Clay Hanus named U SPORTS men’s hockey player of the year

Clay Hanus of the Mount Royal Cougars has been named the winner of the Senator Joseph A. Sullivan Trophy as the most outstanding player in U SPORTS men’s hockey. The product of Excelsior, Minnesota also took home the trophy for Defenceman of the Year. The announcement was made on Wednesday at the All-Canadian Awards Ceremony in Ottawa, site of the 2024 championship tournament.

Other major award winners include Sean Tschigerl of Alberta, who won the Clare Drake Trophy as rookie of the year; Matt Onuska of Waterloo, who is the goaltender of the year; Michael Cyr of Moncton, who took home the R.W. Pugh Trophy as the most sportsmanlike player; Cole MacKay of UNB, who won the Dr. Randy Gregg Award for student-athlete community service and Marc-André Elément of Concordia, who captured the Father George Kehoe Memorial Award given to the Fox40 Coach of the Year.

The 2025 University Cup gets underway at The Arena at TD Place in Ottawa on Thursday at 1 p.m. Play continues with two games daily through to the gold medal game, which is set for 5 p.m. on Sunday. 

View the official championship website.

Senator Joseph A. Sullivan Trophy (most outstanding player): Clay Hanus, Mount Royal

Defenceman of the Year – Clay Hanus, Mount Royal

Mount Royal Cougars defenceman Clay Hanus has won the Senator Joseph A. Sullivan Trophy as the U SPORTS player of the year and been named the U SPORTS defenceman of the year, capping off a historic season for him and the Mount Royal program. Hanus dominatedCanada West, earning the conference player of the year, top defenceman (Mervyn "Red" Dutton Trophy), and top scorer (Dave "Sweeney" Schriner Scoring Trophy) honors.

The blueliner recorded 12 goals, 31 assists, and 43 points in 28 games, leading Canada West in both total points and assists. Hanus became the first defenceman to claim the conference scoring title since Dave MacKay in 1938-39. His 1.54 points-per-game average set him apart as one of the most dynamic players in U SPORTS hockey. He also finished tied for second in the country in total points, making him the only defenceman among the nation’s top scorers.

Hanus’s contributions helped lead Mount Royal to its best season in program history, finishing with a 22-6-0 record and advancing to the Canada West Championship for the first time. His performance has solidified his place among the elite players in U SPORTS history.

Hanus, who spent five seasons with the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL, is the second consecutive Cougar, and the third in four years to win the Sullivan Trophy, following Connor Bouchard last year and Nolan Yaremko in 2022. The Minnesotan is only the fifth defenceman to claim the Senator Joseph A. Sullivan Trophy, and the first since Jay Langagar of Lethbridge in 2007. The Defenceman of the Year award was introduced in 2010, making Hanus the first player to win it and the Sullivan Trophy in the same season.

Other nominees (Sullivan Trophy): Derek Gentille (Saint Mary’s), Owen Robinson (Toronto). 

Other nominees (Defenceman of the year): Kale McCallum (UNB), Simon Lavigne (Concordia).

Clare Drake Trophy (rookie of the year): Sean Tschigerl, Alberta

Leading Canada West in goals as a freshman, Sean Tschigerl was awarded the Clare Drake Trophy as the U SPORTS men’s hockey rookie of the year.

Tschigerl recorded a conference-best 20 goals, finishing second with 39 points in 26 games, the most of any rookie in Canada West. The former Calgary Hitmen star was remarkably consistent, recording a point in 22 of his 26 regular season games, adding 70 shots and a +29 rating.  

His 39 points were tied for sixth most in U SPORTS, as he was the only rookie in Canada West who was named a first team All-Star. Tschigerl was also named the WHL Graduate of the Month in October after recording 15 points in eight games. The forward’s offensive flair has carried over from an impressive WHL tenure that saw him rack up 95 goals and 212 points over the course of six seasons with the Calgary Hitmen and Lethbridge Hurricanes 

Tschigerl is the third Alberta player – and the first skater - to win national rookie of the year honours, following goalies Aaron Sorochan in 2006 and Clayton Pool in 2000. 

Other nominees: Nathan Darveau (Moncton), Gio Morneau (Carleton) 

Goaltender of the Year – Matt Onuska, Waterloo

Waterloo netminder Matt Onuska posted an outstanding season en route to earning national goaltender of the year honours

The second-year star from Waterloo, Ont. led the country with a .941save percentage, while stacking up the third most saves on the national stage.

Onuska, who is also a top student-athlete academically, only allowed 42 goals this season en route to a stingy 2.18 goals-against average. He backstopped 10 of the Warriors’ 13 wins this season. In his last 10 games of the year, Onuska earned three shutouts and boasted a sparking goals-against average of just 1.40.

Onuska is the first Waterloo Warrior, and only the second OUA netminder, to win the award since its inception in 2010.

Other nominees: Nathan Darveau (Moncton), Roddy Ross (Saskatchewan)

R.W. Pugh Award (most sportsmanlike player): Michael Cyr, Moncton

In his fourth season with the Moncton Aigles Bleus, forward Michael Cyr has been chosen as the U SPORTS most sportsmanlike player and the recipient of the R.W. Pugh Award.

A physical education student from Saint-Anne-de-Madawaska, N.B., Cyr played in 29 games for the Aigles Bleus this season. He scored 27 points with 11 goals and 16 assists on the season—good for second in team scoring—while taking just 16 minutes in penalties.

Cyr is the third Aigle Bleu to win the R.W. Pugh award, following J.F. Gregoire in 1996-97 and Claude Gosselin in 1989-90.

Other nominees: Nolan Hutcheson (Queen’s), Josh Prokop (Alberta).

Dr. Randy Gregg Award (student-athlete community service): Cole MacKay, UNB

The 2024-25 recipient of Dr. Randy Gregg Award is Cole MacKay from the University of New Brunswick A third-year business student from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., MacKay amassed 28 points for UNB this season, with 16 points and 12 assists.

Off the ice, MacKay is an ambassador for the Hockey Gives Blood initiative. He is the co-founder of Upfront Sports—a high-performance hockey academy that aims to inspire, develop and promote the next generation of hockey players in Canada.

He was also responsible for his team's involvement in the Shoot for the Cure initiative at UNB this season—which helped add over $2,000 to UNB's total funds raised for breast cancer research.

MacKay is the fourth UNB player to win the Dr. Randy Gregg Award, following Randy Gazzola (2019), Kyle Bailey (2012) and Colin Sinclair (2007).

Other nominees: Mathieu Bizier (Concordia), Blake Gustafson (Alberta).

Father George Kehoe Memorial Award (Fox 40 Coach of the Year): Marc-André Elément, Concordia

It’s been a very strong season for Marc-André Elément and his Stingers, earning a first-round bye finishing at the top of the OUA East standings and, for the first time in program history, the OUA Queen’s Cup championship. His team finished the season with a 21-5-2 record, the most wins for the program since the 1982-83 season. Elément was named OUA East Coach of the Year for the second time. 

Elément, only the fourth head coach in Concordia men’s hockey history, took over the job in 2015 on an interim basis, and had the interim tag removed in 2016. Elément played five years for the Stingers, from 2006-11, serving as team captain for his final two years. After graduating he spent two years as an assistant with the Stingers before joining the Châteauguay Grenadiers of the Quebec Midget AAA league in 2013-14 as an assistant coach, where he helped lead the team to a silver medal at the Telus Cup national championship.

Other nominees: Derek Cormier (Moncton), Brandin Cote (Saskatchewan)