Incoming Ferris State Hockey Signee Corey Mackin Chosen As Canada's National Player Of The Year
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Big Rapids, Mich. - Incoming Ferris State University hockey freshman forward Corey Mackin, who on Thursday was officially announced as one of seven additions as part of FSU's impressive 2015-16 recruiting class, was chosen today (May 8) as the recipient of the prestigious 2015 Canadian National Player of the Year Award.
A Philadelphia (Pa.) native, Mackin received the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) Most Valuable Player honor as the top junior A player in Canada and was also chosen as the 2015 CJHL Top Forward honoree for his performance this season with the Coquitlam Exprees of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL).
The Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) is an association of Canadian Junior A ice hockey leagues and teams. It spans the majority of Canada from the pacific coast to the atlantic coast. Past winners of the National Player of the Year honor have included such standouts as Paul Kariya, Dany Heatley, Mike Comrie, Jeff Tambellini, Cody Kunyk and others.
Each of the 10 different leagues in the CJHL submitted a candidate for all of the CJHL National Awards. Each league then ranked their top five players from among the 10 national nominees and the five players with the highest point total moved on as finalists to the final round of voting. The winners were then selected by a second and final point-based vote cast from all 10 leagues.
The 5-8 Mackin brings a talented resume as he compiled a league-leading 50 goals and 54 assists for 104 points in 58 outings this year after scoring 24 goals and posting 26 assists for 50 total points in 57 games last season for the same team. Mackin previously played on the Junior Hockey team at Northwood School in Lake Placid, N.Y., during the 2012-13 campaign.
This year, he had 12 power-play goals, nine short-handed markers along with five game-winning goals. He was a BCHL First Team All-Star and claimed the Vern Dye Memorial BCHL Player of the Year honor along with the Brett Hull Trophy as the league's top scorer. Mackin also produced seven points on two goals and five assists in five playoff games in 2014-15.
Mackin became the first BCHL player in five seasons to reach the 50-goal mark this year. He was assessed just four minor penalties on the season and was a finalist for the BCHL's Most Sportsmanlike Player honor. In his two seasons with the Coquitlam Express, he compiled 154 total points with 74 goals and 80 assists in 115 total regular-season outings. He also netted 22 points on seven goals and 15 assists in 24 playoff contests in the BCHL.
Mackin is the second-best Bulldog to claim the prestigious honor as FSU alum Mark Bombersback was the 2003 recipient prior to beginning his collegiate career at Ferris State. The Canadian Junior "A" Player of the Year Award is given to the Canadian Junior "A" hockey player who has the best combined hockey skills and achievement along with community involvement during the 2002-03 season.
The standout forward is one of seven Ferris State hockey additions who will all begin their collegiate careers at FSU next fall. The newcomers include goaltender Darren Smith, defensemen Zac Tierney and Ryker Killins along with forwards Jacob Hetz, Craig Pefley and Trevor Recktenwald in addition to Mackin.
Ferris State will return all but five seniors from this past season for the 2015-16 campaign, including eight of the squad's top nine scorers. Over the past four seasons, the Bulldogs have captured two conference championships, made two NCAA Tournament appearances and appeared in the NCAA Frozen Four national title game. FSU also advanced to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Final Five Championships for the second-straight year this past season.