Here at SB Nation all the hockey writers have been discussing who they would nominate from their respective club for the NHL's regular season awards. After giving it some thought here is list of nominees from Atlanta (For a full list of all the NHL team nominees head over to From the Rink).
Hart: Some have argued for Rich Peverley, since his arrival coincided with the Thrahsers turn around moment. But I'm going with Kovalchuk. Now I'm not someone who praises Kovalchuk to the skies. I've always viewed him as an extremely talented but flawed one-way player. But after being named Captain he greatly reduced the mind numbing turnovers. He became much more defensively aware, a much more vocal in the locker room, more visible in the media--did I mention that simply exploded offensively as well? MVP for the Thrashers.
Vezina: Kari Lehtonen--after he returned from his annual month long injury he was elite good (.930 SV%) for a 60 day period. The Thrashers went from being expansion bad to playoff bubble team in that period.
Norris: Tobias Enstrom played many minutes at Even Strength, on the PK and on the PP. After a rough October he really settled down and made an aging Nic Havelid look better than he really was. Once paired with Bogosian late in the year Enstrom really showed off his NHL skills. Zach Bogosian will probably run away with the Thrashers Norris trophy for the next 10 years.
Selke: Reasoner was extremely solid as the checking line center. Armstrong was good at even strength but his PK numbers were ugly. Advantage Reasoner. Honorable mention to Colin Stuart who has been very solid at even strength and excellant on the PK since being called up mid way through the year.
Calder: Zach Bogosian led a big class or rookies (Valabik, Salmela, Crabb, C. Stuart) and steadily improved through out the season. The astonishing thing is that at the tender age of 18 he became an impact NHL player. Those scouts who pegged him as a franchise D with Hall of Fame ceiling appear to have called this one right.
Lady Byng: Todd White hit NHL career highs at his mid 30s. He's not big but he is smart and skilled and which ever line he played on this season was the Thrashers best offensive line. Honorable mention to Boris Valabik who had a better-than-I-expected rookie campaign. His long reach was a real asset on the PK this year.
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