Tag: News

Capitals, Oilers selected as 2025 Dick Dillman Award winners for PR excellence

Posted on | by Willie Ramirez

The Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) is pleased to announce that the Washington Capitals and Edmonton Oilers are the 2025 recipients of the Dick Dillman Award, presented annually to honor the excellence of NHL public relations staff in the Eastern and Western Conferences.

The Capitals shone during Alex Ovechkin’s successful pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s career goals record late in the regular season and into the playoffs, making their longtime captain available to local and national reporters every time he scored up until No. 895 and beyond.

“We are honored to accept the prestigious Dick Dillman Award,” senior vice president of communications and broadcasting Sergey Kocharov said. “While this recognition shines a light on our department, it is truly a direct reflection of the professionalism and cooperation of our players and coaching staff. Their consistent availability, unwavering professionalism and engagement with the media are what make strong media relationships possible. We also want to extend our appreciation to our ownership and management teams for fostering a culture of transparency, trust and accessibility, which facilitates effective storytelling.”

Edmonton Oilers director of hockey communications Jamie Cartmell

Washington’s communications department, led by Kocharov, also includes manager of media relations Chase Pyke, assistant manager of media relations Alex D’Agostino and director of corporate communications and publicity Megan Eichenberg. This is the Capitals’ fifth Dillman win after four in a row from 2007-10.

The Oilers won for a second time since 2021, thanks to exceptional access on another run to the Stanley Cup Final, courtesy of director of hockey communications Jamie Cartmell, manager of hockey communications Andrew Peard, and executive VP of communications and gaming Tim Shipton.

Edmonton Oilers manager of
hockey communications Andrew Peard

“We are honored and delighted to be recognized as the Western Conference winner of the Dick Dillman Award winner by the PHWA,” Cartmell said. “Acknowledgement of our efforts this past season by this prestigious association reflects our strong desire to work in partnership with those who cover the great sport of hockey. We’re also tremendously grateful for the cooperation and professionalism of our players, coaches, management and media partners.”

The Dillman Award is presented in honor of the late Minnesota North Stars public relations guru Dick Dillman. The Dillman committee features a voting panel of senior PHWA members.

Previous Dillman Award winners:
2023-24: Florida Panthers, Dallas Stars
2022-23: Carolina Hurricanes, Edmonton Oilers
2021-22: Philadelphia Flyers, Minnesota Wild
2020-21: Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild, Carolina Hurricanes, Pittsburgh Penguins
2019-20: Carolina Hurricanes, Minnesota Wild
2018-19: Tampa Bay Lightning, Calgary Flames
2017-18: Philadelphia Flyers, Dallas Stars
2016-17: Toronto Maple Leafs, Minnesota Wild
2015-16: Florida Panthers, Calgary Flames
2014-15: Philadelphia Flyers, Dallas Stars
2013-14: Boston Bruins, Anaheim Ducks
2012-13: Boston Bruins, Anaheim Ducks
2011-12: Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators
2010-11: Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks
2009-10: Washington Capitals, San Jose Sharks
2008-09: Washington Capitals, San Jose Sharks
2007-08: Washington Capitals, San Jose Sharks
2006-07: Washington Capitals, San Jose Sharks
2005-06: Minnesota Wild

Road warrior Sam Bennett narrowly topped Brad Marchand for Conn Smythe Trophy

Posted on | by Frank Seravalli

SUNRISE, Fla. — Ballots revealed Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett narrowly topped teammate Brad Marchand to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the Stanley Cup playoffs, selected by a panel of Professional Hockey Writers Association members on Tuesday night.

Bennett garnered 11 of a possible 18 first-place votes but Marchand scooped up the other seven and all of the remaining second-place votes, making it a close call for the Conn Smythe. Bennett prevailed by a 76-68 margin in total points, which are awarded on a 5-3-1 basis.

Over the course of Florida’s 57-day quest for a second straight Stanley Cup, Bennett shattered both NHL and Panthers franchise records in becoming one of just a handful of players to win the Conn Smythe without a previous individual NHL Award in his trophy case. Bennett paced the playoffs with 15 goals, tied for second-most in one playoff run in the salary cap era, which also set a Panthers record. But it was his 12 goals scored on the road that set a new NHL high-water mark.

Though he didn’t score in the Cup clinching Game 6, saving all of the love for teammate Sam Reinhart and his four-goal performance, Bennett was Florida’s spark plug. He found the back of the net in the series opener in all four rounds, helping the Cats dig their claws into Tampa Bay, Toronto, Carolina and Edmonton. He also collected at least one point in all of the first five games of the Stanley Cup Final, netting a total of five goals in the pressure-packed Final, third behind teammates Marchand (6) and Reinhart (7). They mark the second trio of teammates to all score at least five times in one Final, joining Alex Delvecchio (6), Gordie Howe (5) and Ted Lindsay (5) of the 1955 Detroit Red Wings.

The 37-year-old Marchand dazzled once again under the brightest lights, scoring backbreaking goals against Edmonton in the Final as his second career Stanley Cup victory dragged Canada’s drought on to 32 years. Acquired in the last hour before the NHL’s trade deadline on March 7, he will go down as one of the best deadline acquisitions of all-time, fitting in seamlessly on a tight Florida team.

With a sparkling .914 save percentage, Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky finished third in Conn Smythe voting. Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl also garnered third-place votes in a losing fashion.

Bennett’s Conn Smythe capped an incredible calendar year that included two Stanley Cups in a 359-day span, a career-high 51-point regular season, as well as scoring the game-tying goal for Team Canada in the championship game at the 4Nations Face-Off on American soil. He is just the third player to take home Playoff MVP without a contract in place for next season (Claude Lemieux [1995] and Jean-Sebastien Giguere [2003]), though that will change in short order.

In the interest of full transparency, the PHWA has once again revealed each individual ballot from all 18 voters:

2025 Conn Smythe Trophy Ballots

VoterOutletFirstSecondThird
Per BjurmanAftonbladetBennettMarchandForsling
Joshua ClippertonCanadian PressBennettMarchandDraisaitl
David DworkHockey NewsMarchandBennettDraisaitl
Luke FoxSportsnetMarchandBennettBobrovsky
Elliotte FriedmanSportsnetMarchandBennettBobrovsky
Jason GregorSports 1440BennettMarchandBobrovsky
François GagnonRDSMarchandBennettBobrovsky
Chris JohnstonThe AthleticBennettMarchandBobrovsky
Emily KaplanESPNMarchandBennettDraisaitl
Pierre LeBrunThe AthleticBennettMarchandBobrovsky
Jordan McPhersonMiami HeraldMarchandBennettDraisaitl
D. Nugent-BowmanThe AthleticBennettMarchandDraisaitl
Michael RussoThe AthleticBennettMarchandDraisaitl
Frank SeravalliDaily FaceoffBennettMarchandBobrovsky
Mark SpectorSportsnetBennettMarchandBobrovsky
Teemu SuvinenIlta-SanomatMarchandBennettBobrovsky
Stephen WhynoAssociated PressBennettMarchandBobrovsky
Greg WyshysnkiESPNBennettMarchandDraisaitl

Voting Point Totals

Sam Bennett, Florida: 76 points
Brad Marchand, Florida: 68 points
Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida: 10 points
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton: 7 points
Gustav Forsling, Florida: 1 point

Points were awarded on a 5-3-1 basis and the deadline to submit ballots to the NHL occurred with 10 minutes remaining in Game 6.

PHWA reveals 2024 NHL Awards ballots

Posted on | by Frank Seravalli

LAS VEGAS — Since 1967, the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) has been counted on to independently vote on six major NHL Awards, as well as end-of-season All-Star and All-Rookie teams.

For the seventh consecutive year, the PHWA has published the ballot of each individual voter in the interest of full transparency.

“The 2023-24 NHL season was one for the record books, where hockey fans were treated to one of the most hotly debated Hart Trophy races in recent memory,” said PHWA President Frank Seravalli. “Once again, the PHWA delivered with an honest and fair voting process that, in the end, recognized extremely deserving winners.

“Our only job is to get it right. We’re incredibly proud of the countless hours our voters put into their ballots – researching, watching at the rink, and gathering opinions from trusted sources to make sure we get it right. With more attention and scrutiny on our ballots than ever before, we’ve also put more time and thought into the process.”

The PHWA voting contingent this season included 175 members and 21 invited international broadcasters.

Out of 196 ballots distributed, two selected voters did not return a ballot in the allotted time: Jenna Ortiz (Arizona Republic) and Danny Webster (Las Vegas Sun). As per PHWA policy, those members have lost future voting privileges.

There were also procedural errors in the voting process that resulted in some ballots being rejected. Kristen Shilton (ESPN), Kevin McGran (Toronto Star), Simon-Olivier Lorange (La Presse), Liam McHugh (TNT), Chip Alexander (Raleigh News & Observer), Corey Masisak (Denver Post) and Lance Lysowski (Buffalo News) did not make the proper number of required selections, resulting in their All-Star team selections being nullified. Joshua Kloke (The Athletic) and Gunnar Nordstrom (Expressen) did not make the proper number of required selections, resulting in their All-Rookie team selections being nullified.

In total, 196 ballots were distributed and of the 194 that were returned, 194 were counted for trophies, 186 were counted for All-Star teams, and 192 were counted for the All-Rookie team.

Each individual vote can be viewed at the links below:

Hart Memorial Trophy

James Norris Memorial Trophy

Calder Memorial Trophy

Frank J. Selke Trophy

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy

Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

2023-24 All-Star Team: Center

2023-24 All-Star Team: Left Wing

2023-24 All-Star Team: Right Wing

2023-24 All-Star Team: Defense

2023-24 All-Star Team: Goaltender

2023-24 All-Rookie Team: Forward

2023-24 All-Rookie Team: Defense

2023-24 All-Rookie Team: Goaltender

—

The PHWA wishes to congratulate all 2024 NHL Award winners and finalists on their well-deserved honors.​​

Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid was near unanimous 2024 Conn Smythe Trophy winner

Posted on | by Frank Seravalli

SUNRISE, Fla. — Ballots revealed Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid was the near unanimous winner of the 2024 Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the Stanley Cup playoffs, selected by a panel of Professional Hockey Writers Association members on Monday night.

McDavid garnered 16 of a possible 17 first-place votes to become the first skater to win the Conn Smythe in a losing fashion since Philadelphia’s Reggie Leach in 1976. With 42 points in 25 games, McDavid assaulted the record books, posting the most points in a single postseason since Evgeni Malkin’s 36 in 2008-09.

Over the course of the Oilers’ 64-day slog toward Stanley, McDavid broke Wayne Gretzky’s record for most assists (34) in one playoff, became the first player to collect back-to-back four-point games in a Stanley Cup Final, both of which were elimination games, and laid claim to the best era-adjusted playoff run of all-time. He tied for the third-most points in one Stanley Cup Final series despite being held off the scoresheet in Games 6 and 7.

Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers skaters Aleksander Barkov and Gustav Forsling finished second and third in voting, respectively, while Sergei Bobrovsky, Carter Verhaeghe and Edmonton’s Zach Hyman, Evan Bouchard and Stuart Skinner also appeared on ballots.

Barkov, Forsling and Bobrovsky all presented compelling cases for the Conn Smythe, but none were able to truly distinguish himself from his teammates in what was a true ‘team’ effort. McDavid finished 20 points ahead of Barkov in the playoff scoring race.

Monday marked the sixth instance in the 58 times the Conn Smythe Trophy has been awarded that a player from the losing team accepted the award. McDavid joined Anaheim’s Jean-Sebastien Giguere (2003), Ron Hextall (1987), Leach (1976), Glenn Hall (1968) and Roger Crozier (1966).

In the interest of full transparency, the PHWA has once again revealed each individual ballot from all 17 voters:

2024 Conn Smythe Trophy Ballots

VoterOutletFirstSecondThird
Jonathan BernierJournal MontréalMcDavidBarkovVerhaeghe
Per BjurmanAftonbladetMcDavidBarkovBobrovsky
Ryan S. ClarkESPNBobrovskyMcDavidBarkov
Josh ClippertonCanadian PressMcDavidBarkovForsling
Luke FoxSportsnetMcDavidBarkovForsling
François GagnonRDSMcDavidBarkovSkinner
Colby GuyPalm Beach PostMcDavidBarkovForsling
Chris JohnstonThe AthleticMcDavidBarkovForsling
Emily KaplanESPNMcDavidBarkovBobrovsky
Pierre LeBrunThe AthleticMcDavidBarkovForsling
Jim MathesonPostmediaMcDavidHymanBouchard
Jordan McPhersonMiami HeraldMcDavidBarkovVerhaeghe
Daniel Nugent-BowmanThe AthleticMcDavidBarkovBouchard
Michael RussoThe AthleticMcDavidBarkovForsling
Frank SeravalliDaily FaceoffMcDavidBarkovForsling
Mark SpectorSportsnetMcDavidBarkovSkinner
Stephen WhynoAssociated PressMcDavidBarkovForsling

Voting Point Totals

Connor McDavid, Edmonton: 83 points
Aleksander Barkov, Florida: 46 points
Gustav Forsling, Florida: 8 points
Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida: 7 points
Zach Hyman, Edmonton: 3 points
Evan Bouchard, Edmonton: 2 points
Stuart Skinner, Edmonton: 2 points
Carter Verhaeghe, Florida: 2 points

Points were awarded on a 5-3-1 basis and the deadline to submit ballots to the NHL occurred with 10 minutes remaining in Game 7.

McKenzie honored with 2015 Elmer Ferguson

Posted on | by mihai | Leave a Comment on McKenzie honored with 2015 Elmer Ferguson

Hockey Hall Of Fame announces NHL Media Awards

Scott Burnside, President of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, and Chuck Kaiton, President of the NHL Broadcasters’ Association, announced today that Bob McKenzie will receive the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award for excellence in hockey journalism and Nick Nickson will receive the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for outstanding contributions as a hockey broadcaster.

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Positional clarifications for voting

Posted on | by mihai | Leave a Comment on Positional clarifications for voting

Attention PHWA members:

Here are five positional clarifications, for those members voting on NHL Awards. When selecting your All-Star teams, vote for the following players at the position listed ONLY:

• Alex Ovechkin, WSH – LW
• Jiri Hudler, CGY – RW
• Dustin Byfuglien, WPG – D
• Rick Nash, NYR – LW
• Nick Foligno, CBJ – RW

Portzline earns APSE honor

Posted on | by mihai | Leave a Comment on Portzline earns APSE honor

Columbus Dispatch reporter Aaron Portzline earns first-place award

In the infancy of the 2014-15 season, Aaron Portzline delivered a story that almost seemed impossible. Today, it became an award-winner.

On Nov. 20, 2014, Portzline’s “Blind-sided: Blue Jackets’ Jack Johnson is bankrupt; who led him there is biggest shocker,” rocked the hockey — and sports — world; a hockey player was bankrupt, partially at the hands of his parents.

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Flyers, Stars winners of 2014-15 Dillman Award

Posted on | by mihai | Leave a Comment on Flyers, Stars winners of 2014-15 Dillman Award

Dillman Committee names this season’s top PR staffs.

Zack Hill (center) and the Philadelphia Flyers were named the top PR staff in the Eastern Conference.

The PHWA is proud to announce that the Dallas Stars and Philadelphia Flyers are this season’s recipient of the Dick Dillman Award, given annually to the top PR department in each conference.

The Flyers win ends a two-year streak for Matt Chmura and the Boston Bruins PR department and is Philadelphia’s second Dillman award in four years. The tireless work and constant cooperation of senior director Zack Hill and his staff that includes Joe Siville and Brian Smith in a demanding market earned Philadelphia the recognition of the Dillman committee.

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