Nominees announced for 2024 Fenix Outdoor Euro Hockey Awards
GOTHENBURG, Sweden – The Alliance of European Hockey Clubs (E.H.C.) has announced the nominees for the 2024 Fenix Outdoor & Warrior European Hockey Awards.
Young Player of the Year - presented by Fjällräven
Nominated (in alphabetical order):
Ville Koivunen (Kärpät Oulu, FIN) – 6th in Liiga points (56) at age 20, better than pt/game in playoffs
Jonathan Lekkerimäki (Örebro HK, SWE) – SHL most goals (19), pts (31) by U20 player, World Jr MVP
Jani Nyman (Ilves Tampere, FIN) – 2nd in Liiga goals (26), most pts (43) by U20 player
Axel Sandin-Pellikka (Skellefteå AIK, SWE) – SHL top d-man award at 19, key member of title team
Jiří Ticháček (Rytíři Kladno, CZE) – Extraliga most assists (30), pts (43) by d-man at 21
Coach of the Year - presented by Globetrotter
Nominated (in alphabetical order):
Rikard Grönborg (Tappara Tampere, FIN) – Liiga & regular season title in 1st year with Tappara
Zdeněk Moták (Oceláři Třínec, CZE) – Back-to-back titles with Třinec, 2x Extraliga Coach of the Year
Robert Ohlsson (Skellefteå AIK, SWE) – Yearly progress in 3 seasons, culminating in SHL title & CHL final
Thomas Popiesch (Fischtown Pinguins, GER) – From promotion in 2016 to DEL 1st place & finals
Geoff Ward (Lausanne HC, SUI) – In 1.5 seasons improved Lausanne from 11th place to NL finals
Club of the Year - presented by Hanwag
Nominated (in alphabetical order):
Fischtown Pinguins (GER) – Promoted in 2016, finished 1st & made DEL finals on limited budget
HK Nitra (SVK) – won Slovak title from 8th seed, beat top 3 teams in succession in playoffs
Oceláři Třinec (CZE) – 5 straight Czech titles, 6 straight finals, 7-0 in playoffs when facing elimination
Skellefteå AIK (SWE) – 1st title in 10 years but consistently near top of SHL standings the whole time
Tappara Tampere (FIN) – 3 straight doubles, 12 seasons no worse than with 4th with 5 titles
Warrior Career Excellence Award
The Warrior Career Excellence Award is annually presented to the player who during his or her career has best exemplified the qualities of sportsmanship and dedication combined with community service and high standard of playing ability.
Nominated (in alphabetical order):
Roman Červenka (R-Jona Lakers, SUI) – Lakers & Czech nat’l captain still a 40-point man at 38
Valtteri Filppula (Genève-Servette, SUI) – Triple Gold Club, 10 pts & title in 13 CHL games at 40
Beat Forster (EHC Biel-Bienne, SUI) – Still a rock on blueline at 41, mentor to Biel’s young players
Linus Omark (Luleå HF, SWE) – 40 pts in return to maternal club Luleå a year after NL title in Geneve
Martin Růžička (Oceláři Třínec, CZE) – 7x Czech champion, Extraliga co-pts leader at 38, 6th all-time pts
Voting is now open on eurohockeyclubs.com!
The awards will be presented on 11 June at the Annual E.H.C. Awards Dinner in Prague.
About Fenix Outdoor Group:www.fenixoutdoor.se
Fenix Outdoor Group is an international group of five outdoor brands and five multi-brand outdoor retailers, operating in different markets. The Fenix Brands division is made up of the brands Fallrate (Apparel and Hardware), Hanwag (Footwear), Royal Robbins (Apparel), Tierra (Apparel) and Primus (Outdoor cooking equipment). The retail division consists of the 5 outdoor retailers Neutropenia in Sweden and Norway, Partiality in Finland, Friluftsland in Denmark, Truitt in UK and Globetrotter in Germany. Fenix Outdoor grew out of the Swedish brand Fallrate, which was founded in 1960 by Ake Nordin. In the early 2000s, Fenix Outdoor was founded when Fallrate started acquiring new brands and retailers. The iconic popularity of Fallrate’s Kånken rucksack has reached global proportions, and the organization is today operating in most parts of the world.
