A trio of Bomber players and personnel were named as best of the best of the SJHL this season.
The SJHL announced individual awards for players and coaches March 20. Noah Houle was named the league's defenceman of the year, while Harmon Laser-Hume was announced as the SJHL goaltender of the year. Head coach and general manager Mike Reagan was also named the SJHL's coach of the year - the first time he has done so.
Houle came to Flin Flon in a trade last season and caught fire early this season, never cooling off. Houle finished the season with 68 total points, leading all SJHL defenders - he also had 56 assists, one shy of the league lead for all players regardless of position. No defender since Nipawin's Josh McDougall in 2018 has scored as many points in an SJHL season as Houle put up this year.
The Montreal native and younger brother of former Bomber Donavan Houle-Villeneuve has committed to play for the Lindenwood Lions in NCAA Division I for next season.
Originally from Creston, B.C., Laser-Hume came to Flin Flon at the start of last season in a trade with the rival Nipawin Hawks, coming to the Bombers for cash. Since then, he's won 64 of the 98 games he's played as a Bomber through regular season and playoffs, including 28 wins in 38 appearances this year. Laser-Hume boasts a 28-6-0 record, three shutouts, a 2.20 goals-against-average and a .930 save percentage - he and battery-mate Kenny Marquart lead the SJHL in almost all statistic categories for goalies.
Reagan, originally from Flin Flon and a former Bomber player, became the team's bench boss in 2007, following four years of NCAA hockey at Sacred Heart University. Since then, Reagan has made four appearances in the SJHL finals, won over 500 regular season games and become the longest-tenured head coach in the Bombers' near century-long history. Reagan built and coached a Bomber roster that ended the regular season with a 44-9-2-1 record, tying the 2000-2001 Bombers for the team's modern-day wins record. The Bombers also entered the playoffs ranked first in the league and were ranked first in the CJHL national top 20 ranking for 16 weeks this season - both achievements the team has not done since the 2000-2001 season.
Elsewhere in the league, Battlefords North Star Kian Bell repeated as the league's MVP and forward of the year, ending the season tops in the league scoring race with 94 points in 41 games. Humboldt Bronco Spencer Bell, who led the league in goals with 47, was named the SJHL's Saskatchewan player of the year, while Battlefords North Stars defender Carson Olsen was named rookie of the year. Mason Bueckert of the La Ronge Ice Wolves was named the league's most sportsmanlike player.
