Nominees announced for the 19th Annual Athlete of the Year Award
Posted Apr 18, 2017 03:11:15 PM.
Last Updated Apr 18, 2017 03:16:18 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A star-studded list of nominees for this year’s Athlete of the Year Award.
Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets and Mark Scheifele of the Winnipeg Jets both cracked the 8-person nomination list.
Jamal’s father Roger was on hand at the Kitchener Auditorium on Tuesday to accept the nomination on his son’s behalf. He says it’s all a testament to his son’s hard work.
“Everything that he’s accomplished to get to this point is amazing. One moment he was a kid rooting for Vince Carter, the next moment he’s doing one-on-one against him.”
Scheifele finished the season leading his team in points, assists, and finished 7th in the NHL for points.
His dad Brad says it’s been special seeing him play.
“It’s overwhelming because this whole journey was never expected. We were enjoying it as much as he was, because every time he got to a new level and we’d think he’d plateau, he’d just achieve something else.”
Winners of the Award of Excellence were also handed out on Tuesday. Those winners include the KMBA 2016 Minor Bantam Tier One, The Waterloo Regional Boxing Academy, and Bruce Young.
The winner of Waterloo Region’s Athlete of the Year Award will be announced May 16th.
