HUNDER BAY — The board and coaches of the Thunder Bay Kings Major Midget (U-18) team are pleased to award the 2019-20 Wayne Chuchmuch Memorial Award to Mackenzie Sedgwick.
Throughout his years of major midget, and his entire minor hockey career, Mackenzie has embodied what it means to “own your development.” Unofficially, Mackenzie might have had the most ice-time of all players on our program through his two seasons, as there is only one time the staff can remember where he wasn’t first on the ice for practice and he was always amongst the last to leave the ice afterwards.
Always a strong defensive player, the extra work he put in helped himself and the team offensively. Mackenzie finished tied for second on the team in power play goals, while also tied for first in short handed goals.
But offense is not what defines what Mackenzie brought to our program. It was his ability to win key faceoffs, his enthusiasm for killing penalties, his willingness to accepts some of the less-desirable assignment in hockey and above all his IQ for the finer details of the defensive game that contributed most to team success. Had he played in the NHL, he would be a candidate for not only the Lady Byng (most sportsmanlike) and Selke (top defensive forward) trophies.
A two-time NAPHL All-Academic award winner, and a NAPHL Dixon Cup champion, Mackenzie is a very worthy recipient of this prestigious award.
The Wayne Chuchmuch Bursary Award was created to commemorate former Board of Director Wayne Chuchmuch, who passed away in 2011.
The bursary is a small token of appreciation in Wayne’s memory for his commitment to the King’s Organization and to the Thunder Bay Sport Community. Wayne was an avid supporter of sport and in his younger years he was an all-around athlete competing in baseball, hockey. He also coached ringette and hockey great. Wayne believed in two seasons; hockey and golf.
