Murray named Silvertips’ MVP

EVERETT — Ryan Murray missed nearly three months of the Everett Silvertips’ 2011-12 season because of injury and international duty.

It’s a testament to Murray’s abilities that he was named the team’s Most Valuable Player anyway.

The Tips held their annual year end awards ceremony following Saturday’s game against Victoria at Comcast Arena, the final home game of the season, and Murray took home the top honors as he was named the team’s MVP.

Murray, an 18-year-old defenseman who is the team’s captain and projected as a top-10 pick in the upcoming NHL draft, lost two months to a sprained ankle during the first half of the season, then missed another three weeks playing for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships.

Nevertheless, Murray had nine goals and 20 assists in 41 games going into Saturday, and he’s a big reason why Everett had won 10 of its previous 18 games to get back into the playoff hunt.

This was Murray’s second consecutive MVP as he shared the honors with goaltender Kent Simpson last season. Murray also earned the Coaches Award for the second straight season.

Kohl Bauml also took home two awards. The 17-year-old center, who had 13 goals and 24 assists in 66 games, was named Rookie of the Year and Scholastic Player of the Year.

Simpson was named the team’s Unsung Hero. The 19-year-old was 18-29-1-5 with a 3.38 goals against average and .908 save percentage.

Ryan Chynoweth was named the Most Improved Player. The 16-year-old center had two goals and six assists in 61 games.

Two players took home Iron Man Awards for their durability. Nineteen-year-old winger Cody Fowlie is the only player who’s appeared in all 68 of Everett’s games so far this season, and 18-year-old center Reid Petryk not only has played in all 28 games since arriving at the trade deadline, he’s also on pace to play in 75 games this season.

Nineteen-year-old winger Ryan Harrison won the F.I.E.R.C.E. Predator Award, which is presented by the team’s booster club. Harrison had 19 goals and 29 assists in 65 games.

Overage defenseman Brennan Yadlowski won the team’s Community Relations Award for his work in the public realm.

Check out Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog at http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog, and follow him on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.