Although the Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy will not be heading back to Maple Ridge this year, the community still has a reason to be proud, as it鈥檚 a former Maple Ridge player that has received the honour of being named the WHL Coach of the Year for the 2022-23 season.

READ MORE:

Brennan Sonne, who spent years playing as a member of the Ridge Meadows Flames, has won the award for the first time due to this his impressive performance as the head coach of the Saskatoon Blades.

In the 68-game season, Sonne was able to lead his team to 48 wins and surpassed 100 points, which is something that the Blades hadn鈥檛 done in more than a decade.

But Sonne explained that he鈥檚 just a small piece of the puzzle that allowed his team to achieve these results and earned him the trophy.

鈥淚t is truly an organizational award, starting with the players,鈥� said Sonne. 鈥淭his season we鈥檝e had a group of dedicated teammates, fantastic leadership, and a work ethic you wouldn鈥檛 believe.鈥�

鈥淭his staff is awesome, incredible human beings who are a pleasure to work with every single day.鈥�

RELATED:

Sonne鈥檚 win marks the first for the Saskatoon Blades since the 1993-94 season, and a B.C. team has not won the WHL Coach of the Year award since Dave Lowry of the Victoria Royals took it home for the second time in the 2015-16 season.