AHL Man of the Year team winners announced

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today the individual team winners of the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year awards, selected by their respective clubs for their outstanding contributions to the local community and charitable organizations during the 2011-12 season.

From this list of finalists, representatives from IOA/American Specialty and the AHL will choose the winner of the 2011-12 Yanick Dupré Memorial Award. The AHL’s annual Man of the Year award is named after the late Yanick Dupré, who died in 1997 at the age of 24, following a 16-month battle with leukemia. Dupré, an AHL All-Star in 1995, played four seasons with the Hershey Bears, registering 169 points in 207 AHL games. He also skated in 35 NHL games with the Philadelphia Flyers.

This year’s winners of the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year awards are:

Carter Bancks, Abbotsford Heat
Cullen Eddy, Adirondack Phantoms
Brad Mills, Albany Devils
Mike McKenna, Binghamton Senators
Casey Cizikas, Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Bobby Sanguinetti, Charlotte Checkers
Darren Haydar, Chicago Wolves
Kelsey Tessier, Connecticut Whale
Francis Pare, Grand Rapids Griffins
Brendon Nash, Hamilton Bulldogs
Joel Rechlicz, Hershey Bears
Chay Genoway, Houston Aeros
Eric Hunter, Lake Erie Monsters
Andrew Campbell, Manchester Monarchs
Mark Van Guilder, Milwaukee Admirals
Eric Neilson, Norfolk Admirals
Bryan Helmer, Oklahoma City Barons
Kyle Hagel, Peoria Rivermen
Dean Arsene, Portland Pirates
Zach McKelvie, Providence Bruins
Derek Whitmore, Rochester Americans
Ben Smith, Rockford IceHogs
Bracken Kearns, San Antonio Rampage
Ryan Garlock, Springfield Falcons
Jason King, St. John’s IceCaps
Rick Schofield, Syracuse Crunch
Brad Lukowich, Texas Stars
Ben Scrivens, Toronto Marlies
Brandon DeFazio, W-B/Scranton Penguins
Nick Petrecki, Worcester Sharks

The winner of the 2011-12 Yanick Dupré Memorial Award will be announced at a later date.