Music: {allcanada} Chaput wins Memorial Cup MVP award

Monday, May 28, 2012

{allcanada} Chaput wins Memorial Cup MVP award

SHAWINIGAN, Que. -- If Sunday night is the last time Michael Chaput suits up for the Shawinigan Cataractes, he certainly ended his Quebec Major Junior Hockey League career with a bang.

On top of being a member of the Memorial Cup champions after the Cataractes beat the London Knights 2-1 in overtime Sunday, the fourth-year centre earned the honour of being named the winner of the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as the tournament's most valuable player.

"The tournament went great but I owe it all to my teammates," Chaput said. "Everyone played well and they helped me along the whole tournament. I'm not going to take the credit personally. They all played great. It's a team thing. You need 20 guys to win this tournament and that's what we did."

Shawinigan defenceman Brandon Gormley spoke highly of the 20-year-old.

"We needed him to step up and he did a hell of a job all tournament," Gormley said. "He scored some huge goals for us. He was the motor that got us fired up. When he started going, other guys fed off that."

Chaput also won the Ed Chynoweth Trophy as the top scorer in the tournament. After a playoff run that saw Chaput rack up four goals and 12 points in 11 games before being ousted in the second round of the QMJHL playoffs, he picked up where he left off with five goals and 12 points in six Memorial Cup games.

His five goals also left him in a three-way tie with teammate Anton Zlobin and Saint John Sea Dogs forward Jonathan Huberdeau for tops in the tournament.

Saint John's Zack Phillips won the George Parsons Trophy as most sportsmanlike player and Shawinigan's Gabriel Girard was named the Hap Emms Memorial Trophy winner as most outstanding goaltender.

The tournament all-star team was goaltender Michael Houser (London); defencemen Jarred Tinordi (London) and Gormley (Shawinigan); and forwards Austin Watson (London), Chaput (Shawinigan) and Henrik Samuelsson (Edmonton).