SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that Manitoba Moose forward Jansen Harkins, Milwaukee Admirals forward Tommy Novak and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith have been selected as the league’s award winners for November.
Harkins, the CCM/AHL Player of the Month, totaled 24 points in 15 games for Manitoba last month, registering four goals and 20 assists and finding the scoresheet in all but one contest as the Moose went 11-4-0-0.
Harkins opened November by setting a franchise record with five assists in a 5-3 win over Grand Rapids on Nov. 2. He came back with a goal and two assists in a 7-4 win over the Griffins on Nov. 3, and scored twice in a 4-1 win over Texas on Nov. 11. Harkins assisted on the game-winning goal in a 2-1 victory at Belleville on Nov. 20, extending his scoring streak to 10 games, and registered back-to-back two-assist efforts on Nov. 27 at Milwaukee and Nov. 29 at Grand Rapids.
Winnipeg’s second-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, Harkins leads the AHL with 21 assists and is tied for the league lead with 27 points in 23 games for the Moose in 2019-20. The 22-year-old from North Vancouver, B.C., has appeared 149 career AHL games for Manitoba, totaling 26 goals and 52 assists for 78 points.
After recording one assist in eight games in October, Novak, the CCM/AHL Rookie of the Month, registered three goals and 10 assists in 12 games played during November – all Milwaukee wins.
Novak scored his first pro goal as part of a four-point night and earned first-star honors in a 6-4 Admirals triumph over Manitoba on Nov. 6. He scored again in a 6-3 win over Chicago on Nov. 13, and assisted on the game-winning goals in victories at Belleville on Nov. 16 and at Grand Rapids on Nov. 22. Novak extended his scoring streak to six games with a pair of helpers in a 5-0 win over Grand Rapids on Nov. 23, and notched a goal and an assist as the Admirals earned a 4-3 overtime win at San Antonio on Nov. 30.
A third-round selection by Nashville in the 2015 NHL Draft, Novak has three goals and 11 assists for 14 points in 21 games for Milwaukee this season. The 22-year-old native of River Falls, Wis., played four seasons at the University of Minnesota before making his pro debut with the Admirals on Mar. 22, 2019.
DeSmith, the CCM/AHL Goaltender of the Month, made eight starts for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in November and went 7-1-0 with a 1.60 goals-against average, a .951 save percentage and two shutouts, allowing a total of 13 goals on 265 shots.
DeSmith made 25 saves in a 4-3 shootout win at Lehigh Valley on Nov. 1, and earned consecutive shutouts with 35 saves vs. Syracuse on Nov. 9 and 28 stops vs. Hershey on Nov. 13. He extended his scoreless streak to 148:43 and turned aside 41 shots during a 4-1 win over Springfield on Nov. 15, and came back with 40 saves in a 4-2 victory at Springfield on Nov. 22. DeSmith stopped 26 shots in a 5-2 victory over Bridgeport on Nov. 30, his sixth consecutive win to close out the month.
DeSmith is 10-4-0 with a 2.41 GAA, a .922 save percentage and two shutouts in 15 appearances for the Penguins this season, sitting tied for second in the AHL in wins and ranking fourth in saves (414) and fifth in minutes played (870). The fifth-year pro has gone 49-19-6 with five shutouts in 77 career AHL games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (2.34, .919), and is also 21-15-6 (2.66, .917) with four shutouts in 50 NHL appearances with Pittsburgh. DeSmith earned a spot on the AHL All-Rookie Team in 2016-17, when he led the league with a 2.01 GAA.
Each monthly award winner will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming home game in recognition of his achievement.
