EDMONTON – Canada West's men's hockey all-star and all-rookie teams were announced Wednesday, as former WHL players once again powered the three teams.

Four different Saskatchewan Huskies were acknowledged by the conference, earning spots on all three of the respective teams.

For the second year in a row Taran Kozun was named a First Team All-Star. One year after being named both the Canada West and U SPORTS Goalie of the Year, Kozun had another dominant year in 2019-20. The product of Nipawin tied his own conference record with five shutouts, led the league in wins, shutouts, goals-against-average and save percentage while also setting a new program record with 11 career shutouts.

After being on the All-Rookie Team last year Gordie Ballhorn was named a Second Team All-Star. Ballhorn, who played his major junior hockey with the Kelowna Rockets, improved on his numbers in 2019-20, finishing as the top-scoring defence for the Huskies with four goals and 15 assists – seven of which came on the powerplay.

Collin Shirley will join Ballhorn on the second team. The product of Saskatoon finished ninth in the conference and second on the Huskies with 26 points this season. Shirley, who represented U SPORTS in an exhibition series against the Canadian Junior National Team in December, also recorded a sparkling +/- of plus 16.

Joining the Huskies from the Vancouver Giants, speedster Jared Dmytriw was named to the conference's All-Rookie Team. In his first year in the league all the product of Craven did was finish fourth in the conference and first on the Huskies with 28 points. The forward recorded 10 goals, 18 assists and a team-high +/- of plus 20.

Of the 18 players honoured ahead of this weekend's semifinal series, 16 are graduates of the WHL, highlighting the important role the WHL plays in providing the majority of CW men's hockey talent.

The conference's first all-star team was exclusively WHL grads, including goaltender Kozun of the Huskies and regular season scoring champion Matt Alfaro of the Calgary Dinos. The pair combined to play nearly 400 WHL regular season games over their junior careers, and will face off this weekend in Saskatoon when the Huskies host the Dinos in a best-of-three semifinal.

In the other conference semi, the Alberta Golden Bears and their five combined all-stars and all-rookies host the UBC Thunderbirds, who are fresh off an upset of Mount Royal in the conference quarters.

CW MEN'S HOCKEY PLAYOFF CENTRAL

Both semifinals go Friday and Saturday (Sunday if necessary), with puck drop at 7 p.m. local for all games.

You can watch every game on the road to the CW Final by tuning into Canada West TV Presented by Co-op.

FIRST ALL-STAR TEAM
POSITION / NAME / UNIVERSITY / YEAR / PROGRAM / HOMETOWN / LAST WHL TEAM

• G / Taran Kozun / Saskatchewan / 3 / Arts & Science / Nipawin, SK / Seattle
• D / Adam Henry / Manitoba / 5 / Management / Winnipeg, MB / Portland
• D / Clayton Kirichenko / Alberta / 3 / Kin., Sport, & Rec. / Sherwood Park, AB / Medicine Hat
• F / Grayson Pawlenchuk / Alberta / 2 / Business / Edmonton, AB / Red Deer
• F / Matthew Alfaro / Calgary / 3 / Business / Calgary, AB / Lethbridge
• F / Riley Lindgren / Mount Royal / 2 / Arts / East St. Paul, MB / Swift Current

 
SECOND ALL-STAR TEAM

• F / Coda Gordon / Calgary / 5 / Business / Cochrane, AB / Swift Current
• F / Cole Sanford / Alberta / 4 / Native Studies / Coldstream, BC / Regina
• F / Collin Shirley / Saskatchewan / 3 / Business / Saskatoon, SK / Kamloops
• D / Gordie Ballhorn / Saskatchewan / 2 / Business / Wetaskiwin, AB / Kelowna
• D / Jesse Lees / Mount Royal / 4 / Health & Phys. Ed / Calgary, AB / Prince Albert
• G / Riley Morris / Mount Royal / 2 / Open Studies / Calgary, AB / Okotoks (AJHL)

 
ALL-ROOKIE TEAM

• F / Jared Dmytriw / Saskatchewan / Business / Craven, SK / Vancouver
• F / Kaden Elder / Calgary / Open Studies / Saskatoon, SK / Swift Current
• F / Noah Philp / Alberta / Arts / Canmore, AB / Seattle
• D / Connor Blake / Mount Royal / Open Studies / Calgary, AB / Grande Prairie (AJHL)
• D / Dawson Davidson / Alberta / Arts / Moosomin, SK / Saskatoon
• G / Brodan Salmond / Calgary / Open Studies / Calgary, AB / Moose Jaw