It’s award season here at Brotherly Puck! The second annual Brotherly Puck Awards are being bestowed upon the winners. This year, the entire Brotherly Puck and Brotherly Pod staff were given a vote, as well as opening the voting up to our fans on Twitter, who were polled based on the nominations from our staff.
Mike Knuble Most Improved Player
Staff vote- Travis Konecny
Fan vote- Travis Konecny
Not only did Travis Konecny post his third consecutive 24-goal season (which he probably easily would’ve broken had the last dozen games not gotten postponed) but he shattered his career high of 49 points by recording 61. Even though his scoring pace slowed after the all-star break, he still was atop the Flyers scoring leaderboard when the season was paused. Konency’s breakout season was rewarded with a trip to his first all-star game.
Kimmo Timonen MVP Award
Staff vote- Sean Couturier
Fan vote- Sean Couturier
Even though Couturier seemed to fly under the radar compared to the past few seasons, his overall play continued to improve. Not only was his two-way play stellar enough to win the midseason Selke vote, he was the spark plug for scoring. He made everyone around him better this season, which may be the biggest compliment you can pay to a player. Even though his scoring totals dipped this season, he was still easily the team’s most valuable player.
Simon Gagne Offensive Player of the Year
Staff vote- Travis Konecny
Fan vote- Travis Konecny
This one wasn’t quite unanimous, but it was close. Konecny put the team on his back during the early parts of the season. After putting up six goals and seven assists in October, he took the team lead in scoring and held on to it all season. Even though he slowed down his pace in November and December, his later season resurgence saw him post seven goals and 13 assists in February. He finished the season with 24 goals and 61 points, both good enough for first on the team.
Samuel Morin Defensive Player of the Year
Staff vote- Ivan Provorov
Fan vote- Ivan Provorov
The rebirth of Ivan Provorov was a huge reason the Flyers defense as a whole stood tall all season. After a rough 2018-19 campaign, he was reborn thanks in part to his partner Matt Niskanen. Provorov became a huge part of the powerplay, scoring seven of this 13 goals on the man advantage. And as always, his play in every situation was stellar. Provorov got back on the path as the Flyers number one defenseman this season, and his renaissance is a big reason for the Flyers success.
Richards/Carter Duo of the Year Award
Staff vote- Ivan Provorov and Matt Niskanen
Fan vote- Kevin Hayes and Travis Konecny
Last season, this award went to forwards, but we opened up the voting to include any players specifically to show recognition for Ivan Provorov and Matt Niskanen. Provorov was coming off a down season with the Flyers, and Niskanen was coming off a down season with the Capitals, in a trade that most of the fanbase didn’t like at the time. They united on the top pair and immediately found chemistry and made each other better. Their dominance let the rest of the defense sort themselves out early in the season, which was much needed.
Kevin Hayes and Travis Konecny formed a line with Scott Laughton in early February and they never looked back. The duo of Kevin Hayes (9g,5a) and Travis Konecny (6g,11a) combined for a lethal scoring line, as well as being physically dominating to play against. Add Scott Laughton to that duo and all of a sudden the Flyers had a controlling second line they relied heavily on as the season progressed.
Eric Desjardins Unsung Hero Award
Staff vote- Scott Laughton
Fan Vote- Scott Laughton
There were many different nominations for this award, and quite frankly there should have been. There were so many different players who rose to the occasion this season that nailing it down to one individual wasn’t easy. It came down to a late season push from Scott Laughton, who received a boost in minutes after James Van Riemsdyk broke his hand early March. Laughton’s play has gradually increased over the past few years and it has crescendoed a new career high in goals with 13. He was just six points back of a new career high, which he probably would’ve hit had the season not been paused. Some of the honorable mentions belong to Nicholas Aube-Kubel, Justin Braun, Robert Hagg, Oskar Lindblom, Tyler Pitlick, and Brian Elliott.
Ilya Bryzgalov Most Quotable Player
Staff Vote- Alain Vigneault
Fan vote- Kevin Hayes
There were really only two options here. Alain Vigneault won this award during the first day of training camp when he dropped his now-famous “be a fucking Flyer” line. He would continue dropping gems with many martini references and his inability to sugarcoat his thoughts makes for great quotes. Kevin Hayes was the fan vote, and he has delivered multiple award-worthy quotes himself. “I used to ref” “I suck, I might retire” “I’m the worst player in this league right now” “Cahtah Haht” are just a few of the glorious nonsense that has spewed from Hayes’ mouth this season.
Gritty WTF Moment of the Year
Staff vote- Flyers are actually good
Fan vote- Oskar Lindblom’s cancer diagnosis
Quite frankly this whole season has turned into a WTF moment. From the season being put on pause, to Carter Hart’s Jekyll and Hyde home and road splits, to Gritty getting arrested, the 2019-20 campaign has been wild from start to finish. The staff vote went to the Flyers actually being good. After hitting rock bottom under Dave Hakstol and Ron Hextall, the new general manager Chuck Feltcher and head coach Alain Vigneault have been able to turn this team back into a competitive, playoff caliber hockey club. The fan vote on Twitter was Oskar Lindblom’s cancer diagnosis. On December 13, 2019 Lindblom was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma and his career was put in jeopardy. In the middle of a breakout season, and one of the best two-way players on the team, losing Lindblom in the lineup shook the team to the core.
photo credit: Ryan Meyer
By : Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
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