Spokane Chiefs forward Adam Beckman earns WHL’s most valuable player award

CALGARY — Spokane Chiefs forward Adam Beckman has been named the Western Hockey League’s player of the year.

The 19-year-old from Saskatoon will have his name engraved on the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy.

The WHL’s top scorer was the lone player to crack the 100-point mark in 2019-20 with 48 goals and 59 assists in 63 games.

Beckman scored nine game-winning goals and posted 32 multi-point games.

The six-foot-one, 174-pound Minnesota Wild prospect is the first Spokane Chief to win the WHL’s MVP award since Ray Whitney in 1991.

The Chiefs chose Beckman in the fifth round (96th overall) in the 2016 WHL bantam draft.

The NHL’s Wild selected Beckman in the third round (75th overall) in 2019.

Beckman helped the Chiefs to a 41-18-4-1 record before COVID-19 shut down the WHL and other hockey leagues March 12.

The Four Broncos Memorial Trophy both recognizes the player whose performance is deemed to be the most outstanding during regular season and honours the memory of four Swift Current Broncos.

Trent Kresse, Scott Kruger, Chris Mantyka and Brent Ruff died Dec. 30, 1986 when the Broncos team bus crashed en route to a game in Regina.

Previous winners of the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy include Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart (Everett Silvertips), Buffalo Sabres forward Sam Reinhart (Kootenay Ice), Winnipeg Jets forward Adam Lowry (Swift Current) and New York Islanders forward Jordan Eberle (Regina Pats).

Beckman was chosen ahead of Eastern Conference nominee Dylan Cozens of the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Beckman joins Ottawa 67’s forward Marco Rossi and Rimouski Oceanic forward Alexis Lafreniere — who were named MVPs of the Ontario and Quebec major junior leagues respectively Thursday — as nominees for the Canadian Hockey League player of the year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 21, 2020.

The Canadian Press