With decades of GWMHL history, it’s not easy to make a mark in the record books. But in the 2018-19 regular season, several players and teams did just that, carving their names in the league annals and passing major career milestones. Here are a few noteworthy examples.
Single Season League Records
Portland defenseman Brent Seabrook set a new record for blocks in a single season with 125, well ahead of former record-holder Greg Zanon’s 107 in ’09-’10.
Salem‘s Anze Kopitar, acquired in the offseason from Charleston, finished with a whopping +80 which is tied for 8th all-time and stands as the best total since 2010.
Vancouver rookie phenom Mathew Barzal‘s 83 points is 7th best all-time among rookies, a hair behind Paul Stastny’s 84 in ’07-’08.
Single Season Team Records
Delta‘s Nikita Kucherov became the first Sturgeon player to surpass 100 points, and he set a new team record for assists with 62.
Vincent Trocheck tied the Farmington team record for points in a season with 94.
David Pastrnak‘s 103 points is the best single-season total by any player in Parry Sound franchise history, eclipsing Vinnie Prospal’s 100 in 2009. Also, Seven Orrsmen posted all-time plus-minus numbers for the team, and Pekka Rinne‘s 39 wins is also a franchise best. Definitely a record-smashing year for that club.
Connor Hellebuyck faced more shots — by a huge margin — than any other goaltender in South Side history, with 2,511. The next closest was Sean Burke’s 1,867 in ’95-’96.
Winnipeg‘s Jamie Benn set franchise records for points (109) and assists (60), and he and teammate Tyler Seguin both tied Jarome Iginla for most goals in a season with 49.
Single-Season Franchise Records
The only team to set a new single-season record was the Winnipeg Falcons, whose 60.37% in the faceoff dot is the best in Gump history — and the only time a team has finished north of 60.
The Salem Sabercats‘ combined +630 was the 6th best plus-minus mark in league history. On the flip side, the Great Lakes Pilots -635 was the fourth lowest plus-minus all-time, just -12 back from dead worst.
Finally, led by Seabrook’s record-breaking year, the Portland Wintherhawks blocked the third most shots in a season, with 304.
Career Milestones
Sidney Crosby of Baltimore and Alexander Ovechkin of El Dorado both passed the 1,000 point plateau (1,036 and 1,045 respectively). Crosby also passed the 600-assist mark early in the season, and now sits at 656.
Retiring wingers Rick Nash (Delta) and Daniel Sedin (Parry Sound) leave the GWMHL shy of the 500-goal mark with 483 and 466.
Ageless Salem Sabercat Patrick Marleau moved to 3rd in all-time games played with 1,498, just two games shy of second-place Nicklas Lidstrom. Marleau will, of course, join that exclusive 1,500-game club early in 2019-2020.
Gump Worsley Memorial Hockey League 