World junior hockey star Luke Adam was a runaway winner for the male award, and multi-sport athlete Vicki Thistle took female honours as the St. John's Molson-Coors athletes of the year for 2009 were announced during a banquet Friday night at City Hall.
The Kelly's Pub Junior Canadians softball team won the first-ever team of the year award.
Adam took home the Tom 'Dynamite' Dunne Memorial Award, while Thistle earned the Margaret 'Mag' Davis Memorial Award.
The awards were voted on by members of the St. John's Molson-Coors Athlete of the Year Committee. The committee is comprised of chairman Don Power, Jill Brewer, John Browne, Ross Crocker, Troy Croft, Paddy Daly, Terry Hart, Michelle Healey, Don Johnson, Carl Lake, Brendan McCarthy, Kenn Oliver, Doug Redmond, Robin Short and Jimmy Tee.
Vicki Thistle
After leading MUN in scoring (16.3 ppg), rebounding and minutes played, Thistle became the fourth Memorial University Sea-Hawks' basketball player to be named an all-Canadian, earning a second-team Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) berth in 2009. She had previously been named an Atlantic University Sport (AUS) first-team all-star after helping lead the Sea-Hawks to a 16-4 regular-season record.
Speaking at Thursday's awards banquet, Thistle thanked her teammates on the pitch and on the court and extended a special thanks to MUN hoops coach Doug Partridge.
"I wasn't much of a basketball player before him, so I owe him a great deal of thanks as well," said Thistle.
Basketball isn't Thistle's only game. Perhaps the top two-sport athlete in the city, Thistle finished fourth in Breen's Jubilee Trophy senior women's soccer scoring, booting nine goals for the provincial champions.
She also suited up for the Sea-Hawks' soccer side, but her varsity season on the poitch lasted only five games as she was sidelined Oct. 3 with an ankle injury.
Prior to concentrating on basketball and soccer, Thistle was an elite tennis player and swimmer and minor hockey player.
Other finalists for the female award were soccer player Laura Breen and wrestler/runner Victoria Ralph.
Luke Adam
Adam was chosen to play for Team Canada in the 2010 world junior hockey championship in Saskatchewan, where he contributed four goals and four assists in helping his team to a silver medal. Adam was plus-nine, tied for best on the Canadian team and second overall in the tournament.
After an off-season Quebec Major Junior Hockey League trade sending him to the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles from the Montreal Junior, Adam got off to a fast start with his new team, registering a team-leading 20 goals, 27 assists and 47 points in 30 games in the first half of the 2009-10 QMJHL campaign, putting him second in the league overall scoring before he joined Team Canada.
He finished the 2008-09 season with 49 points in 47 games for the Junior de Montreal last season, one cut short when he suffered a ruptured spleen in February.
Softball players Mike Noftall and Justin Gill were the other male nominees.
Adam is on the mainland playing with the Screaming Eagles and couldn't attend Thursday's banquet, but he sent a message, which his father read on his behalf.
"I'd like to thank all those who have supported me over the course of my career, fans, friends, teammates, coaches, and of course my family," it read, in part. "To have my grandparents in attendance tonight, as well as my mother Paula and my father Russ, is especially meaningful because without their support, and the support of everyone involved, it would not be possible.
"Congratulations to Mike Noftall and Justin Gill for representing the city of St. John's and the province with honour and distinction. The level of excellence (they) continue to bring to the sport of softball speaks volumes about the impact Newfoundlanders ers are having on the national and international sports stage."
Kelly's Pub Junior Canadians softball team
Kelly's Pub finished the 2009 junior national championships with a 9-2 record and defeated Nova Scotia 4-2 in the championship game.
Four members of the team earned individual honours: Mark Lewis (top batter with a .522 batting average and all-star first baseman), Justin Gill (all-star shortstop), Shane Boland (all-star second baseman) and Mike Noftall (MVP in the playoffs).
Kelly's Pub became the first junior team to win the provincial senior men's championship, and also claimed the 2009 St. John's Day Tournament.
In St. John's senior league play, Kelly's finished second in the regular season with a 16-8 record and was runner-up in the league final.
Members of the 2009 championship Kelly's team include Tyler McDonald, Shane O'Brien, Sheldon Keough, Justin Gill, Ryan Boland, Craig Edmunds, Kyle Ezekiel, Mike Noftall, Wayne Bruce, Shane Kelly, Mike Gregory, Mark Lewis, Shane Boland, Liam Myers, Brad Ezekiel, head coach Jim Dunphy, coach Hughie Clarke, manager Carl 'Kelly' Thompson and general manager Ross Crocker.
The Holy Cross/The Dock soccer team and Canada Games women's four rowing team were also finalists.
ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
Male
1951 - Ferd Hayward
1952 - Ted Gillies
1953 - Ted Gillies
1954 - George Hillier
1955 - George Hillier
1956 - Lloyd Cooke
1957 - Barry Maunder
1958 - Tols Chapman
1959 - Bill Gillies
1960 - Bill Martin
1961 - Doug House
1962 - Charlie Spurrell
1963 - Ian Campbell
1964 - Tony Manning
1965 - Ian Campbell
1966 - Tols Chapman
1967 - Gordon Follett Sr.
1968 - Mac Rideout
1969 - Brian Brocklehurst
1970 - Ford Metcalfe
1971 - Joe Walsh
1972 - Ross Crocker
1973 - Ross Crocker
1974 - Blair Tucker
1975 - Denis Byrd
1976 - Jack MacDuff Rink
1977 - Blair Tucker
1978 - John Dwyer
1979 - Paul McCloy
1980 - Mel Fitzgerald
1981 - Paul McCloy
1982 - Paul McCloy
1983 - Paul Merlo
1984 - Chris Daly
1985 - Paul McCloy
1986 - Paul McCloy
1987 - Paul McCloy
1988 - Colin Abbott
1989 - Colin Abbott
1990 - Paul McCloy
1991 - John Slaney
1992 - Rob O'Brien
1993 - Iain Tennent
1994 - Troy Croft
1995 - Rod Snow
1996 - Andy Crosby
1997 - Peter Benoite
1998 - Harold Druken
1999 - Colin Abbott
2000 - Mark Parsons
2001 - Brad Gushue
2002 - Jeff Saxby
2003 - Jason Hill
2004 - Brad Gushue
2005 - Brad Gushue
2006 - Brad Gushue
2007 - Ted Purcell
2008 - Mike Noftall
2009 - Luke Adam
Female
1969 - Maria Fitzpatrick
1970 - Pam Yetman
1971 - Annette Rossiter
1972 - Kate Jackman
1973 - Peg Baker
1974 - Marg Davis
1975 - Colleen Tapper
1976 - Joanne McDonald
1977 - Marg Davis
1978 - Joanne McDonald
1979 - Kathy Noseworthy
1980 - Paula Kelly
1981 - Gillian Grant
1982 - Debby Power
1983 - Sue Doyle
1984 - Nicola Will
1985 - Sue Doyle
1986 - Joy Burt
1987 - Pam Ennis
1988 - Sherry Morrissey
1989 - Pam Ennis
1990 - Cora McCloy
1991 - Cora McCloy
1992 - Jasmine Wadhwa
1993 - Andrea Hutchens
1994 - Krista Manning
1995 - Michelle Healey
1996 - Michelle Healey
1997 - Ann Murrin
1998 - Cheryl Oldford
1999 - Donna Phelan
2000 - Donna Phelan
2001 - Jennifer Parsons
2002 - Jenine Browne
2003 - Jenine Browne
2004 - Jenine Browne
2005 - Julia Howard
2006 - Laura Breen
2007 - Stacie Devereaux
2008 - Nichole Adams
2009 - Vicki Thistle
TEAM OF THE YEAR
2009 - Kelly's Pub softball team
(first year for team award)
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