Three members of the Steinbach Pistons have been nominated for one of the six Manitoba Junior Hockey League major awards.
Roman Bengert is one of three nominees for the Top Goaltender Award, along with Nathan Park of the Portage Terriers and Sean Kuehn of the Viden Oil Capitals. Bengert, from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, who has been a standout in his first season with the Pistons, is third in the league with a 2.21 goals against average and his .925 save percentage is second overall.
Dan Taillefer is nominated for the Hockey Ability and Sportsmanship Award. A veteran member of the Pistons from La Broquerie, Taillefer is the leading scorer for the Pistons, fifth overall in the league with 65 points in 50 games and has only two penalty minutes. Also nominated for the award are Cam Whyte of the Winkler Flyers and Devan Schram of the Virden Oil Capitals.
Paul Dyck, considered one of the top Junior ‘A’ coaches in the country, is again nominated for the MJHL Coach of the Year Award. Dyck has guided the Pistons to a standout 38-9-3 record this season, which is second only to the Portage Terriers. Also nominated are Blake Spiller of the Terriers and Ken Pearson from the Winkler Flyers.
The Pistons did not have any players nominated in three other categories: Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year and Top Defenceman.
Each team nominated their players in each of the award categories. The voting for each award is conducted entirely by the head coaches.
Winners will be announced later this month.
MVP Award – Steve “Boomer” Hawrysh Memorial Trophy
| Tristan Keck | Winkler Flyers |
| Brad Bowles | Portage Terriers |
| Logan Harland | OCN Blizzard |
Rookie of the Year Award – Vince Leah Trophy
| Nick Henry | Portage Terriers |
| Bennett Dalke | Virden Oil Capitals |
| Tyler Jubenvill | Winkler Flyers |
Hockey Ability and Sportsmanship Award – Lorne “Windy” Lyndon Memorial Trophy
| Daniel Taillefer | Steinbach Pistons |
| Cam Whyte | Winkler Flyers |
| Devan Schram | Virden Oil Capitals |
Top Goaltender Award
| Nathan Park | Portage Terriers |
| Sean Kuehn | Virden Oil Capitals |
| Roman Bengert | Steinbach Pistons |
Top Defenseman Award – Brian Kozak Memorial Trophy
| Brady Keeper | OCN Blizzard |
| Zach Whitecloud | Virden Oil Capitals |
| Brett Orr | Portage Terriers |
Coach of the Year Award – Portage Terriers “Muzz McPherson” Award
| Paul Dyck | Steinbach Pistons |
| Ken Pearson | Winkler Flyers |
| Blake Spiller | Portage Terriers |
The MJHL’s other major award, Top Scorer (Mike Ridley Trophy) will be announced upon the end of the regular season.