients was first-year defenceman Jon Carlson, who took home the most dedicated player award.
“I just try do whatever I can both on and off the ice to make myself better,” explained Carlson, who hails from Fort Frances.
“In practice, I’m usually one of the first ones onto the ice and one of the last guys to leave as I just try to get as much ice time as I can.
“Off the ice, I just try to make myself better by lifting weights and doing a lot of running in the gym, and I think it all pays off in the long run,” he reasoned.
