And the winners are....

A very eventful December has passed in the NHL, and what better way to end of 2008 than with a great month of hockey. The PrairiePuck's prestiguous monthly awards for the month of December are:

TOP FORWARD

Evgeni Malkin - Pittsburgh Penguins

After being snubbed by the panel for the past 2 months of awards, the Top Forward in the NHL for the month of December goes to Evgeni Malkin of the Penguins. Sitting atop the league in points with 59 points, Malkin has been a consistent star for Pittsburgh for the entire season to-date. Without a doubt he is already packing his bags for a trip to Montréal for the All-Star game later on this month. A 5 goal, 15 assist performance in 13 games gives Malkin the nod as the Top Forward of the past month. The Runner up for this award goes to Alexander Ovechkin, the winner in November, who posted 12 goals and 7 assists during the month.

TOP DEFENSEMAN

Dan Boyle - San Jose Sharks

The top defenseman award is always a tough one to hand out, as it is based on a wide collection of criteria. For the past month, we have not seen a clear-cut winner in the offense department similar to last month with Rob Blake's 13 point performance. The award for December will, however remain in the San Jose organization, and will be handed to Sharks' D-man Dan Boyle. Dan Boyle is among the lead-leaders in ice-time this season, and is currently the league's top-scoring defenseman with 11 goals and 19 assists for 30 points. December was a consistent month for Boyle, as he tallied 3 goals, and 6 assists for 9 points, and has helped out his team to remain atop the League standings with a 28-4-5 record closing in on the halfway point of the season.

TOP GOALTENDER

Scott Clemmensen - New Jersey Devils

It is odd to think that a New Jersey goaltender OTHER than Martin Brodeur would ever generate discussion about a performance award. But Brodeur is still sidelined with an elbow injury, and the once "left for dead" Devils have silenced any critics, with Scott Clemmensen taking the reigns in goal. In the month of December, Clemmensen posted an unbelievable 9-1-2 record with a .933 save percentage, and a 1.9 GAA, which has helped to propel his team up the standings in the Atlantic division, keeping pace with The Rangers, Penguins, and Flyers. Maybe Marty should take his swee time in his recovery, because the once thought "irreplaceable" goaltender is not exactly in high demand at the moment. Runner-up for the award: Miikka Kiprusoff of Calgary with an 8-2-2 record in December.

TOP ROOKIE

Steve Mason - Columbus Blue Jackets

Mason was actually the runner-up in the award for the Goaltender of December, but with a better team record, it had to go to Clemmensen. Even so, the numbers that Mason has put up even give him recognition for MVP of December. Mason, who has emerged as the starting goaltender for the Blue Jackets has posted a 7-5-0 record in December, posting an unheard of .947 save percentage and 1.42 GAA, and not to mention 3 straight shutouts to-date. Mason, as a rookie now is the league leader in Save percentage with .938, GAA with 1.69, and has tied Roberto Luongo for the league lead in shutouts with 5. And again, Mason is a ROOKIE. Already with a rookie of the month award in the franchise with Derrick Brassard (who went down with a season ending injury), the Blue Jackets show a lot of promise in their young players, and we could be seeing the Calder trophy handed to a goaltender this year.

WENDEL CLARK AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENT FROM A SASK BORN PLAYER

Scott Hartnell - Philadelphia Flyers

December was a generous month for Scotty, notching 2 hat tricks in the span of 9 days to bring his career tally to 5, and providing some much needed support for the PrairiePuck's choice for MVP of December (You'll find out soon). In 14 games, Hartnell went above the favourites Patrick Marleau and Ryan Getzlaf with 8 goals and 7 assists for 15 points, to help his team with an impressive string of wins, keeping pace with the Atlantic division leading New York Rangers. It was a unanimous decision to grant Scott Hartnell the Wendel Clark award for the month of December.

AND DECEMBER'S MVP AS CHOSEN BY THE PRAIRIEPUCK:

Jeff Carter - Philadelphia Flyers

Jeff Carter is an odd player in the league, and we mean this in the best possible way. His scoring ability is definitely now known in the league, as he leads the league with 27 goals so far this season, and is on pace for 50. His modest, but effective speed makes his 11 goals and 10 assists the no-brainer decision for December's MVP, as chosen by the PrairiePuck.

That's all for now. Enjoy the rest of the World Junior tournament, with Canada in semi-final action on the weekend.

PP