AUS Men’s Hockey Mid-season Awards
Saint Mary’s Huskies Defencemen Ryan Hopkins playing with the puck in a 5-4 win over the Aigles Bleus on October 4th, 2025, at the Dauphinee Centre in Halifax, NS. Photos by Eduardo Ibarra
So far this year, the AUS Men’s hockey scene has appeared to be one of the most interesting, down-to-the-wire leagues in the entire country. In recent years, UNB has absolutely dominated this league, winning 7 straight AUS championships and 11 of the last 14. However, so far this season, parity seems to have finally returned to AUS hockey. This newfound thrill has been accompanied by no shortage of headlines. From Mocton and Acadia’s surge to the top of the AUS standings, to SMU’s hot start to the season, winning their first 6 games of 2025, and so much more.
As we reach the unofficial halfway point in this season, we thought it might be time to think about the top performers through the first half of 2025 AUS Men’s hockey, and give credit to the top performers through the first half of the season. If the season ended today, who would be taking home the AUS MVP? Rookie of the year? We break down who we think would be taking home some hardware for the first half of this AUS Men’s hockey season.
MVP: Reid Valade - SMU Huskies
So far this season, Reid Valade appears to be the league’s most indispensable player. Valade doesn’t just lead the AUS in goals; he leads the country by a wide margin and is tied for the national lead in points only alongside his teammate Ben Allison, demonstrating the incredible offensive firepower of this Huskies team. From power-play execution to late-game shot creation, opponents have game-planned specifically to slow Valade down, and even then, he produces. In an “all in” year for this Huskies team in which they host the USports national hockey championships on home soil, Reid Valade will be a massive component to a Huskies team whose sights are set on a national championship this March.
Honorable Mentions: Ben Allison (Saint Mary’s) , Cody Morgan (UNB), and Robert Orr (UPEI)
DPOTY: Tyler Deline - Acadia Axemen
Tyler Deline has been producing like a top player in the AUS this season. He has the “hard minutes” profile everyone wants from a DPOTY at this point in the year: 16 points in 17 games with a +12. That combination is exactly what separates “good defenseman” from “league award winning defenseman.” and a huge reason why Acadia has made the surge to the top of the AUS standings halfway through the year. This is an exciting, tough Acadia team who will be looking to win their first AUS banner since 2014 next month, and Deline will certainly play a huge role in that venture for the tied for first place Axemen.
Honorable Mentions: Luca D’Amato (UNB), Mark Woolley (StFX) , and Brayden Schmitt (Acadia)
ROTY: Logan O’Neil - STFX X-Men
O’Neil has been one of the most effective newcomers in the conference so far this year, carving out a consistent role in the StFX lineup and contributing right away with 15 points in his first 17 games with the X-Men. This leads all AUS newcomers, and he’s doing it without protected minutes in the team. Among first-year players, no one has combined opportunity, production, and pace of adaptation better so far than Logan O’Neil.
Honorable Mentions: Gage Heynes (UNB), and Ethan Wongus (Dalhousie)
COTY: Derek Cormier - Université de Moncton Aigles-Bleus
With Moncton sitting atop the standings and securing a playoff spot so early, Cormier’s elite coaching is evident. This is a disciplined team with phenomenal depth and consistent execution in crucial moments. In a league defined by its parity, Moncton looks organized and composed every night, winning six straight games going into the new year before picking up their first loss in nearly two months to UPEI last Wednesday. Despite being one of the most consistently high-achieving teams in the AUS, this Moncton team hasn’t won an AUS banner since 2007. Will this finally be their year?
Honorable Mentions: Tyler Naugler (SMU) , Darren Burns (Acadia) , Forbes MacPherson (UPEI)
Goaltender of the Year: Thomas Couture - Acadia Axemen
Couture has been absolutely superb for the Axemen this season, keeping his team stable and stealing results for a red-hot Acadia team that has come to depend on his incredible performances in net. Thomas Couture leads the entire country in saves this season, trailing only UPEI goaltender Jakob Robillard, and ranks in the top ten nationally with a .922 SV% over a heavy workload (16 GP). So far this season, not only has Couture made a serious case for being the best goaltender in the AUS, but he’s made a case for being the best goaltender in the country so far this season.
Honorable Mentions: Jakob Robillard (UPEI), Marcus Vandenberg (SMU), Olivier Adam (Moncton)
Most Improved Player: Robert Orr - UPEI Panthers
Orr’s production and contributions to the Panthers lineup have helped lift UPEI into playoff contention, as Orr has suddenly transformed into an AUS star so far this season. Orr’s point total of 26 ranks in the top 6 nationally, as the second year forward has almost doubled his point totals from last year, only halfway through the season. The Panthers haven’t won an AUS championship since 1965, back when they were referred to as St. Dunstan's rather than UPEI. If the Panthers hope to end this drought next month at the AUS championship, Orr will play a major role.
Honorable Mentions: Charlie Da Fonseca (SMU) , Marc Boudreau (Acadia)
