Dylan Cozens, Adam Beckman finalists for WHL’s top player award

Apr 21, 2020 | 3:09 PM

CALGARY — Lethbridge Hurricanes forward Dylan Cozens and Spoken Chiefs forward Adam Beckman were named finalists for the Western Hockey League’s Four Broncos Trophy that goes the season’s most valuable player.

The winner will be announced May 20.

Cozens, a 19-year-old from Whitehorse, led the Hurricanes in scoring with 38 goals and 47 assists in 51 games for a 1.67 points-per-game clip.

The Buffalo Sabres chose Cozens seventh overall in the 2019 NHL etnry draft. The six-foot-three, 185-pound player recorded 23 multi-point games, including five games of four points.

Beckman was the lone player to crack the 100-point mark this past season en route to claiming the Bob Clarke Trophy as the league’s top scorer.

The third-round pick of the Minnesota compiled 48 goals and 59 assists for the Chiefs, including nine game-winners, in 63 games.

Beckman, an 18-year-old from Saskatoon, tallied 32 multi-point games including three in which he scored a hat trick.

The Four Broncos Memorial Trophy is named in memory of Swift Current Broncos Trent Kresse, Scott Kruger, Chris Mantyka and Brent Ruff who died when the team bus crashed Dec. 30, 1986.

General managers and coaches from the league’s 22 teams vote for the nominees.

Previous winners include Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart (Everett Silvertips), Buffalo Sabres forward Sam Reinhart (Kootenay Ice), Winnipeg Jets forward Adam Lowry (Swift Current) and New York Islanders forward Jordan Eberle (Regina Pats).

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 21, 2020.

 

The Canadian Press