The Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) has announced the three division winners of the Top Freshman Award, awarded to the Top 2008 born student-athlete in their respective U18 divisions:
Eastern U18 Prep: Nathan Birch – Bishop’s College School
The Kirkland, QC defenseman tallied 4 goals and 7 assists in 9 games with Bishop’s College. He would add another three points in four playoff games to help his team reach the Eastern Championship Final in their first season in the CSSHL.
Female U18 Prep: Jennifer Keller – Edge School
Keller finished second in team scoring with 31 points in 26 games. The Airdie, AB forward tallied 30 points in 28 games last season with Edge School as an underage player.
U18 Prep: Daxon Rudolph – Northern Alberta Xtreme
The first overall pick at the 2023 WHL Draft by the Prince Albert Raiders, Rudolph finished second among all defenseman with 59 points in 28 games, scoring 22 goals and assisting on 37 more. His 59 points are second most all time in a single U18 Prep season by a defensemen, trailing only the record set this season by Landon DuPont (62). Last season Rudolph tallied 50 points in 30 U15 Prep regular season games, before scoring the OT winner to give NAX their first CSSHL U15 Prep Western Championship.