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Atom Division
Frank Sabatino Tournament Chair Sportsmanship Award Winner - Atom Division
2008
FSMT Tournament Chair - Shona Bradley
Atom Award Recipient - Daniel Gaetan, Milton Winterhawks
Written submission by Head Coach - Robert Atkinson
It
is my pleasure to nominate #7 Daniel Gaetan for this award. I consider
myself lucky, to have coached Daniel for the last 2 seasons. Daniel is a
pleasure to coach and the clear leader on the team. Daniel plays with all
his heart and soul and, every time he steps on the ice, plays as hard as he
possibly can for the entire game, regardless of the score. He is one of the
most unselfish players I have ever coached and plays hockey for the fun of
it. He does everything he can to step on the ice as much as possible and
play hockey with his friends. His concerns are to make sure that he has fun,
as well as all of his friends (teammates).
I’d
like to tell you about a couple of instances to support my claims.
Daniel has the ability to play at the rep level, but would sooner play with
friends that he has played with for years. For extra ice time, he practices
with the AA team, but continues to play at the HL level to be with his 2
best friends.
He
is a captain on our team and regularly receives our player of the game
award. I could give it to him almost every game, but he understands that
other players work hard to get the award, as well.
This
year Daniel has matched his goal total with an equal amount of assists. He
is always the player that wants to pass the puck to set up the goal as
opposed to being the “puck hog”.
In a
game this year, my team was leading 7-0 going into the 3rd period. I decided
that we had scored enough goals and didn’t need to score any more to win the
game. I instructed Daniel to try to increase his assist total and not score
any more. I put a defenceman on forward with Daniel, that had never scored a
goal in his hockey career, and told Daniel to see if we can get him a goal.
Daniel picked up the puck and “beat” the last defencemen to be on a
BREAKAWAY. He had already scored 2 goals and another would have given him
the Hat Trick. He roared down the ice, but once he crossed the blueline, he
started to glide toward the corner, looking back over his shoulder. He was
waiting for the other player to catch up!! The other player skated as hard
as he could to get to the net. Once there, Daniel put the puck right on his
stick in the crease. Unfortunately for the other player, the goalie made the
save and we didn’t score. But, Daniel not only did exactly what I told him,
he made one of the most unselfish plays I have ever seen in my coaching
years!!! I don’t know of any other player that would have given up a
BREAKAWAY and a Hat Trick to help another player and do “as the coach told
him”.
In
Conclusion, I believe that #7 Daniel Gaetan is easily a fantastic choice for
this award and is as deserving as any other player I have ever coached.
Peewee
Frank Sabatino Tournament Chair Sportsmanship Award Winner - Peewee
Division
2008 FSMT Tournament Chair - Shona Bradley
Peewee
Award Recipient - Zachary Dias, Meadowvale Hawks
Written submission by Head Coach - Sean Beneteau
The
game of hockey is an enjoyable sport but it is the cohesiveness of the
team that matures with a variety of situations both on and off the ice
that make it so memorable. When I received the paperwork to nominate a
player for this award one player immediately came to mind. When most of
us think of Sportsmanship, we think of players who don't take many
penalties, respect the officials as well as the other players and lead
the team through challenges. Zack has done all of that and so much more
for our team. As far as the numbers go, here are the statistics from the
23 game sheets I can find. We have had 74 penalties and Zack is tied
with our goalie for the least penalties with 1 - interference. He is
near the top of the list for scoring. His high number of assists to
goals is proof of his passing and team spirit. On the bench and in the
locker room he does not speak much but commands attention with his
messages. He is extremely polite and does not speak poorly of the
officials or the opposing players and is the first to offer to help
injured players.
Zack has proven to be a model player, always giving his full effort,
motivating others and making every game and practice with an eagerness
to learn and improve his skills and the team tactics. He seems to be
maturing so much faster than the rest of the team.
Back in September when we were choosing players for our team we noticed
a very quiet boy that did not stand out among the pack but looked to be
trying so hard to do his best. I went over to speak with Zack and was
surprised to find out that he was very ill, so ill he asked to be
excused. Having gained my attention but without having had a chance to
fully assess his skills, I called someone who was a parent of another
player on Zack's team last year (a level beneath us). His raving review
of Zack was enough for me to draft him.
I
received a card from Zack with a simple message. Thanks for choosing me.
As
far as I'm concerned, I've been thankful ever since.
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