SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League has announced that Duncan Milroy of the Hamilton Bulldogs been selected the winner of the Yanick Dupré Memorial Award as the 2004-05 American Specialty/AHL Man of the Year. The award is presented annually to an AHL player for his outstanding contributions to his local community and charitable organizations.
Milroy, 22, has been quick to take an active role in the Bulldogs’ community efforts since joining the club as a rookie in 2003-04, focusing his efforts on the youth of the Hamilton area. This season, he became the official spokesperson for Healthy HABits, a new Bulldogs initiative geared specifically toward the promotion of healthy and active lifestyles among area youth. Milroy was actively involved in the launch of the program and worked closely in the development of a video used to introduce students to the program. With Milroy’s encouragement and positive impact, more than 1,500 children participated in the program in 2004-05, raising over $75,000 for their schools.
Milroy also participated in the Raise a Reader program, designed to create awareness and raise money for family literacy initiatives. By assisting in the sale of Hamilton Spectator newspapers, he helped the campaign raise more than $30,000. Milroy personally donated $1,000 in support of the Sanford School Nourishment Program, serving a pancake breakfast to inner-city youths and presenting a check to assist in the further expansion of the program.
Milroy was the lead promoter of the Bulldogs’ Smiles On Ice benefit, raising over $20,000 for the McMaster Children’s Hospital. He helped organize a bowling party for members of the team’s Kids Club; participated in the I Love Hamilton public awareness campaign to boost civic pride; assisted in fundraising efforts to purchase computers, schoolyard equipment and other items for area schools; and served pasta to some 250 guests at a spaghetti dinner for the Children’s Aid Society of Hamilton, raising much-needed funds for various youth programs.
An Edmonton native, Milroy was selected in the second round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens. On the ice this season, he has recorded 15 goals and 18 assists for 33 points in 75 games for the Bulldogs.
The AHL’s annual Man of the Year award is named after the late Yanick Dupré, who passed away in 1997 at the age of 24 following a 16-month battle with leukemia. A second-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in 1991, Dupré played four seasons in the AHL with the Hershey Bears, and participated in the 1995 AHL All-Star Game. Previous winners of the award include John Jakopin (1998), Brent Thompson (1999), Mike Minard (2000, 2001), Travis Roche (2002), Jimmy Roy (2003) and Kurtis Foster (2004).
Milroy will be presented with the Yanick Dupré Award and a check for $500 on Friday evening, in an on-ice presentation prior to the Bulldogs’ game against Rochester.
