The League Awards for the Saskatchewan Minor AAA Hockey League (SMAAAHL) were announced on Friday, February 27th on the eve of the playoffs, and a trio of Innovex Estevan Bears were recognized with honours.
COACH OF THE YEAR – RYAN PILON
STATS: (26-14-2-2) record; .636 PTS%; 5th Overall; (23-5-2-2) record in final 32 games
Ryan Pilon has been named the Coach of the Year for guiding the Bears to their best regular season in the 6-year existence of the franchise. After a rocky start were the Bears went (3-9-0-0) in their first 12 games, Pilon led a monumental turnaround as the Bears won 23 of their final 32 games. It started with a 13-game point streak (10-0-2-1) from October 29th to December 13th, getting the Bears back in the playoff picture. The Bears then went (10-2-0-0) in their next 12 games to vault the team into a battle for home ice advantage and a 5th place finish.
Pilon has concluded his 4th regular season as Head Coach/GM of the Bears. The team has improved their point total and standings position in each successive season, and the team has qualified for the playoffs each of the last three years. Pilon’s coaching staff includes Assistant Coach Jason Johnstone, Manager Tricia Debruyne, On-Ice Volunteer Miles Warkentine, and Trainers: Hunter Piche, Derek Tendler, and Richard Winton.
MOST VALUABLE GOALTENDER – EVAN HUTCHEON
STATS: (19-8-1-1) record; .910 SV%; 2.98 G.A.A.; 1713 MIN; 30 GP
Evan Hutcheon has been named as the league’s Most Valuable Goaltender in his first and final season with the Bears. Hutcheon was the key piece to the Bears’ midseason turnaround as he won 8 consecutive appearances from October 29th to November 28th, earning Hutcheon ‘Goalie of the Month’ honours for November. Despite not earning a shutout, Hutcheon posted four appearances only allowing 1 goal against. The highlight of Hutcheon’s season came against the favoured Moose Jaw Warriors on February 6th, where Hutcheon stopped 47 of 48 shots (allowing the lone goal with only 39 seconds remaining) in a 4-1 Estevan victory.
Hutcheon will graduate to the next level after this season, but will now hold the single-season franchise records for wins (19), save percentage (.910%) and goals against average (2.98) before moving on. Hutcheon and his battery-mate Jaxon Kuchinka gives the Bears one of the best goalie tandems in the league heading into the playoffs.
FIRST TEAM ALL-STAR – GUNNER MOORE
STATS: 44GP – 28G 56A – 84PTS – 1.91 PTS/GAME – 59 EVEN STRENGTH PTS – 4 GWG
Gunner Moore has been named as one of the league’s First Team All-Stars in his third and final season with the Bears. Moore served as the team captain in 2025-26 and led by example by posting the top scoring season in the league, and the top scoring season in Bears’ franchise history. Moore earned at least a point in 40 of his 44 games played, with his most prolific stretch coming during a 12-game point streak from November 22nd – January 11th where Moore tallied 27 points (9G,18A). With a potential scoring title and home-ice advantage in sight, Moore then ended the regular season with a 10-game point streak tallying 25 points (10G,15A) and claimed the scoring title by six points over 3 other players.
Moore will graduate to the next level after this season and has already committed to the SJHL’s Estevan Bruins for 2026-27. His single-season records for points (84) and assists (56) may well stand for several seasons, and Moore’s U18 AAA career point total of 161PTS (7th overall in SMAAAHL history) will likely be the team benchmark for years to come. As a local player from nearby Carievale, and playing the majority of his minor hockey career for Estevan Minor Hockey, Moore’s 2025-26 season has been a special one for the southeast community to remember.
READ MORE: Bears 2025-26 Team Awards
ALL LEAGUE AWARDS
SMAAAHL League Champion 2025-2026
Regina Pat Canadians Wins 38 Loss 3 OTL 3
Top SMAAAHL Goaltender 2025-2026
Ben Meyer, Regina Pat Canadians GAA 2.11 SV% .922
Top SMAAAHL Scorer 2025-2026
Gunner Moore, Estevan Innovex Bears 28 goals 56 assists
Awards determined by coaches’ poll:
Top SMAAAHL Defenceman 2025-2026
Ethan Young, Regina Pat Canadians
Top SMAAAHL Forward 2025-2026
Ryan Gibbs, Moose Jaw Winmar Warriors
Top SMAAAHL Rookie 2025-2026
Ryker Doka, Regina Pat Canadians
SMAAAHL Coach of the Year 2025-2026
Ryan Pilon, Estevan Innovex Bears
SMAAAHL Official of the Year 2025-2026
Michael Eskra
SMAAAHL Most Valuable Goaltender 2025-2026
Evan Hutcheon, Estevan Innovex Bears
SMAAAHL Adam Herold Memorial Award 2025-2026
Top Defensive Defenseman – Eric Grandberg, Saskatoon Blazers
FIRST ALL STAR TEAM 2025-2026
GOALIE: Madex Kabrud, Saskatoon Blazers
DEFENCE: Ethan Young, Regina Pat Canadians
Hudson Sayers, Moose Jaw Winmar Warriors
FORWARD: Ryan Gibbs, Moose Jaw Winmar Warriors
Gunner Moore, Estevan Innovex Bears
Nathan Gardiner, Regina Pat Canadians
SECOND ALL STAR TEAM 2025-2026
GOALIE: Ben Meyer, Regina Pat Canadians
DEFENCE: Eric Grandberg, Saskatoon Blazers
Ryker Doka, Regina Pat Canadians
FORWARD: Malaki Martin, Regina Pat Canadians
Jacob Tait, Tisdale Trojans
Max Fuessel, Moose Jaw Winmar Warriors
