Ice Hockey Journalists UK (IHJUK) are delighted to announce their annual awards and all-stars for the 2007/2008 season in both the bmibaby Elite League and the English Premier League.

The main honours go to the respective player and coach of the year in each league.

For the Elite League, the player of the year is Adam Calder of Coventry Blaze. A Canadian born sharpshooter of the highest quality, Calder led the EIHL in scoring virtually throughout and at the time of writing has been confirmed as the top points scorer in the regular season and more than likely will win the same honour for all competitive games combined.

The coach of the year in the Elite League year for the second year in succession and for the third time in the past four years is Paul Thompson, again of the Coventry Blaze.

Thompson has in fact been coach of the year no fewer than five times, gaining the honour twice in the British National League and is by far the most successful coach in the EIHL era. His skills are also benefiting the GB National Team, where he is in his second season.
In the English Premier League the player of the year is the remarkable Steve Moria of the Slough Jets. Moria has incredibly picked up player of the year honours in three different decades, winning previously in 1989/90 while with Cardiff Devils in the Heineken Premier Division and then in 1994/95 with Swindon Wildcats in the British League Division 1.

Moria, who is 47 years young, is currently the top scorer for Jets and combines sticking the puck in the net with his role as Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations.
Coach of the year in the EPL is rookie coach Paul Dixon of Guildford Flames. In his ninth season with Flames, Dixon has taken over the top job from long-term coach Stan Marple and has led his team on and off the ice to success in the regular season.

Awards are also made by IHJUK to the best British players in each position and this year's winners are as follows:-.

Best British Netminder - Stevie Lyle of Belfast Giants

Lyle picks up this award for the sixth time but his first since 2004/05. He has now won it with four different teams: Cardiff, Guildford, Bracknell and now Belfast)

Best British Defenceman (Alan Weeks Trophy) - Jonathan Weaver of Coventry Blaze

This is the third straight win as Best British Defenceman for Weaver, who won it in the previous couple of seasons with Newcastle.

Best British Forward - Tony Hand of Manchester Phoenix
A fourth straight success in this category for Britain's 'Great One', winning firstly with Belfast and Edinburgh and for the last two years with Manchester.

Best Young British Player (Vic Batchelder Memorial Award) - Mark Garside of Edinburgh Capitals

The 19-year-old Garside has had a very good season with Edinburgh Capitals, playing regular shifts and at the time of writing has picked up over 20 points in all games for the Murrayfield side. An important member of the GB under-20 team, this is a young man with a big future ahead of him.

All Star Teams - Elite League

1st Team

Netminder: Trevor Koenig (Coventry).

Defencemen: Jonathan Weaver (Coventry) and Neal Martin (Coventry) .

Forwards: Adam Calder (Coventry), Joe Tallari (Manchester) and Sean McAslan (Nottingham).

2nd Team

Netminder: Tom Askey (Nottingham).

Defencmen: Rod Sarich (Sheffield) and Corey Neilson (Nottingham).

Forwards: Peter Campbell (Belfast), Dan Carlson (Coventry) and Ed Courtenay (Belfast).


All-Star teams - EPL

1st Team

Netminder: Joe Watkins (Guildford).

Defencemen: Jan Melicher (Bracknell) and Jan Krajicek (Slough).

Forwards: Gary Clarke (Milton Keynes), Steve Moria (Slough) and Joel Petkoff (Swindon).

2nd Team

Netminder: Barry Hollyhead (Milton Keynes).

Defencemen: Ron Shudra (Sheffield) and Paul Dixon (Guildford).

Forwards: Stephen Wallace (Sheffield), Toni Alasaarela (Milton Keynes) and Milos Melicherik (Guildford).