IceHogs Announce Team Awards, Philp Named MVP

ROCKFORD, Ill. - The Rockford IceHogs Announced the recipients of the organization's annual Team Awards for the 2022-23 season.

This season's selections are as follows:

TEAM MVP: Luke Philp

TOP DEFENSEMAN: Alex Vlasic

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Cole Guttman

UNSUNG HERO: Arvid Soderblom

HEAVY HITTER: Mike Hardman

MOST IMPROVED: Louis Crevier

TEAM MVP: Luke Philp

Philp turned in a career season with professional bests in goals (28), assists (24), an points (52) at the time of the announcement. The pivot played an integral role in Rockford’s top six by centering the top line throughout most of the season. In a seven-game stretch from Nov. 5 to Nov. 23, Philp tucked in eight goals and 12 total points. He also caught fire near the end of the season and accumulated 10 goals in an 11-game span from Mar. 3 to Apr. 11, including his first professional hat trick on Apr. 11 against the Chicago Wolves. Philp also registered an assist on Apr. 11 for his second four-point night of the season; his first came on Dec. 31 against the Wolves when he posted four assists. On Jan. 24, Philp made his NHL debut with the Blackhawks against Vancouver. Two nights later, he recorded his first NHL point with an assist in Calgary against the Flames, just a short drive from his hometown of Canmore. At the time of the announcement, Philp is Rockford’s plus-minus leader with a +17 rating. He also leads the team with 10 power-play goals.

TOP DEFENSEMAN: Alex Vlasic

2022-23 marked Vlasic’s first full professional season and his first with the IceHogs. The young defenseman missed the first two games of Rockford’s season while he was in the NHL with the Blackhawks, but he made his Rockford debut on Oct. 22 against the Chicago Wolves. Vlasic recorded his first AHL point with an assist on Nov. 2 against Milwaukee and scored his first AHL goal on Nov. 19 against the Wolves. He posted a four-game point streak from Feb. 17 to Feb. 24 and had his first professional multi-point game shortly after the streak ended with two assists against Toronto on Mar. 1. The former second round pick was consistently solid in his own end and at the time of the announcement ranks second on the team with a +12 rating. Vlasic didn’t post a negative rating until his 15^th AHL game on Nov. 26 against Milwaukee.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Cole Guttman

Guttman burst onto the scene in his first pro season with 30 points (16G, 14A) in 39 games with Rockford. The center made his pro debut on Oct. 15 against Manitoba but then missed almost a month due to injury. Guttman popped back into the IceHogs lineup on Nov. 12 against Texas and scored his first pro goal. In mid-February, Guttman got the call up to the NHL and made his Blackhawks debut on Feb. 15 at Toronto. The rookie scored his first NHL goal a few nights later on Feb. 19 at the United Center against the Maple Leafs and added his second NHL tally the next game on Feb. 21 against Vegas. Guttman finished the season with 6 points (4G, 2A) in 14 games with the Blackhawks before should surgery shut him down for the season.

UNSUNG HERO: Arvid Soderblom

Soderblom opened the campaign with Rockford where he started the first two games of the season in Manitoba. On Oct. 21, the goaltender was recalled to the Blackhawks for his first NHL action of the season. Soderblom’s first NHL start of the 2022-23 campaign came on Oct. 29 against Buffalo, and he stopped 45 of 49 Sabres shots in an overtime loss. The Swedish backstop saw plenty of action with the Blackhawks through the first half of the season and recorded a 2-10-0 record with a 3.45 goals-against average and an .894 save percentage. Soderblom eventually returned to Rockford on Dec. 18 but suffered a groin injury on Dec. 28 against Grand Rapids and missed a month of action before returning to the crease on Jan. 20 against Springfield. Once healthy, the backstop found a groove and started nine straight games for the IceHogs from Jan. 24 to Feb. 15. Soderblom turned his best performance of the season to date on Mar. 4 against Laval when he stopped 44 of 45 Rocket shots and also stopped nine of 11 Laval shootout attempts. He has been lights out in shootouts all season, stopping 37 of 43 shootout attempts against him. Soderblom also has shined bright in overtime and stopped 41 of 44 shots against him in the extra frame for a ridiculous .932 save percentage.

HEAVY HITTER: Mike Hardman

Hardman brought his hard-nose style of play back to Rockford for his second season with the team in 2022-23. The forward owns with 18 points (5G, 13A) in 56 games with Rockford at the time of the announcement, with his best night coming on Oct. 29 against Belleville when he notched one goal and two assists. On Mar. 13, Hardman was recalled by the Blackhawks, and he subsequently spent the next eight games in the NHL. He played his last NHL game of the year on Mar. 28 against Dallas and was returned to Rockford on loan the next day.

MOST IMPROVED: Louis Crevier

The first professional campaign for Crevier features five assists in 62 games at the time of the team award announcement. The defenseman made his pro debut in Rockford’s first game of the season on Oct. 15 against Manitoba. On Nov. 5 against Grand Rapids, Crevier picked up his first professional point with an assist, and then he followed it up the next night with another helper against Iowa.