Bonnyville Pontiacs put bow on the season with banquet

The Bonnyville Pontiacs celebrated their successes on and off the ice on Friday night with their annual awards banquet.

The evening included dinner, a season recap by Head Coach and General Manager Rick Swan, a recognition of last year’s award winner since there was no opportunity for a banquet then, and the handing out of the 2021-22 team awards.

The graduating players of Kash Rasmussen, Will Hilfiker, Nick Traggio, Austin Saint, Michael Fairfax, Alex Danis, AJ Macaulay, and Alex Power were presented with canvasses to remember their time as Pontiacs by, while given a send off by Coach Swan. Captain Kash Rasmussen then responded with a message to the players who will be returning next season.

There was a 50/50, a silent auction for desserts, and also an autographed team picture plus a 30th anniversary jersey live auctioned at the event as well.

Despite exiting in the first round of the post-season, the Pontiacs highlighted the bundles of good news that occurred since players arrived for training camp in late August.

Here are the 2021-22 Bonnyville Pontiacs team award winners:

Most Gentlemanly Player: Matteo Giampa

Most Improved Player: JR Ashmead

Top Rookie: Charlie Russell

Matt Cook Unsung Hero Award: Austin Saint

Top Defensive Forward: Trey Funk

Top Defenceman: AJ Macaulay

President’s Award: Will Hilfiker

Neil Crawley Memorial +/-: Sebastian Tamburro

Top Scorer: Sebastian Tamburro

Regular Season MVP: Kash Rasmussen

Playoff MVP: AJ Macaulay

3 Star Award: Matt Hennessey

Ma Hebert Award: Nick Ozero

Press release: Bonnyville Pontiacs.