The Belleville Senators have announced their 2022-2023 player awards.
The six player awards are chosen by Belleville Senators players and staff to recognize the outstanding performance and commitment of members of the team.
Egor Sokolov won both the Man of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards. Sokolov’s outstanding performance on ice and leading the team in points, contributed to the selection by the team as Most Valuable Player. His selection as Man of The Year stems from his off ice contributions and community involvement, including his participation in the “Clowns for Kids” fundraiser by dressing up as a clown and walking the Santa Claus Parade route to raise money for the Belleville Rotary Club.
Belleville Senators interim head coach David Bell for Sokolov’s exceptional contributions on and off the ice.
“He leads the team in points, so that makes him an obvious choice. He plays with emotion and drags others into the fight with that emotional investment in the group and he’s an ultimate human being and humanitarian,” said Bell. “We should be proud as an organization to use him as a model of how our players should act at the rink and in the community.”
Jacob Bernard-Docker won the Defenceman of the Year award for his consistent and steady performance on ice. Bernard-Docker is playing his second season in the AHL, but his steady performance has resulted in two call-ups to the Belleville Senators’ NHL parent team, the Ottawa Senators, where he continued to perform well.
Angus Crookshank was awarded the title of Rookie of the Year. Crookshank is currently leading the Belleville Sens offence in goals with 25 this season, after recovering from a serious injury early in the season.
Cole Cassels recieved the players’ choice award, as voted by the players on the team while the Coach’s Choice award was given to Dillon Heatherington, as voted on by the coaching staff.
The Belleville Senators have three remaining season games, all taking place on the road as the Senators fight hard to keep their playoff dreams afloat. Their next bout is in Rochester against the Rochester Americans on Friday at 7 p.m.
