Both the Calgary Flames and the Western Hockey League have been announcing awards this past week, and several Flames veterans and a key prospect have been honoured for their play over the past season.
On the NHL side, the Flames finished announcing their year-end team awards – including a trio of awards handed out for the first time this season:
  • Harley H. Hotchkiss Award (most valuable player): Elias Lindholm
  • Clayton H. Riddell Award (top defenseman): Mark Giordano
  • J.R. “Bud” McCaig Award (showcasing respect, courtesy and compassion): Chris Tanev
  • Ralph and Sonia Scurfield Humanitarian Award: Mikael Backlund
  • Darryl “Doc” Seaman Award (top scorer): Johnny Gaudreau
The five awards showcase outstanding Flames players and pay tribute to past owners of the club who have passed away; it’s the first time they’ve awarded the Hotchkiss, Riddell and Seaman awards. Aside from some differences of opinion regarding the team’s best defenseman – Giordano finished well and led the blueliners in offensive categories, but arguably Tanev and Noah Hanifin had better all-around seasons – these awards were likely given to the correct players.
Over in the WHL, Dustin Wolf received a pair of honours to add to his U.S. Division All-Star Team spot from earlier in the week. Wolf was named both the U.S. Division’s top goaltender and its top player overall.