Colton Sparrow pocketed a pair of watches Friday night at the Royal Bank Cup awards ceremony at the Vernon & District Performing Arts Centre.
The 20-year-old forward hopes to add a ring to his collection as the Vernon Vipers sit two wins away from winning Canada’s 44th national Junior A hockey championship at Kal Tire Place.
Sparrow took home a pair of prestigious awards, earning the Top Forward and Top Scorer plaques after putting up five goals and seven points in four preliminary games. He was chosen Player of the Game twice.
“Things are going pretty well for me right now,” he told The Morning Star. “I love the game, and for this to be in my hometown, and do something like this, is pretty surreal. It is something I’ll look back on for the rest of my life.”
Sparrow was voted the Vipers’ playoff MVP and earned a scholarship to the University of Alaska-Fairbanks in the process.
The 5-foot-11, 180-pounder recorded eight goals and 22 points in 19 BCHL playoff games. He tied for second in league playoff scoring with Ryan Rosenthal of the Coquitlam Express, who just got invited to the New Jersey Devils’ development camp.
A four-year veteran, Sparrow has played 188 regular-season games with Vernon.
It’s Semifinal Saturday as the Vipers face the Western champion Yorkton Terriers at 2 p.m., while the Dauphin Kings of Manitoba battle the Eastern rep Carleton Place Canadians of Ottawa in the 6 p.m.
Dauphin net detective Michael Stiliadis won the Top Goaltender and the Rold Mercier Most Valuable Player. He has a bullet-proof 1.91 goals against average and a .943 save percentage.
Michael Prapavessis of the Patriots won the Top Defenceman award and Brett D’Andrea of the Canadians won the Tubby Schmalz Most Sportsmanlike Trophy.
The RBC Cup Legacy Scholarships were also handed out at the awards banquet. Vipers’ defenceman Josh Bryan was one of the five recipients for $500.
In addition, Carleton Place forward Andy Sturtz was presented with the 2014 RBC Canadian Junior Hockey League Player of the Year award. Sturtz will enroll at Penn State University in the fall of 2015, where he will pursue a degree in business
Richard Court of the OJHL’s Georgetown Raiders was in Vernon to receive the RBC National Junior A Scholarship.
Court was chosen from 10 finalists – one from each of the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s member leagues – to receive the $5,000 scholarship. A two-year member of the Raiders, Court more than tripled his offensive output in the Ontario Junior Hockey League this season, but his off-ice exploits were just as impressive. The Burlington, Ont., native will graduate from Appleby College next month with a 93 per cent average, setting himself up to continue his academic and hockey careers at a CIS or NCAA school. Court was also active in the community; among his many charitable efforts, he volunteered with Big Brothers and helped organize a bowling fundraiser for the organization that raised more than $5,400.
The other $500 RBC Cup Legacy Scholarship winners, for graduating 20-year-olds were Devon McMullen (Yorkton), Larry Smith (Carleton Place), Andreas Tsogkas (Toronto Lakeshore Patriots) and former Viper Mitch Van Teeling (Dauphin).
