SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that Lehigh Valley Phantoms forward Jordan Weal, Charlotte Checkers forward Lucas Wallmark and San Diego Gulls goaltender Jhonas Enroth have been selected as the league’s award winners for January.
Weal, the CCM/AHL Player of the Month, appeared in 11 games for Lehigh Valley during January and totaled five goals and nine assists for 14 points along with a plus-7 rating.
Weal registered a point in 10 of his 11 games played on the month, finishing January with an eight-game scoring streak intact. He scored the Phantoms’ only goal in a 2-1 loss at Hartford on Jan. 6, and assisted on the game-winning tally in a 2-0 victory over Albany on Jan. 7. Weal’s goal on Jan. 13 vs. Hershey was the game-winner in a 6-2 Phantoms win, and he later scored in three consecutive games between Jan. 22-27, including a four-point effort in a 7-2 victory over Binghamton on Jan. 25. Weal finished the month by representing the host Phantoms at the 2017 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Capital BlueCross at PPL Center.
Weal, 24, ranks second in the AHL in scoring with 45 points (15 goals, 30 assists) in 40 games for Lehigh Valley this season. The fifth-year pro from North Vancouver, B.C., was a Second Team AHL All-Star in 2014-15 and went on to win the Jack Butterfield Trophy as the most valuable player of the Calder Cup Playoffs that spring, when he tallied 22 points in 19 postseason games for Manchester. A third-round choice by Los Angeles in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Weal has totaled 73 goals and 145 assists for 218 points in 261 career AHL games, and has skated in 14 games in the National Hockey League.
Wallmark, the CCM/AHL Rookie of the Month, scored seven goals and added two assists for nine points in 13 games for Charlotte in January.
Wallmark recorded a goal and an assist in a 5-1 win at Milwaukee on Jan. 10, then picked up his first two-goal game of the season to help the Checkers to a 5-3 victory over Cleveland on Jan. 14. He scored the tying goal in the final minute of regulation against Milwaukee on Jan. 18, and his goal with five seconds left in overtime gave Charlotte a 2-1 win over Tucson on Jan. 22. Wallmark had another two-goal performance on Jan. 27, lifting the Checkers to a 4-1 win over Manitoba.
The 21-year-old Wallmark, a native of Umea, Sweden, ranks fourth among AHL rookies and leads the Checkers team in goals (15) while adding 10 assists for 25 points in 44 games this season. A fourth-round pick by Carolina in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, Wallmark notched 32 points in 48 games for Lulea HF in the Swedish Hockey League last year, leading the team with 24 assists.
Enroth, the CCM/AHL Goaltender of the Month, was a perfect 6-0-0 in six appearances during January, sporting a 1.17 goals-against average and a .957 save percentage while allowing just seven goals on 163 shots.
Enroth began the month in Toronto and made 30 saves in a 4-3 win at Manitoba on Jan. 4. He was acquired by the Anaheim Ducks on Jan. 11 and made his San Diego Gulls debut on Jan. 16, stopping 22 of 23 shots in a 3-1 win at Iowa. Enroth turned aside 30 shots in a 5-1 victory over San Jose on Jan. 20, then led the Gulls to a three-game sweep of their visit to Tucson to finish the month, combining for 74 saves on 76 shots and capping it off with a 3-0 shutout on Jan. 28.
A ninth-year pro from Stockholm, Sweden, Enroth is 7-1-0 in eight AHL games between Toronto and San Diego this season, with a 1.63 GAA, a .942 save percentage and one shutout after beginning the year with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The veteran of 153 NHL games with Toronto, Los Angeles, Dallas and Buffalo has made 155 career appearances in the AHL, showing a record of 81-59-9 with a 2.58 GAA, a .916 save percentage and nine shutouts.
Each monthly award winner will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming home game in recognition of his achievement.
