Thunder Bay, ON – Taking the term “rookie” to a whole new level 16 year old Easton Mikus is the SIJHL Rookie of the Year. It was a hot start right out of the gates for the young North Star as he posted 10 points in 3 games played during the month of September. Those numbers were helped greatly by an eye popping 6 goal effort against expansion side Kenora. Mikus continued scoring throughout the season and was a big part of the Thunder Bay attack leading his team to a #3 seed in the playoffs. By year end Mikus tallied 31 goals and added 29 assists. His 60 points in only 47 games kept him well above a point per game player. Mikus’ efforts didn’t go unnoticed throughout the year as he was Rookie of the Month in November and picked up several honorable mentions as well. And although not factored into the voting Mikus has already shown that he is able to produce when it matters most, as he has 4 goals and an assist in the playoffs, helping his side sweep the Wisconsin Lumberjacks in the 1st round. Easton Mikus didn’t miss a beat as he made the transition to the SIJHL and in the end ran away with the Rookie of the Year award.
Honorable mention goes out to Wisconsin’s Nolan Fowler and to Kam River’s Carter Poddubdny who were also finalists for the SIJHL Rookie of the Year award.