Looking into the crystal ball: 2015-16 team awards

by Ryan Fay

Union head coach Rick Bennett is known to say that the crystal ball in his office is broken.

Mine isn't, though. With Friday's regular season opener against Sacred Heart only three days away, here are my predictions for Union's Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year and Most Improved Player.

We'll check back after next spring's awards banquet to see how I did.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER - Mike Vecchione

Vecchione

Vecchione is not only the best player on the team, he's one of the best in the league and the entire country. One player doesn't make a team, but there's no one player more valuable to Union this season than Vecchione. Had he turned pro after last season, expectations would certainly be different for the Dutchmen this season.

Vecchione followed a strong freshman season (14-20--34 in 38 games) with an even better sophomore campaign. He racked up 19 goals and 31 assists in 39 games en route to tying Daniel Carr's program record of 50 points in a single-season. With 84 career points through two years, Vecchione is in prime position to join Carr and Jeremy Welsh as the only Dutchmen to reach the 100-point plateau as a junior.

More than just a dynamite offensive producer, the center has also proven to be lethal in the faceoff circle. He was second in the country last season with 553 faceoff wins and his .593 faceoff winning percentage was eighth-best. His faceoff winning percentage was seven percent better than any of Union's other regular faceoff options last year.

Vecchione will be counted on heavily up front again this season, especially with the graduations of Daniel Ciampini  (118 career points) and Max Novak (96 career points). More than ever before, he's the face of the program, the kind of player used on billboards and ticket brochures. But there's no reason to believe Vecchione won't be up for the challenge.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - Brett Supinski

Supinski

Union has brought in another quality rookie class after producing the nation's eighth and 12th-highest scoring freshmen classes the past two seasons. The New England Hockey Journal recently opined that this year's incoming class is among the best in the entire country.

It wouldn't surprise if a number of Union's freshmen become contributors this year, but look for Supinski to make the biggest splash. He dominated the British Columbia Hockey League as a 19-year-old rookie with the Coquitlam Express last season. The forward finished second in the league in goals (48), fourth in assists (50) and second in points (98). He led the circuit in game-winners with nine and notched three hat-tricks, one of which was a four-goal effort. This is a player that's going to score goals.

As Express head coach Barry Wolff told me last season, "He's one of those guys that doesn't look like an overall strong threat. But then it finds his stick and he finds the back of the net. Some guys just have that knack and he definitely has it."

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER - Michael Pontarelli

The hype machine was in full swing when Pontarelli arrived at Union before the 2013-14 season, a year ahead of schedule thanks to Josh Jooris unexpectedly giving up his senior season to sign with the Calgary Flames.

Pontarelli

The excitement was warranted. Pontarelli had recently been named the first-ever Canadian Junior Hockey League Most Valuable Player after racking up 52 goals and 53 assists in 53 games with the Central Canada Hockey League's Cornwall Colts. The Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto even displayed his Colts jersey for winning the MVP honor.

Pontarelli got off to a promising start at Union with 10 goals and 13 assists in 39 games as a freshman. But multiple injuries got in the way of his development last year. He missed 10 contests and finished with just five goals and three assists in 29 games. Most of those numbers came in the ECAC Hockey playoffs, when he had three goals and an assist in five contests. He also looked sharp in last Saturday's intrasquad scrimmage with three more goals.

If Pontarelli can stay healthy all year, he'll be a terrific sleeper candidate to average upwards of a point-per-game. There's still the potential for the forward to be an impact player with Union. We haven't seen the best Pontarelli has to offer here yet.

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