OHL: Pouliot named Rookie of the Year

The Ontario Hockey League today announced that Benoit Pouliot of the Sudbury Wolves is the 2004-05 Emms Family Award winner as the OHL Rookie of the Year.

Pouliot scored 29 goals and 38 assists and led all OHL rookies with 67 points in 67 games this season. The 18-year-old Ottawa native enjoyed 19 multiple-point games, including his first OHL hat trick on September 26 against the Erie Otters and a four-point game against the Saginaw Spirit on February 20. He was the OHL's Rookie of the Month in December.

Pouliot, the OHL's top rated prospect for the next NHL Entry Draft, participated in the ADT Canada-Russia Series in December, the Home Hardware CHL-NHL Top Prospects Game in Vancouver in January and the Bell OHL All-Star Classic in Owen Sound in February.

The Emms Family Award is presented annually to the top first year player as selected by OHL general managers. Teams were not permitted to vote for a player from their own hockey club. Players received five points for a first place vote, three points for a second place vote and one point for a third place vote.

Pouliot received 79 points in the voting, while Marek Kvapil of the Saginaw Spirit was second with 37 points and Michael Vernace of the Brampton Battalion was third in the voting with 24 points.

Former winners of the Emms Family Award include Wayne Gretzky (Sault Ste. Marie, 1977-78), Joe Thornton (Sault Ste. Marie, 1995-96), Owen Nolan (Cornwall, 1988-89) and Rick Nash (London, 2000-01). Bryan Little of the Barrie Colts won the award last season. The award was donated by Leighton "Hap" Emms, former owner of the Barrie, Niagara Falls and St. Catharines OHL franchises.

2004-05 Ontario Hockey League All-Rookie Teams

First Team

Centre - Justin Azevedo, Kitchener (59)

Left Wing - Benoit Pouliot, Sudbury (93)

Right Wing - Marek Kvapil, Saginaw (78)

Defence - Michael Vernace, Brampton (67)

Defence - Andrej Sekera, Owen Sound (43)

Goal - Daren Machesney, Brampton (67)

Second Team

Centre - Jordan Staal, Peterborough (55)

Left Wing - Mike Duco, Kitchener (33)

Right Wing - Matt D'Agostini, Guelph (51)

Defence - Bob Sanguinetti, Owen Sound (40)

Defence - Ben Shutron, Kingston (37)

Goal - Kyle Gajewski, Sault Ste. Marie (53)

Voting points in brackets