Tessa Bonhomme giving John Bartlett a small pair of skates for his young daughter. (Chris Tanouye/CWHL)

By: Ben Smith

The Canadian Women’s Hockey League Awards Gala is a night that brings together the entire women’s hockey community while celebrating and honoring the achievements of the CWHL’s players and personnel.

This year’s event was no different, and was kicked-off with emcee and former Toronto Furie, Tessa Bonhomme giving fellow host John Bartlett a very small set of skates for Bartlett’s young daughter.

Then the fun began.

The first award on the night was the CWHL’s Humanitarian Award, which is presented to an individual who demonstrates the spirit of the CWHL through volunteer work, advocacy, leadership and/or philanthropy work.

One of the original CWHL founders Lisa-Marie Breton-Lebroux picked-up the award this year.

“It was so hard at first to start the league, and to see where it’s come, it’s truly an honor and a privilege to win,” the former captain of Les Canadiennes de Montreal told CWHL.ca.

Breton-Lebroux also spoke on how proud she was of where the league has come.

“The product is very good and the speed of the game is amazing. In my wildest dreams, I probably couldn’t have imagined to see the league become what it is and be featured in events such as the NHL Winter Classic.”

Coach of the Year honors went to Brampton Thunder coach Tyler Fines who after the Thunder missed the playoffs last season, managed to turn the club around into a third place finish.

“It’s a great individual award to win, but the players are playing for the award we really want, that is the Clarkson Cup. That being said, you can’t win this award without a great support group and that’s what we have in Brampton,” said Fines.

After dinner was served, the Rookie of the Year Award was presented to Calgary Inferno standout Elana Lovell, who racked-up 26 points through 24 games in her inaugural season with the CWHL.

“This whole experience has been something new to me. I didn’t know much about the league coming into it, but I’ve loved every moment of it.”

 And then there came the Defencemen of the Year Award, presented to the players who save forwards from bad decisions and block shots day in and day out.

Laura Fortino’s named was bellowed to the gala hall at the Brookstreet Hotel in Ottawa to a roaring applause. Fortino scored eight goals in addition to 20 assists to lead her squad in defensive scoring.

“It was quite an honor to win tonight, especially considering all the incredible players that have won this award in the past,” said Fortino.

“The CWHL is a place where leaders are born and role models are made. There’s so many girls who work fulltime jobs and come to the rink everyday to work and compete, and that in itself is a role model.”

And then there was the Goaltender of the Year Award awarded to a goalie that on a bad day, bailed their squads out, and on a good day, played a huge part in a winning formula for their teams.

It was a close race for this award with Boston’s Genvieve Lacasse and Erica Howe of the Brampton Thunder both nominated for the award.

But it would be Montreal’s Charline Labonte, who finished first in all the major goaltending stats categories in the CWHL, including a league-leading goals against average of 1.52 and a save percentage of 92.5%.

“It’s an honor to win, because we have so many great goalies in the CWHL, but in all honesty, it reflects the year that we’ve had in Montreal- everyone did such a good job in front of me, it made by job much easier.”

But it would be Marie-Philip Poulin who’d steal the show by winning both the Angela James Bowl & Jayna Hefford Memorial Trophy, which recognize the CWHL’s points leader at the end of the regular season as well as a player who reflects the best the CWHL is all about: skill, competiveness and leadership as selected by her peers.

And if that wasn’t enough, she also took home the 2016 CWHL Most Valuable Player Award.
“We’re growing the game. I think it’s amazing for young kids to be able to grow up and for us to act as mentors to them. It’s been great to see how far the league has grown this year,” said Phillip-Poulin.

The Olympic standout for Team Canada also stepped on the stage for a third time with her Les Canadiennes, who were awarded the CWHL Chairman’s Award as the team who finished the season with the best overall record.

Phillip-Poulin noted that is was more rewarding for her to step on the stage with her teammates as opposed to just herself.

“All the girls have been working so hard all year long. We share the same passion and we love playing this game, which makes sharing an award with your team so special. We all know hockey’s a team sport and nothing happens by yourself.” 

Commissioner Brenda Andress couldn’t have been more pleased with the 2016 CWHL Awards Gala.

“This night was special because each year you get players with higher skills and better accolades and tonight was no different. It’s also special because not only are we partnered with the Ottawa Senators, it’s also the first time the Clarkson Cup has been played in an NHL arena,” said the CWHL Commissioner.  

“Being Commissioner is one of the best jobs I’ve ever had in my entire life. These players are like my children. I have a great job, and I’m the luckiest person to have this job.”

She also noted how the league has reached out to fans this season.

“The CWHL is the game. We are the game that makes changes. When you look at the You Can Play game, the Brest Cancer games and the Start The Sparks, it’s us reaching out to fans and telling them we get what they’re going through.”

The Awards Gala ended with John Bartlett saying how one day he hopes the small skates Bonhomme gave him at the beginning of the night turn into a dream becoming a reality for not only his daughter, but girls around the world. A place where the best women’s hockey players can earn a living doing what they love, and a place that inspires future generations.

The Sportsnet broadcaster also noted in his closing comments, “I have no doubt in my mind that we’ll look back on this night in 5-10 years, thinking to ourselves ‘look at where we came from to where we are now’ and it’s not just looking in the rearview mirrors, it’s looking at the road ahead at all the incredible things this league will do.”

And that’s what the night was all about: building dreams and being the change for women’s hockey that millions will benefit from one day.