Wild’s Anas, Mayhew capture AHL scoring titles

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … Teammates Sam Anas and Gerry Mayhew of the Iowa Wild have won the American Hockey League’s two prestigious offensive awards for the 2019-20 season.

Anas has won the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as the leading point-getter in the AHL, while Mayhew has captured the Willie Marshall Award as the AHL’s leading goal scorer in 2019-20.

A fourth-year pro from Potomac, Md., Anas finished the 2019-20 season with 20 goals and 50 assists for 70 points while skating in all 63 of the Wild’s games. The 26-year-old forward represented Iowa at the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic and is Iowa’s franchise leader in career assists (125) and points (197) while ranking second in goals (72) and games played (259). He originally signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Wild on Apr. 15, 2016, after three seasons at Quinnipiac University.

Mayhew led the AHL with 39 goals and totaled 61 points in just 49 games with Iowa this season, his third pro campaign out of Ferris State University. The 27-year-old native of Wyandotte, Mich., also made his NHL debut in 2019-20, notching two goals in 13 outings with Minnesota, and skated in the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic. Mayhew has appeared in 209 career AHL contests – all with Iowa – and has scored a franchise-record 88 goals to go along with 72 assists for 160 points. Mayhew signed his first NHL contract with Minnesota on May 10, 2019, after two seasons playing on an AHL deal.

The AHL’s leading-scorer trophy was originally named after Wally Kilrea, who held the AHL’s single-season scoring record when the award was instituted in 1947-48. That year, Carl Liscombe broke Kilrea’s record, and the award was renamed in his honor. In 1955, the AHL Board of Governors voted to name the trophy after John B. Sollenberger, a long-time contributor to the league as manager and president of the Hershey Bears and former Chairman of the AHL Board of Governors. Previous winners of the John B. Sollenberger Trophy include Fred Glover (1957, ’60), Willie Marshall (1958), Bill Sweeney (1961, ’62, ’63), Don Blackburn (1972), Paul Gardner (1985, ’86), Bruce Boudreau (1988), Peter White (1995, ’97, ’98), Derek Armstrong (2001), Jason Spezza (2005), Alexandre Giroux (2009), Keith Aucoin (2010), Brandon Pirri (2013), Travis Morin (2014), Chris Bourque (2016), Kenny Agostino (2017), Chris Terry (2018) and Carter Verhaeghe (2019).

The AHL’s goal-scoring award was established in 2004 to honor Willie Marshall, the AHL’s all-time leader in goals, assists, points and games played; winners include Mike Cammalleri (2005), Alexandre Giroux (2009, ’10), Colin McDonald (2011), Cory Conacher (2012), Tyler Johnson (2013), Frank Vatrano (2016), Valentin Zykov (2018), Carter Verhaeghe (2019) and Alex Barre-Boulet (2019). Other previous yearly goal-scoring leaders include Bryan Hextall (1937), Lou Trudel (1942, ’45), Fred Glover (1951), Dunc Fisher (1958), Jimmy Anderson (1961, ’64), Yvon Lambert (1973), Gordie Clark (1980), Paul Gardner (1985, ’86), Jody Gage (1988) and Brad Smyth (1996, 2001).

In operation since 1936, the American Hockey League continues to serve as the top development league for all 31 National Hockey League teams. Nearly 90 percent of all players competing in the NHL are AHL graduates, and through the years the American Hockey League has been home to more than 100 honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame.