USHL Announces Major Award Winners

The United States Hockey League (USHL) announced its major yearly award winners for the 2015-16 season on Monday morning. Leading the way was University of Minnesota recruit Rem Pitlick, of the Muskegon Lumberjacks, who took home both the Player of the Year and Forward of the Year.

Pitlick led the USHL in scoring with 46 goals and 43 assists for 89 points in 56 regular season games for Todd Krygier's club. It was the most points ever scored in Lumberjacks' history. His eight game-winning goals also tied him for first in the league in that category with Notre Dame commit Cam Morrison.

The Plymouth, Minn. native became just the fourth player in USHL history to score more than 40 goals in a season. He played last season with the Waterloo Black Hawks after being drafted out of Shattuck St. Mary's. He's rated as the 93rd best prospect for the 2016 NHL Draft by NHL Central Scouting in the Final Rankings.

Pitlick has elite speed, is terrific on puck pursuit and has exceptional acceleration. He's a relentless forechecker and is responsible in his own, getting sticks in lanes. He's got a quick release and an accurate shot.

St. Cloud State recruit Jack Ahcan was named the USHL Defenseman of the Year. The Cedar Rapids RoughRider had 14 goals and 30 assists in 56 games. He ranked second in the league in points by a blue liner. The future Huskie played high school hockey for Burnsville (MN) before coming to the USHL.

Connecticut recruit and New York Rangers draft pick Adam Huska won the Goaltender of the Year. The Slovakian native led the Green Bay Gamblers to the second seed in the Eastern Conference.

In 37 games played, he had a 1.82 goals against average and .931 save percentage, both tops in the league. He was taken by the Rangers in the seventh round of the 2015 NHL Draft. He announced his commitment to play for Mike Cavanaugh's Huskies in March.