McGill bench boss Kelly Nobes received the Father George Kehoe Memorial Award as coach of the year as the national award winners were announced at the U SPORTS men's hockey All-Canadian gala in Fredericton, NB Wednesday.

Nobes played for the Pickering Panthers, now of the Ontario Junior Hockey League, for two seasons (1991-93) before playing four seasons at McGill in Montreal.

OJHL graduates on the McGill roster include Quinn Syrdiuk (Cobourg), Nathanael Halbert (Stouffville) and Jan Kaminsky (Wellington).

Nobes, a 43-year-old native of Scarborough, becomes the second McGill bench boss to win the top coaching honour, joining Martin Raymond, who won in 2005-06 and is now an assistant coach with the NHL's Ottawa Senators.

"Coach Nobes has done a remarkable job building our men's hockey program over the years," said Marc Gelinas, executive director of athletics at McGill. "He is a passionate leader, striving for excellence. He's been a measure of consistency keeping his team at or near the top of the standings, year after year."

Currently in his 17th season as a head coach at the university level, Nobes has spent the past eight seasons in charge of the McGill Redmen, with prior stints at Laurier and RMC. His combined record is 378-270-14 in 662 games overall (.582), which includes a 169-53-0 mark in regular season play at McGill.

This season, Nobes guided the Redmen to an OUA-leading 22-4-2 record and a fifth trip to the University Cup in his eight years at McGill. A former player with the Redmen, Nobes was able to get the most from his roster this season, which produced Top-4 finishes in offence (4.00 goals per game), defence (2.31 goals-against per game), shorthanded goals (8) and penalty-killing (88.4%). He entered this week’s 2018 University Cup tournament with a 238-102-3 record in 343 games overall (.698) at McGill, including a 44-19 record in post-season action (.698).

"I'm humbled and honoured to win this award," said Nobes. "So many of the past recipients were tremendous leaders and pioneers in hockey at the university level, many of whom I have respected and admired... I share this with my staff, particularly assistant coaches David Urquhart, Mike Cucinotta and... Jean St-Pierre. These guys grind hard every day, doing what needs to be done to make us better.”

“I'd like to thank the department of athletics at McGill and our alumni support group, the Friends of McGill Hockey. I'd also like to thank two teams, my Redmen hockey team... for commitment to hockey, respect and relentless work ethic. These guys are brilliant student-athletes but they are also great teachers. I learn from them every day. The second team is at home. My wife Michelle -- who has supported and encouraged me and my passion to coach from the beginning -- and my four awesome kids who inspire me every day."

No. 3 McGill plays No. 6 Saskatchewan Friday at 7 p.m. to complete quarter-final play at the University Cup. (Saturday’s semifinals and Sunday’s final are being broadcast on Sportsnet.)

Other major award recipients included Concordia forward Anthony Beauregard (Senator Joseph A. Sullivan Trophy for player of the year), UNB forward Kris Bennett (Clare Drake Award for rookie of the year), UNB teammate Randy Gazzola (R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award for most sportsmanlike player), Alberta blueliner Jason Fram (defenceman of the year) and StFX netminder Chase Marchand (goaltender of the year), and Saskatchewan forward Kendall McFaull (Dr. Randy Gregg Award for student-athlete and community service).

-Alan Hudes (U SPORTS) & Earl Zukerman (McGill)