Fraser earns AJHL hardware
By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter
Photo Courtesy of Target Photography
Fort McMurray Oil Barons Captain Shane Fraser was named the 2017-18 winner of the Don McNabb Memorial Trophy. The award recognizes the player judged the most dedicated to his team.
“I remember how honoured I was just to be nominated for the award,” said Fraser. “Then, when my coach pulled me into his office to give me the news, I didn’t know how to react. It wasn’t something I ever thought I would get. To be selected by the other coaches in the league for this award is a huge honour.”
In his third season with the club and first year as captain, Fraser led the Oil Barons to a second-place finish in the Viterra North Division with a 42-13-5 record. In 59 games, he scored 21 goals, 33 assists and 54 points, which all happen to be career highs.
The Oil Barons run a tight ship on and off the ice and Fraser is the one who sets the tone; whether it be competing on the ice in drills or working the hardest during dryland training sessions, he is their leader in the dressing room.
Fraser has come a long way in his time with the Oil Barons. In his first year in the AJHL after a pair of seasons with the UFA Bisons, Fraser only recorded four goals and seven points in 34 games. The following season, he increased his production to 16 goals and 38 points in 58 games, as the Oil Barons reached the divisional final, but lost to the Whitecourt Wolverines.
“Shane is such an outstanding kid. He persevered through a tough season with the team in his rookie year, and it has been so rewarding to watch him develop into a leader. He is the poster boy for our organization and what a coach wants every Oil Baron to aspire to be. He is one of the nicest and most dedicated people I’ve ever met,” said Oil Barons General Manager and Head Coach Tom Keca.
Fraser is the seventh Oil Baron to win the elusive award and the first since Carson Cooper in 2011-12. Other nominees for the award were Jaedon Leslie (Wolverines), Joey May (Calgary Mustangs) and Jacob Bernard-Docker (Okotoks Oilers).
Fraser wasn’t the only Oil Baron who received some hardware last weekend. Another local product, Will Conley, was named the Alberta Ford Dealers Player of the Month. Playing in 12 games in February, Conley sniped 11 goals and chalked up 10 assists.
Like Fraser, Conley is having a career year and finished second in AJHL scoring with 48 goals and 80 points in 58 games. He was 17 points behind the leader Chris Van Os-Shaw of the Spruce Grove Saints.
“I’ve been playing on the same team as Will for 13 years now, so we’ve had a lot of chemistry together and it was great to see him break the franchise record for most goals in a single season,” said Fraser.
It was quite the month of February for the College of the Holy Cross committed forward. He notched a pair of game winners, was named Player of the Week for the week of Feb, 5-11 and was awarded the Viterra AJHL Star of the Game four times, giving him 10 on the season.
Now with the individual awards taken care of, the Oil Barons have turned their attention to the main goal that eluded them last year. They hosted the seventh-seeded Bonnyville Pontiacs at the Casman Centre. The series started March 8 and is a best-of-five series.
“Expectations are high for us. We feel like we have a good shot at this thing and we will feel disappointed if we don’t win it all,” said Fraser.