HUMBOLDT — For their roles in a successful Humboldt Broncos’ season, Connor McGrath and Rayce Ramsay were recognized by the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
Both players were honoured with three league awards. Ramsay, a netminder in his 20-year-old season, was named the RBC Player of the Year, SGEU Most Valuable Player and SaskTel Top Goaltender.
“It’s an honour to be selected for those awards,” said the Saskatoon product, who has committed to the University of Toronto. “There’s a lot of good players around the league that they could have gone to so I’m very grateful for the acknowledgements.”
LeRoy’s Connor McGrath also received a trio of awards. The forward in his 18-year-old season was tabbed as RBC Top Forward, DirectWest Rookie of the Year, and SJHL Top Scorer. McGrath said the awards mean a lot.
“I’ve been working really hard over the past few years and to get some recognition it feels really good, and I also believe that they are just a testament to the group of guys we had and the coaching staff,” said McGrath, who has committed to Ferris State University for 2023-24. “I couldn’t have done it without my teammates always pushing me to be my best self and [head coach] Scott [Barney] having so much confidence in me.”
Another award winner of note for Broncos fans was Brayden Klimosko. The Battlefords North Stars bench boss was named the Saskatchewan Construction Safety Association Coach of the Year. The Humboldt product is a former Broncos player and assistant coach.
This past winter Klimosko led his team to a 35-17-5-1 record. The youthful North Stars placed second to the Broncos in the Global Ag Risk Solutions Division. Klimosko shared the coach of the year award in 2020 with La Ronge’s Kevin Kaminski.
Both McGrath and Ramsay played key roles on a deep and talented Broncos team. This past season the squad posted the second-best record – 45-13-0-0 to Estevan’s 43-10-2-3. Humboldt made it to the SJHL semifinals before falling to Flin Flon, who takes on Estevan in the league finals starting Friday.
“Obviously, it wasn’t the result we were looking for in the end, but I’m so proud of everyone on our team for all of the work they’ve put in this year and for how well we came together as a group,” Ramsay said. “We truly did have a special group this year and I’m extremely grateful to have been a part of it.”
McGrath was a consistent and prolific points producer this past season. After tallying one goal in four games in a COVID-19 shortened 2020-2021 campaign with Weyburn, McGrath paced the SJHL this past season with 84 points in 56 games. He was third in the league with 35 goals. McGrath posted the two longest points streaks in the league last season. He had runs of 14 and 12 games.
This season Ramsay returned to the Broncos, where he played as a 17-year-old rookie. He set a new league record with 41 wins, which he achieved in 50 appearances. He led the SJHL with 2,973 minutes played – 388 more than his closest competitor. Ramsay was second in the league in goals against average (1.98) and save percentage (.930).
Other SJHL award winners were Mayfair Diagnostics Top Defenceman – Xavier Lapointe, Flin Flon Bombers and SGEU Most Sportsmanlike Player of the Year – Ryland McNinch, Battlefords North Stars.
