Nurse big winner on Friday

As the Ontario Hockey League regular season comes to a close this weekend, the Soo Greyhounds honoured their own at the organization’s annual awards banquet on Friday night.

Defenceman Darnell Nurse took the top honour of the night as he was named the Greyhounds Most Valuable Player.

It was a two-award night for the team captain as he was also named the top defenceman as well. It marked the second consecutive year the 19-year-old won the award.

“It means a lot,” Nurse said of winning the award. “Looking at our team, there are a lot of guys that could have got it. It’s a nice thing to be recognized for. I’ve been here for a while so I’ve been through both the ups and the downs. It’s a great organization and I wouldn’t change a thing that’s occurred over the last four years.”

Nurse, a first round draft pick of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, heads into the final two games of the season with nine goals and 31 points in 34 games. The veteran blue liner missed the early part of the season while starting the season with the Oilers and also missed an extended period while competing with Team Canada at the 2015 World Junior Hockey Championships.

The 20-year-old is also just returning to the lineup after missing time with a knee injury.

Blake Speers also won a pair of awards at the banquet, including the players player award which is voted on by the players on the team.

“That’s an exciting one to win because that’s what your teammates think of you and how they perceive you as a player and a guy,” said Speers. “On top of helping your team win and being a good player personally, you want to be a guy that your teammates look to as a guy who does the right thing.”

Speers also won the scholastic player of the year award, marking the second time in his two OHL seasons that the 18-year-old earned the award.

“If you’re focused on both, then neither should suffer,” Speers said of juggling school and hockey. “I’ve been able to balance that pretty well so far in my career.

“It’s not as bad as many people would make it out to be,” Speers added. “It’s really just a matter of working hard.”

Sergey Tolchinsky was named the Greyhounds most gentlemanly player for the second year in a row and shared the red star three-star award with forward Jared McCann and also finished the season as the Greyhounds top scorer.

Zach Senyshyn took home rookie of the year honours. The freshman forward has 26 goals and 18 assists in 64 games.

Overage forward Jean Dupuy earned the unsung hero award while another overage forward, Bryan Moore, was named the Greyhounds humanitarian award recipient.

Sophomore forward Keigan Goetz was named the Greyhounds most improved player.

The Greyhounds wrap up the regular season with a pair of games on the weekend, hosting the Windsor Spitfires on Saturday night and Kitchener Rangers on Sunday afternoon.