2021-22 was a monumental season for hockey winger Kolton Cousins.
Not only did he lead the Prince George Spruce Kings into the second round of the BCHL as captain of the team but he played well enough to earn a spot on the Queen’s University team in Kingston, Ont., to play in the U SPORTS Canada West Conference next season.
On Wednesday the B.C. Hockey League announced Cousins has been selected for a $2,000 scholarship to help him pay the cost of his education at Queen’s.
Kousins played all 54 regular season games last season and finished sixth in team scoring with 16 goals 14 assists and 30 points. He also contributed two goals and three assists in 10 playoff games.
The 21-year-old from Sechelt is among five BCHL players selected for the Shaw/BCHL award, which is based on academic performance as well as the applicant’s stated carer and educational goals, combined with their time spent playing in the league.
Other winners of the Shaw award were Ben Ward (Merritt Centennials), Christophe Farmer (West Kelowna Warriors), Buddy Johnson (Surrey Eagles) and Griffin Wilson (Cowichan Valley Capitals). Farmer has committed to play next season at Concordia University, Wilson plans to attend the University of Guelph, while Johnson and Ward are enrolled at Simon Fraser University.
“Education is one of our league’s key pillars,” said BCHL CEO Chris Hebb, in a league release. “Providing scholarship opportunities to our players so they can pursue their academic goals is a great way to promote education in our league and for us to support our players as they move on from the BCHL. These five student athletes are very deserving of this support and we congratulate them on their accomplishments during their time in the league and we look forward to what’s next, on and off the ice.”
