March 20, 2026
Last night, the final NCAA Division I conferences announced their year-end individual award winners, and six former BCHL players were honoured for their accomplishments this season.
Atlantic Hockey Player of the Year, Forward of the Year, and Scoring Champion
Felix Trudeau – Senior – Sacred Heart University (West Kelowna Warriors)
Trudeau claimed three total awards after he finished the 2025-26 Atlantic Hockey Association campaign leading the league in both goals (16), and power-play goals (seven) and also earned the title of AHA Scoring Champion as he topped all skaters in conference play with 33 points. The Terrebonne, Que. native recorded one hat trick in conference play and tied for the second-most assists (17). Nobody in the conference had more than Trudeau’s 11 multi-point Atlantic Hockey contests or three multi-goal conference efforts.
The 2002-born forward played the 2021-22 season with the West Kelowna Warriors. He led the team in scoring that season, and also finished tied for 10th overall in the league, with 61 points in 49 contests.
Trudeau was also named a top-10 finalist for this year’s Hobey Baker Award, given to NCAA Division I hockey’s top player.
ECAC Hockey Player of the Year
Hayden Stavroff – Sophomore – Dartmouth College (Salmon Arm/Alberni Valley)
In 22 conference games, Stavroff led the league with 22 goals and added 15 assists for a 37-point season. Four of the sophomore forward’s goals were game-winners and another four came on the power play. Averaging 1.68 points per game and ending the season with an impressive plus-15 rating overall, Stavroff found himself at the top of most league stats throughout the season, helping the Big Green secure second place in the regular season.
Stavroff played two seasons in the BCHL from 2022 to 2024, the first with the Salmon Arm Silverbacks and the second with the Alberni Valley Bulldogs. He enjoyed a breakout season in his year with the Bulldogs, leading the BCHL with 35 goals on the season and finishing tied for seventh in league scoring with 55 points in 46 games.
The Dublin, Ohio native was also named a top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award.
Atlantic Hockey Best Defensive Forward
Kellan Hjartarson – Junior – Bentley University (Cranbrook Bucks)
In 26 games, Hjartarson recorded 24 points on seven goals and 17 assists. The Calgary, Alta. native finished fourth among Atlantic Hockey forwards and led Bentley’s group with a plus-12 rating. Hjartarson helped Bentley to a regular season conference title and ranked among the top Falcons on the man-advantage netting three power-play goals.
The 23-year-old played in the BCHL for two years, both with the Cranbrook Bucks. He was a part of the Bucks first full season in 2021-22 and totaled a combined 73 points in 108 regular season games over his two years in the league.
Independent co-Defensive Player of the Year
Evan Orr – Senior – Stonehill College (Prince George Spruce Kings)
Orr picks up the honour in his second year with Stonehill after putting up five goals and career bests in assists (13) and points (18) over 35 contests. He was also named to the All-Independent Team at season’s end and recently signed a professional contract with the Atlanta Gladiators of the ECHL.
The 2001-born blueliner played the 2019-20 season with the Prince George Spruce Kings, chipping in with five goals, 10 assists and 15 points in 52 contests.
Orr shares the award with Lindenwood University defenceman Nolan Seed.
NCHC Coach of the Year
Dane Jackson – University of North Dakota (Vernon Lakers)
Jackson earns the honour in his first year in charge of the Fighting Hawks program after serving as an assistant coach or associate head coach for UND the last 19 seasons. This season, he led North Dakota to its seventh regular season championship in program history. The Fighting Hawks finished 17-6-1 in conference play to finish first after being picked third in the NCHC Preseason Media Poll. Only two of UND’s six conference losses came in regulation.
Before his coaching career, as well as a lengthy professional and collegiate career, Jackson played one season with the Vernon Lakers of the BCJHL in 1987-88 where he put up 24 goals, 30 assists and 54 points in 49 games and captured the BCHL championship.
ECAC Hockey Community Service Award
Jayden Sison – Senior – Princeton University (Coquitlam Express)
Among his many community initiatives during his time at Princeton, Sison offered hours of his free time to multiple service programs, including the Princeton Student-Athlete Service Council, the Reading with the Tigers program and Tiger Pals, where he coordinated small-group relationship-building mentorship between his teammates and young men in an underprivileged school environment. He also coordinated a visit from the men’s and women’s teams to Community Park Elementary, where more than 50 hockey players hosted a joint reading, signed cards, and donated bookmarks to over 300 students.
Sison played for the BCHL’s Coquitlam Express during the 2021-22 season and totaled 35 points in 50 games.