Besides winning the CCHL scoring title, Cumberland Grads forward Grant Hebert was also selected as the league's most valuable player. (Robert Lefebvre/IceLevel)

Scoring Champ Wins MVP Award
The CCHL’s runaway scoring champion was also selected as the league’s most valuable player.

Cumberland Grads star forward Grant Hebert ended up atop the CCHL scoring race, racking up 91 points (27 goals and 64 assists) in 60 regular season outings.

Hebert finished 17 points ahead of Hawkesbury Hawks forward Charles Levesque, who placed second in the scoring race, with 74 points.
CCHL officials announced their award winners for the year two days after the CCHL regular season concluded.

Though he didn’t win the scoring race, Levesque was chosen as the league-wide recipient for an award honouring his sportsmanship and ability.

Hebert, 19, certainly stepped up his game in his sophomore season with the Grads. He more than doubled the 41 points he collected a year ago as a rookie with the Cumberland squad.

Hebert has accepted an athletic scholarship from Pennsylvania-based Robert Morris University, a Division 1 squad, starting with the 2018-19 season.

Meanwhile, the Carleton Place Canadians, Cornwall Colts and Brockville Braves all ended up with a pair of major award winners each.

Carleton Place’s Owen Grant was named top defenceman while Jason Clarke was selected as the GM of the Year.

Cornwall’s Ian MacInnis was picked as the Coach of the Year while Grant Cooper was chosen as the top graduating player.

Brockville’s Henry Johnson was selected as the Top Goaltender while his teammate Cameron Crotty was named Top Prospect.

Another award winner was Merrick Rippon of the Ottawa Jr. Senators, who was named the Rookie of the Year.

Grads Play Final Game
The Cumberland Grads era came to an end in mid-March.

The Cumberland franchise, which is relocating to Rockland for next season, played its final regular season match on Mar. 12, dropping a 5-2 decision against the visiting Gloucester Rangers.

Had the Grads registered a victory in their final game, they would have advanced to the playoffs. Cumberland, however, ended up in ninth place in the league standings, one point behind the Nepean Raiders, who grabbed the eighth and final postseason berth.

Kanata Forwards Crack All-Rookie Team
The Kanata Lasers had their share of struggles this season, winning just 22 of their 62 matches and finishing 11th in a 12-team league.

A bright spot for the Lasers though was the play of first-year forwards Luca Nocita and Samuel Bitten. Both were named to the CCHL’s All Rookie team.

Nocita had 37 points in 61 games while Bitten appeared in 51 matches and notched 30 points.