In the American Hockey League, the Les Cunningham Award has
been given each year to the league’s most valuable player since the 1947-48
season. The Hershey Bears, the league’s oldest franchise, have had six players
win the Cunningham Award.
Red Sullivan 1953-54
George
‘Red’ Sullivan won the Cunningham Award in 1953-54. Sullivan played 69
games for the Bears, scoring 30 goals and adding 89 assists for 119 points. He
was also awarded the John
B. Sollenberger Trophy as the AHL’s leading point getter. The 89 assists
George contributed remain today as the Hershey Bears single season record.
Sullivan played with the Bears from 1949-50 to 1953-54, as a
prospect of the National Hockey League’s Boston Bruins. George came to the
Bruins system after playing junior with the OHA’s St. Catherines Teepees. He
played sparingly in the NHL during that time but didn’t become a regular until
the 1954-55 season, after being traded by the Bruins to the Chicago Blackhawks.
In all, Red played 556 NHL regular season games between 1949-50 and 1960-61
with Boston, Chicago and the New York Rangers.
Mike Nykoluk – 1966-67
Mike Nykoluk became the next player from Hershey to win the
Les Cunningham Award in 1966-67. In 72 games that season, Nukoluk scored 16
goals and assisted on 68 for a total of 84 points. Mike played with Hershey
from 1958-59 to 1971-72. In all, he played 1,069 games in the AHL, totalling
881 points and was inducted to the AHL Hall of Fame in 2007. Mike appeared in
32 NHL games with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1956-57.
Tim Tookey 1986-87
Another AHL Hall of Fame member was awarded the Cunningham
in 1986-87. Tim Tookey scored 51 goals and added 73 assists for 124 points in
80 games for the Bears that season. The 124 points remains as a team record and
was the highest total in the AHL, earning him the Sollenberger Trophy. Tookey
was inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame in 2008.
Tim Tookey was a fifth round pick of the Washington Capitals
in 1979 after playing junior with the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL. He
played in 106 NHL games with Washington, the Quebec Nordiques, Philadelphia
Flyers and Los Angeles Kings. He played in 824 AHL games between 1980-81 and
1994-95, contributing 974 points.
Jean-Francois Labbe 1996-97
In 1996-97, Jean-Francois Labbe became the only Hershey
goalie to be named AHL MVP. Labbe played in 66 games, posting a 2.52 goals
against average and .914 save percentage. Jean-Francois led the Bears to a
Calder Cup victory that season, as he would do with the Hartford Wolf Pack
three years later. Over his career, Labbe appeared in 15 NHL games with the New
York Rangers and Columbus Blue Jackets.
Alexandre Giroux 2008-09
Alexandre Giroux set the Hershey Bears single season record
for most goals with 60 in 2008-09, while playing in just 69 games. His
performance earned him the Cunningham Award. Giroux was a seventh round pick of
the Ottawa Senators at the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. He has appeared in 48 NHL
games at the time this article was written, with the New York Rangers,
Washington Capitals, Edmonton Oilers and Columbus Blue Jackets. Alexandre has
recently been playing in Switzerland’s National League A with Ambri-Piotta.
Keith Aucoin 2009-10
In 2009-10, Keith Aucoin scored 35 goals and added 71
assists for 106 points in 72 games and was awarded the Cunningham Award. To
date, he has appeared in 769 AHL games, totalling 857 points. He has also
played 145 games in the NHL with the Carolina Hurricanes, Washington Capitals,
New York Islanders and St. Louis Blues. For 2014-15, Keith has joined Alexandre
Giroux with Ambri-Piotta in Switzerland.
